Cuba 2025

it’s a wrap!

Kiona here!

I’m finally back in the land of the developing world. Where food is abundant, electricity is on 24/7, water flows from the faucet. It’s amazing how much basic necessities weigh on your mind, body, and soul when you do not have access to them. Although I think what is worse, at least in the case of Cuba, is having access to them, but then having it periodically taken away from you without notice. It’s a form of torture.

You don’t notice the stress it causes not being able to plan your day because you don’t know what problem the new day will bring. I found myself unable to sleep in Cuba because I didn’t know what I would wake up to.

Will I have water when I wake up?

Can I brush my teeth?

Can I shower?

If I open my eyes will the AC still be on?

Can I make a coffee? Or should I get dressed to get a coffee on the street?

Will I have cell phone service today?

Is my team calling me right now?

What did I miss?

Often, I would lie in bed, not wanting to open my eyes and face the day because I knew there would be a slew of problems awaiting me, but the thing I love most about the Reroot Cuba Team is that we are solution finders. Professionals, actually. The best to exist. The way everyone activates to solve problems before clients even notice is our best attribute. But still, it weighed on me and I can’t even imagine what it feels like for my team who lives under this full time.

I could feel them feel the stress of it all, too. I could see it in Ernesto’s eyes. Darting. Often lost. Almost scared. “Is something wrong?” I would think to myself. He’s been a guide for 30 years and this past trip, he got lost in Havana. A city he knows like the back of his hand. I’m worried for him. Is the stress of Cuba finally making him crack?

Then my logistics lead, Daniel, didn’t come home until 1AM. Staying out on the streets looking for gasoline for his motorcycle and cellphone minutes to buy me. Cubans are currently restricted to buying only around 350 pesos worth of cell phone data and if I wanted to upload stories daily or send video to my clients, there goes all my gigs in 5 days and I had 2 more days to go. So out into the street he went to ask people if they could pass me their leftover gigs for triple the price. I tried to stay up and wait for him to come home out of solidarity but I was so tired, and the day was so hot.

Good thing I waited because he would talk non-stop. I often wanted to cover my ears. First because he talks like a Habanero- so fast! Spanish is not my first language and Habaneros barely finish their words, so I have to concentrate on them deeply and my mind was so saturated with thoughts and worries. But also, I realized that he doesn’t talk in his house. He says he feels ashamed to tell his wife about all the problems he faces because he’s a MAN and his job was to FIX problems not to bring them. So here I was playing psychologist to men, like I do on my construction site, like I do for my boyfriends, like I do for my team.

“I need a therapist after this”, I thought to myself.

Then there was the not knowing when I would see my team next. If they would have enough donations of toothpaste, menstrual supplies, vitamins, diapers, and other necessities to last them the next 6 months. I was augmenting their pay these trips for them to be able to last. As well as the impending doom of WWIII possibly igniting while we were in Cuba and wondering if the airport would be closed and would we be trapped in Cuba with clients. Due to the U.S. blockade preventing all bank transactions, I only had a limited amount of cash to tie us over, so I kept refreshing the news to see if Iran indeed retaliated on U.S. soil just to make sure as I looked at the amount of cash we had on hand, and it was shrinking by the day.

All this mounting pressure, my team not their normal selves, and then on top of it all, we had two brand new itineraries that we were testing out and of course they would be happening right now. But we are Reroot and pushing the boundaries is what we do. So, here’s a wrap-up of our final experiences in Cuba.

Cuba 2.0

you gotta live it!

Cuba 2.0 is an itinerary I designed to teach a deeper understanding of Cuban realities. It’s not something I would ever offer to people who had never been to Cuba. Cuba is not for the weak, but I can make it look pretty for you and give you some baseline understanding of what is going on around you in the OG Cuba Educational Tour. Cuba 2.0? Nah, you gotta live it.

Our first class was Cuban Cooking Class, but not just any cooking class. Each student was assigned a Cuban government salary that matched their assigned Cuban counterpart. One Cuban was a guide, so he earns a government salary of 340 pesos Cubanos or the equivalent of US$1 A MONTH. Our other Cuban team member is a teacher, and she earns a government salary of 5000 pesos Cubanos or the equivalent of around US$15 A MONTH. So, I gave each student their assigned salary, a list of ingredients, and off they go to the streets! Where they in real time learn how far a Cuban salary will take them in real life.

Spoiler alert: you can’t get far.

I think they bought onions - that’s about it. Even if you have money, many times you can’t find a lot of items. Like meat.

Luckily, we pre-bought everything for them knowing they wouldn’t be able to find much and cooked a delicious meal to share in our house. That was just ONE MEAL. To say it was impactful is an understatement. It became the basis of which the students operated on moving forward for the rest of their trip.

BARRIO CHINO

Our next class was an entire day learning about the LAST CHINESE IN CUBA. I had made this itinerary a year ago. Since then, the teachers of this story have passed away, leaving me, the one and only person left with the full knowledge of their story as I shot my documentary on these people.

I had never taught a class before on my trips. I am a professor by trade and by heart. I LOVE teaching. It’s my favorite thing to do. However, to teach on a subject matter of which I do not share an identity on, and I had two dead men’s legacies on my hands? I was scared. I wasn’t about to have these spirits come haunt me for fucking up and saying the wrong thing. Hell no! I don’t play that. I’m scared of the ancestors.

So, I studied. I read their entire textbook. Then I read it again. I jotted down notes. Outlined my points. Refreshed in the morning before class started and carried the book with me in my purse just in case, I didn’t memorize a fact. But actually –I mean maybe the clients would say differently–I thought I did a decent job.

