Hellenic heartbeat in Cuba

We all hear about Fidel Castro, the Buena Vista Social Club, I saw the band play in London, the Cadillacs and the salsa dancing, even with two left feet it’s still fun. Now I was here, and in a Cuban tuk tuk to take me two miles to Old Habana. Seeing the Caribbean on one side and Cadillacs driving passed, was a dream come true. Yet a few hundred metres into the drive I suddenly asked the driver to stop. Usually, I try to negotiate to drive but today, I negotiated, urgently, to get out.

“Senor, do you really want to walk, I mean, you need a diet more than walking,” was a cheeky exchange. Out of the corner of my eye I had spotted a Greek flag on an apartment building. The driver probably thought I had been to too many salsa parties, as he pulled over.

I wasn’t loco, it was indeed a Greek flag hanging out of a window. I rang the door and spoke to a few passers-by. No one knew anything about the flag until an elderly lady poked her head of an adjacent apartment to explain to me in Spanish that… Well, I couldn’t understand. This was not to be the last time I spotted a Greek flag, as a couple of hotels in Habana fly the flag.

Greeks and Cubans at a Salsa Festival.

I began walking towards Habana. The driver may have been right about a diet but I soon found new amigos including a teacher who was fascinated by my Greece shirt. He left with a copy of my book The Aegean Seven Take Back The Stolen Marbles, as we discussed Greek history.

This is the Habana or Havana as we know it as. People want to chat, have a joke and make you feel welcome.

This is the type of warmth I had been greeted at the airport when Ivan Ernesto Barreto from The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) picked me up. ICAP has engagements with Greece and Australia, and they were lifeline and guide to Cuba. Ivan visited Australia twice and speaks English fluently, he connected me to San Nicolás de Mira Greek Orthodox Cathedral. If I hadn’t already said it, Cubanos are friendly, and the Greek Orthodox priest is no exception. A priest whose heart is wholly and solely dedicated to serving the community and his congregation. Father Nicolás Pérez is someone willing to chat, offer hospitality and is in every sense a Greek, except he is Cuban.

Cuban dignitaries.

Father explained that Cuba has about 30-50 Greeks, with perhaps 15 living in the capital including the Ambassador Theodoros Tsakiris who has a good relationship with the Church. Despite the small number, Hellenism has left its mark thanks to Fidel Castro, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, His Eminence (former) Archbishop Athenagoras of Mexico and of course the supportive locals. Father Nicolás is the Vicar of the Archdiocese of Cuba, which belongs to the Diocese of Mexico, Central America and Caribbean of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Recently the church celebrated the 20th anniversary of its historic opening which was held on 25 January; an incredible moment in Greek Orthodox history as President Castro, who gifted the Church to the Greek Orthodox, and Patriarch Bartholomew who attended the inauguration. A Cuban, a Constantinopolitan and a Greek Orthodox Church, a meeting of three great cultures from three continents.

Fidel and our Patriarch.

Meanders on floors.

Cuban author and former consul who loves Greece.

Random Greek chairs.

Greek flag at a Havana hotel.

Learning Spanish from a local and an Italian.

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Fidel and our Patriarch.

Pictures of the historic occasion adorn an adjacent building. Many Cubans still reminisce the occasion. The Church itself is located close to the harbour and sits in a beautiful ground or park. The Church is a mini Agia Sofia. Breathtaking. It is no wonder people of all persuasions drop in to feel the serenity and spiritualism of Greek Orthodoxy and Cuban warmth.

Father told me in Greek that he was a Catholic growing up, yet he felt that Greek Orthodox was the religion that was truly calling him.

Over a packet of Greek karamelles, Father explains that Greek tourists come to visit almost daily from the diaspora. “I may be a Cubano, but I love Greek culture too, including philosophy. It is like having two homelands.”

At the Cuban bio hub, where they made their Covid vaccine.

Father tells me how in 2025 they are planning to host workshops or a mini conference to promote iconography, Greek language and Byzantium. He would love to see a Greek Film Festival with Spanish subtitles and is open to any Greek festivals who want to reach out to him.

Ivan and Father both point out how similar Greeks and Cubans are, a mutual respect exists. I was shown a book written by former Consul to Greece Jose Oriol Marrero Martinez, who wrote about the synergies of Greek and Cuban heroes. Father once climbed Mt Olympus with the former Consul! Mr Martinez has also led a Cuban delegation to Thermopylae to honour Greek freedom and heroes.

With Ivan Ernesto Barreto and Father Nicolas. All photos: Billy Cotsis

The Greek church.

Church signage.

Photos on the wall at the Greek Church.

Photo on the wall at the Greek Church.

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With Ivan Ernesto Barreto and Father Nicolas. All photos: Billy Cotsis

I met Father twice, including for his regular Sunday services, which seemed to generate interest from many passers-by as well as the usual congregation, which included the architect who helped design the church earlier in the century. Father ensured I was treated like a mini celebrity by introducing me to the congregation. Like all Greek Orthodox adherents I met in Latin America, I was included in the community. Kindness and a genuine engagement is the Latin/Greek way.

How to connect with Father Nicolas.

There are currently no Greek gyradika, hopefully one day that could change with at least one taverna! I did find a number of people who spoke Greek. Father was one and at a downtown shop I visited, the owner only spoke to me in Greek. The owner explained that he had met many Greeks over the years, loved the language and learnt it. At Hotel Nacional I recall an elderly worker approaching me to say, in Greek, you must be Greek! It helps looking like Hercules, or wearing a Greece shirt 24/7. That same shirt drew in Greek visitors at the Salsa Festival.

Havana streets.

Cadillac in Cuba.

Cadillac in Cuba.

Havana streets.

Even at the accommodation in stunning Varadero, two hours out of Havana, the room key card supplied had “καλώς ήρθατε” written on the flip side.

From visiting the tech and bio hub where the Cuban Covid vaccine was made to visiting the Literacy Museum, huge Salsa events to meetings with those who seek to support and implement peace initiatives, Cuba was a learning experience. The Literacy Museum showcases how kids, women and activists educated illiterate countryside people – where else in the world will you find 14-year-old teenage girls teaching elderly how to read and write? It’s a beautiful example of what Cuba is.

Take a Cadillac and you will soon have some great chats about the car and three generations of ownership! It makes you wonder why the USA remains committed to keeping an embargo in place. Cubans have harmed no one. They welcomed Obama like a friend. Yet Congress and Republicans are committed to keeping sanctions in place. I urge my fellow Greeks to ask your elected officials to re-consider removing these barriers to the Western world. The war with the USA ended in 1963 with the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. The Americans were embarrassed, let it go. Cubans are not the enemy!

At a soup kitchen getting a tour.

Meandros on buildings.

At the famous Cuban Arts Factory.

Meeting a singer at the Arts Factory.

At a soup kitchen getting a tour.

Cuba is one of one the most amazing places in the world. A wonderful Greek Orthodox priest, kindhearted people and a nation that has defied Western Imperialism against all odds, it’s time for us in the West to work with Cuba, drop the embargo and solidify our friendships.

You may wish to connect with Father or help the Church: Nicolás Presbítero on Facebook

If you are in Greece and wish to connect with Cuba, try Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP)