Princeton University Athletics
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Track & Field Blog from Cuba - Day 2
June 19, 2015 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Day 2 Video
Day 2
Today was a packed day full of different activities. First up was a meeting with the Cuban Institute for Friendship with Peoples (ICAP) on Cuban/USA relations and the opinion on one of its members.At breakfast we met some Princeton alumni! They were having a reunion in Cuba and had special events planned throughout their time there. How ironic! It was great to talk to them and they were super pleased to see their alma mater representing the US as the first University track team to visit Cuba.
From there we headed to the other side of Havana to a sports school. There we met with the head of the school on how athletes are originally selected, what the training is like and what expectations there are of the athletes. There were four female athletes there that we were able to exchange with, in terms of what a typical day is like, what they plan on doing after school, etc.
It was funny to hear our coaches ask about how we can get some of them to come to University in the US, and they asked the same thing of us – "how can we get some Americans to come to school here in Cuba?!"
The athletes live right there at the school and just a short walk away is their training facility – which was the site of the 1991 PanAmerica games. Our tour guide explained to us how important the event was to Cubans, so many people came out to help build the facilities prior to the Games. When we arrived there were five members of the school practicing jumps. We challenged some of them to a “jump off”. Some hammer throwers were just completing their practice so it was good to be able to exchange some information with them as well. It was just a great experience to talk to the Cubans student-athletes on their experiences.
Afterwards we went to lunch at another paladar and then we went off into three different groups to three different locations – since there are 77 of us. One group went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, a second group went to the Muraleando Community Project and a third group went to the Literacy Museum. The Muraleando group seemed to have the best time. They were met by Victor who explained that where this art center is is the former site of a dumping ground, and a water tower. There they bring in children from the school and teach them art, ceramics, etc. They have revitalized the neighborhood with their art installations and just one art project has been vandalized in the 20 years it has been there. The neighborhood really takes pride in the area and what has been done to beautify it. We also had the opportunity to hear some music by the artists there and were invited to dance along with some children. Following we saw some art exhibits and were able to purchase items from the artists directly. The entire center is self-sufficient and without government involvement.
We returned to the hotel to get dressed up for dinner and followed by a performance of Opera de la Calle. We drove from the dinner to the opera in old fashioned American cars, that are prevalent all over Cuba. It was great to be in a 1950s Chevy with the top down, Cuban music playing as we headed to the street opera.
The performance was fantastic, as they presented songs in Spanish, English Italian and French and had some great dancing as well. There were some songs we instantly recognized by Queen and Beatles. Afterwards we took the cars back to the hotel where we ended the night.
Q&A with Kennedy O'Dell and Vic Youn
What was your favorite part of the day?
Kennedy: The performance. The Opera de la Calle. It was amazing.
Vic: Definitely, the same. It was pretty good.
What was something you learned about Cuba that you didn't know before today?
Kennedy: Cubans listen to and perform all types of music. We heard French, Italian, English and Spanish tonight in the performance. I didn't realize how diverse things were, in terms of music.
Vic: I definitely learned a lot at the meeting we had this morning with ICAP. I knew we had an embargo but he went into good detail on how it affected Cuba, so I didn't much about that.
Kennedy: I also didn't know that reparations were part of the Cuban talks, for the embargo, and how much money it cost Cuba. So I think that was an interesting thing to find out – that they've calculated that.
What was your favorite part of the Opera?
Kennedy: “Somebody to Love.” When it came on I freaked out. And Connor [Martin] was behind me and gave me some grief for that but I was really excited cause I love that song and they did an amazing job.
Vic: You were jumping out of your seat!
Kennedy: I WAS jumping out of my seat. It was a great time.
Vic: Mine was probably Bohemian Rhapsody. I have a soft part in my heart for that song.
What was the best thing you ate today?
Kennedy: Oh the ceviche and both restaurants with corn and a weird vinegary, lemony sauce. It was amazing and so good.
Vic: Mine was probably the flan. I've never tried it before but it was amazing.
What are you most looking forward to seeing in the next couple days?
Kennedy: The beach! Oh my gosh! I'm from Kansas so I don't se the ocean that much. I'm really, really, really excited to see the beach. They make fun of me cause I'm from Kansas but I don't care, I still get excited when I see the ocean.
Vic: I'm excited to see a good gym to be honest (laughing).