Even my guides were like “WHAT! I HAD NO IDEA!” as I was telling the story and showing them landmarks. “I’VE BEEN A GUIDE ALL MY LIFE AND HAVE NEVER COME HERE. I NEVER KNEW THAT. I DIDN’T KNOW THIS EXISTED!” they would tell me. I think that excited me most- to tell Cubans about this lost history because it is SO important and yet so buried, but right in front of your face if you know what you’re looking at.

Seeing them use chopsticks for the first time as we sat down for lunch in Barrio Chino was both a shame and a delight. Wow, I’m a horrible Asian person, I thought to myself. How have I known them for so many years and this is the first time they’re eating Asian food and with chopsticks.

MATANZAS

art of Apagones

Our next class was in the city of Matanzas where we would spend the next 3 days in rolling 20-hour black outs. No electricity. No cell phone service. Power generators blasting in your ears. You can’t even have a meal without having to shout over the hum of the motors providing electricity to make food. Again, not an itinerary I would ever give to a first time Cuba visitor.

We visited the slave castle where most Cuban slaves entered, rebelled, fought, and were killed. Then went to meet the descendants of those who lived and went onto win Grammy awards for their musical performances of Rumba, a Cuban dance originating from enslaved peoples and their descendants. Then the next day we took a much-needed break in Cuba’s best beach: Varadero. No explanation needed, just look at the pictures.

No electricity, no problem. We’ll just go to the beach!

Finally, our last day was onto a city tour and an art class at the end called APAGONES. Ernesto, our long-time guide, friend, dad, translator, etc. has started making an art piece every time there is an apagon or black out. Which basically means every day. In our donations, we give him all our art supplies so he can continue his craft.

These art pieces are always in the form of a circle, and he explains his concept before clients get right to making their own as they must face their own psychology while they sit in the darkness with no electricity and are made to draw and paint. Ironically, there was an apagon so we sat in the heat, on the floor, and sweat as we created these pieces of art and faced with our own selves under these circumstances.

I left that trip with a bit of hope. The clients said they were really walking away with something special. I don’t know if they were lying to me to make me feel good. Like would they tell me if it was a piece of shit itinerary? Like “da fuck, bitch, I paid to not have electricity. Your shit is trash!” But I felt we performed to the best of our ability and it was impactful, albeit in a different way than our first Cuba itinerary.

SEMANA DE DANZA

The following week we hosted SEMANA DE DANZA or a Week of Dance. I won’t go over this itinerary as I’m sure you can imagine what that consists of, but what stood out to me were the people who chose to take this itinerary instead of the Cuba Educational Tour.

The people who stood out to me the most was a couple who took this trip because they wanted to learn how to dance because they had never danced together before despite being together for ELEVEN YEARS. The way I saw the wife excited to embrace the experience but the husband a bit skeptical made me feel all kinds of pressure, but you know what was the most beautiful thing out of all of this? I would see him practice by himself. Even after the music stopped still practicing his footwork. Asking for help. Participating in every single dance activity I threw at them even though he could have been embarrassed, he was very obviously the most novice of them all, and he just threw himself fully into it. Then, one day at dinner, the couple disappeared from the table, and I asked where they went. Only to find them dancing bachata quietly in a corner away from everyone in their own private moment. Mission accomplished.

The other two ladies on the trip were a hoot! One had been with us so many times that this was her FIFTH Reroot Trip. Like I wish I did discounts so I could offer her a VIP membership or some shit. Should she be our mascot? Brand ambassador? Just kidding, we have quite a few people like that who are dedicated Rerooters. They’re like family at this point. We know what they like and don’t like and are here to please because we love them.

So, I wasn’t really worried about her or if she would enjoy it. People like her ARE the party. They bring the vibes. It’s funny because on her first trip I swear she didn’t say a word and her facial expression never changed so I thought she hated the trip until she posted about it online with such excitement and I was like, SHE SPEAKS?! Since then, all of us have followed her and we know she’s in love with Pitbull and calls him her husband, likes to crochet but fucks up and doesn’t’ buy enough yarn so finishes things halfway, and loves to dance. Her presence is a blessing and it was super fun watching her dance.

The final attendee was a quiet one and as seen above, the quiet ones are the most dangerous cause they pack punches you would never expect. Sure enough this one did not disappoint. She brought XL Magnum condoms as her donations and Daniel was like “DID YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THOSE THINGS! SHE MUST BE HOT FOR SEX.” I won’t comment on whether she was or wasn’t, but her jokes that she would make just barely above a whisper hinted at her very active imagination and opinion on pleasure and I always looked forward to what she would say when she would choose to speak, even though it wasn’t often.

I left that trip with direction. Things on the itinerary I want to change, dances I want to focus on, and people I want to work with in the future. The dance world is vast in Cuba and a world I’m not super a part of. So, this itinerary was refreshing and a learning experience for me as well. But honestly, I would 100% run it again without hesitation because it was so much fun. I think dance naturally gives you dopamine, so everyone left that week on a high. Except, maybe me and my team as this will be the last time we see each other for a while.

CLOSING OFF 2025

Cuba left me with chaotic energy and as I write this newsletter sitting on the airplane heading back home to El Salvador, I’m glad to be going to a place to ground. So much happened in the past two weeks, so many emotions, so many lessons, so many thoughts that I need time to process. Let alone this is all piggybacking off of Hawai’i and Korea which I still haven’t put down in words.

So as Reroot gets set to hunker down for the next 6 months due to Trump policy changes, we will only be running El Salvador trips (because I will be there for the rest of the year) and in 2026 we are focusing on Hawai’i our domestic trip offering to avoid any policy changes. I’m excited and nervous to see what the next 6 months will bring as this will be the first time REROOT is not actively doing any marketing for our trips because the future is unknown. Will our business survive into 2026? We don’t know, to be honest. But that’s another newsletter.

Click below for our final offerings of 2025 and I’ll tell you the rest in person! Tata for now!