Why Cuba is Your Next Girl’s Trip?!

Why is Cuba so great for your next girl’s trip?!  And why is it better than Vegas, in my humble opinion??!  Don’t get me wrong ~ I love Vegas.  The clubs, the amazing DJ’s, the gambling, the inevitable drama that ensues…it’s all great.  But sometimes it’s just too much.  And here’s the problem with Vegas lately: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but its gotten really freaking expensive!  Let’s take a quick look at the cost of my last Vegas trip, so we can compare prices with Cuba later…

How Much Does Cuba Cost?

In seven days in Cuba, I spent less than $350 in cash.  And you CAN’T use credit cards in Cuba if you’re American ~ so that’s how much I spent, minus our prepaid Airbnb nights.  

I could spend $350 in Vegas in ONE HOUR without even trying!

Okay, so you get the idea: Cuba is ridiculously cheaper than Vegas.  But why else would someone want to go to Cuba?  And why is it an especially great destination for a girl’s trip?

Answer: The Men.  

And the culture.  And the cars.  But mostly ~ it’s the men.

 

Why are Men in Cuba So Special?

Let me give you an example.  There’s a waterfront nightclub in Havana called 1830 ~ a great place to salsa dance pretty much any night of the week.  And here’s what it looks like on a Tuesday: the place is packed, everyone’s on their feet, men ask you to dance with zero hesitation (they’re very confident in Cuba).  And they dance so well, with so much passion and intensity ~ you’ll be wondering what the hell you’ve been doing with all your free time (Netflix?!) and why you can barely keep up with them.  

You will feel like a woman again.

And you want to know the best part?  NO ONE is on their phone.  Wi-Fi is so shitty in Cuba, it actually forces people to be in the moment.  In this day and age, that’s nothing short of a revelation.

Contrast this with a Vegas EDM show.  Everyone’s got their cell phones out: they’re Snap-Chatting, taking selfies, posting to Instagram, swiping right, texting, looking up Trip Advisor reviews (hard to believe, but I’ve seen it)….you name it.  In the States, we love our phones and apps and YouTube videos and you name it.  

We love being…DISTRACTED.

And what’s the problem with that?  What price are we paying, in the States, for our near-addiction to technology?

When you go to Cuba, the answer will caress your lips, whisper softly in your ear, then smack you in the face with full-frontal clarity: we’re missing the human connection.  We’re striving for connection via our phones.  Meanwhile, when we actually make connections in real life, a lot of us don’t know what the hell to do.

Because we’re afraid of the intimacy of the moment, as my friend Nina has so eloquently written about in this post about our trip ~ including juicy details our sexy salsa lessons…

 

The Men in Cuba Love to Dance…

In Cuba, if you’re a woman, you will FEEL like a woman when you walk down the street.  Men will really LOOK at you. Yes, you’ll hear some catcalls.  But for the most part, my friends and I agreed: there was a different quality to the men’s attention in Cuba ~ different from anywhere else we’ve traveled.

Here’s the best way I can explain it: imagine how much time the men in Cuba have spent to restore and keep their beautiful, vintage cars running.  That requires love, care, and attention.  Contrast that to the States where, when things stop working ~ we simply get rid of them.  Whether it’s cars, appliances, or phones ~ why fix the old one?!  We can usually find a newer, better, cheaper one more easily.

But this disposable attitude has, in some ways, transferred to our attitudes toward people as well.  What is Tinder, after all?  Don’t like that person?  No problem!  Swipe left and move on.  There’s always someone new to be viewed.  Technology has made it easier for us to “dispose” of people ~ quickly, without hassle.

Now, I don’t know if Tinder exists in Cuba.  As slow as their Wi-Fi is, I’m guessing the answer is no.  But even if it did, the disposable mindset doesn’t seem to have permeated their culture yet.  They savor things.  From the sway of a woman’s hips as she walks down the street, to the gleam of a Cadillac’s polished cherry hood: attention is paid.  It’s not as easy for Cubans to dispose of things.  Therefore, they must care for what they have.  

And when you’re a woman, held in the arms or the gaze of a Cuban man, you feel this.

 

Why Cuba is Your Next Girl’s Trip

It didn’t matter if the men in Cuba were young or old.  Most exuded something we couldn’t quite name….a supreme confidence, a protectiveness, and perhaps above all: the sense that they were a MAN.  

Which then of course made us feel like, WOMEN.

Oddly enough, this isn’t always the case in the States.  Particularly in Vegas, where the general vibe of men, particularly those in bachelor party “wolf-packs,” leans more towards douche than gentleman.  (Sorry, guys: I love you, but in Vegas ~ you tend to forget your manners!)  Even if a guy’s not being a douche, I think that American men like to appear that they don’t care much.  They can take it or leave it.  This concept perfectly melds with the Tinder mentality.  

The American male, I believe, has come to equate not caring, with being masculine.  At least in Vegas.

But the irony is: the men in Cuba DO care, so much, about cars, about music, and about women.  And how does that feel, to a woman?  To us, it felt like the essence of masculinity.  Because the essence of masculinity, is actually focused, unwavering, attention.  

That, is true power.

And it’s about a thousand times more powerful than being distracted.  Or pretending not to care.

What you’ll discover in Cuba, as a woman ~ is how good it feels to simply be a woman.  Because part of the problem in the States lies with us too.  More and more, we women are leaning more towards our masculine sides.  We, too, can easily dispose of things, and of relationships.  We are independent.  We make our own money.  We don’t “need” men anymore, at least, not in the ways women used to.  Most of my female friends in Portland, in fact, make more money than their husbands.

How far we’ve come.

And yet, Cuba reminded us of one simple thing: that it feels pretty f&cking great to be a woman.  

And that it often takes the contrast of a true man to make us feel that way.

And all of that feels about a million times better than being distracted.

Because it reminds us who we are.  We were never intended to be disposable.  We weren’t designed to be beholden to technology.  

We aren’t robots…yet.

We are, after all: human.  And we, my fellow sisters and I, are women.  Glorious, red-blooded, fully-realized, intricate, strong, ripe with sensuality, and wondrously complicated…WOMEN.  In an increasingly technical, hyper politically-correct, homogenized world, filled with strip centers and all sorts of modern “progress” ~ we don’t always feel this way.

But Cuba made us feel that way.

Thank You, Cuba

xoxo Noelia