A group of students and faculty from a small Berkshire high school recently returned from a place not too far away, but largely unknown to a majority of Americans.
Sonia Cintrón was among a group of five students and three teachers from the Great Barrington Waldorf High School in Stockbridge who spent 15 days in Cuba.
“She asked me last summer, ‘How would you like to go to Cuba?” Cintrón recalled. “My reply was when do I go?”
Cintrón, a Spanish teacher and native of Puerto Rico, was approached by Andrea Panaritis about a potential trip to the island nation. Panaritis is the executive director of the Christopher Reynolds Foundation, an agency aimed at strengthening U.S.-Cuba relations.
“I think that what the average American thinks about Cuba is probably still related frankly to the Cuban Revolution, maybe Fidel [Castro], cigars, and some bygone era of casinos and bars,” said Panaritis.
Panaritis says the U.S. trade and visiting embargo on its neighbor 90 miles to the south restricts American access to things like vaccines created in Cuba used around the globe, not to mention the cultural and economic opportunities developing there after decades of communism.
“Some folks say that the embargo on Cuba is bad for Cubans, it’s also on some levels bad for us,” said Panaritis.
Panaritis’ son Kosta Koufis was one of the students on the trip. The junior says he wanted to learn more about Cuba’s changing political scene.
“It’s a country in a changing state,” Koufis said. “I wanted to go because I thought it would be interesting to see how the people are reacting and using socialism and capitalism to live their lives.”
Traveling across the island’s northwestern and southwestern provinces, the group visited historical places like the site of the infamous U.S.-led Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961. Koufis says what he learned is quite different than what he’s read in U.S. history books.
“They have a lot of anti-American propaganda at the Bay of Pigs so it’s definitely a drastic change from what is taught here,” said Koufis.
Cintrón says it was important for her students to learn both sides of the story.
“I wanted my students to hear that side of the encounter of the Bay of Pigs,” Cintrón said. “I happened to be alive when it happened and I remember that very well. So for me personally it was a great experience to see their side of the story.”
The trip was allowed as part of a person-to-person educational exchange. The group stayed with Cuban families while visiting an orphanage, creating art with people with Down’s syndrome and working with peers on community projects. Sophomore Annabelle O’Neill says she wanted a chance to do what most in the U.S. can’t.
“They are just like us,” O’Neill said. “They are just trying to find where they want to go in life.”
Koufis says interacting with people his age made the trip that much more enjoyable, especially over a game of baseball.
“I don’t know, I felt like I kept up with them, but on a whole they definitely kicked our butts,” said Koufis.
Faculty chair Stephen Sagarin says the Cuban journey and additional trips to Peru, Columbia and Germany support the school’s slogan: “Small School, Big World.”
“If we want to make the world more peaceful and just, one of the ways we can do that is through cultural exchange and getting to know people in different parts of the world separate from political and economic differences,” said Sagarin.
As for picking up any slang Spanish words or strengthening their skills with the foreign language…O’Neill explains.
“I think I am understanding Spanish a lot better,” O’Neill said. “I don’t know how much better I’m getting at speaking it.”
The community is welcome to join to the group May 12th at Waldorf High School at 7 p.m. toview pictures and discuss the trip.
