Travel Diary of a Freemason in Cuba.

By Bro. Luca Scarpelli - Florence, Italy

(Reprinted with permission)

Cuba is a beautiful country to visit, not because of monuments and churches, of which is not particularly rich, but for the people who live there and the ambiance. The Cuban people are poor, but live their poverty with dignity, without begging or whining in front of the tourist who boasts, even if unconsciously, his opulence. The pace of life is slow, inconceivable to us stressed Europeans, always chasing the time which is never enough, but after a few days, when you begin to empathize with that lifestyle, you realize how relaxing it is. The Cubans love life even though they have little to enjoy it with; they are friendly, quick to friendship, of easy smile and always ready to joke. And then, all they need is a just bit of music to celebrate.

It is also a country that is changing, now living in the contradiction of a dual market: one official of the socialist government, in pesos, for the Cubans, and the other in dollars, for tourists and those who live on tourism. It is not unusual to find a doctor or an engineer (whose maximum salary in their profession was $35 per month) who have left their profession to work as taxi drivers or waiters, allowing them to earn ten times that amount.

This not only is creating a dichotomy in the economic life of the population and a contradiction for the type of regime that exists in the country, but is also creating an underworld of people who, living from tourism, tries to make the most of the tourists with methods not always transparent, and sometimes even with very fraudulent methods.

Cuba is also a country where many women seek the company of the tourist, who doesn't need to look for them, as they look for you and often do not even ask for money. It is sufficient for them to be able to live just for a few days the "luxurious" life of the tourist, a life that otherwise they could not ever afford, collecting the crumbs that fall from your wallet. And they are young, sometimes too damn young.

But Cuba has another characteristic, unique in the world: it is the only socialist country where thirty thousand Masons live and are tolerated.

The Masonic Home in Havana is located at No. 508 Avenue Salvador Allende and is a great eleven-story palace topped by a globe with square and compass. If we exclude the modern Hotels, it is probably the tallest building in the capital. Masonic symbols and commemorative plaques at the entrance clearly indicate it belong to the institution of Freemasonry.

On the top floor is the office of Grand Secretary - Francisco E. Fernandez – who welcomes us (me and a brother in my Lodge who accompanies me on this trip) with great cordiality, and then introduces us to the Grand Master - José Manuel Collera Vento - with whom we speak at length of Cuban and Italian Freemasonry. If I remember correctly, he said that he was once in our country.

The Masonic Home also has a museum, which unfortunately we can not see because is closed, and a well furnished library that is open to the secular world. Before leaving we expressed the desire to attend a ritual meeting and the Grand Secretary gave us an appointment for the following evening. It is recommended to us to dress very casual - pants and shirt - not only for the high temperature that we face, but mainly because in the Lodge that will host us many brothers are poor and cannot afford suit and tie, and therefore, in order not to embarrass them, it was decided that our attire should be very informal.

The Lodge hosting us is the Soles de Martì. Besides us there were also as guests a French brother and a brother from Barbados. The Venerable Master is a young man of about thirty, fair-skinned, while the Speaker, also sitting in the East, is an old colored man with long white whiskers. The Temple is a large room well furnished, but the temperature is really hellish. We made the acquaintance of a brother from Montevideo working in Cuba and now an Honorary Member of the Lodge. When he saw my apron boarded in red (the Cuban's apron has blue trims) he told me that in Uruguay the trims of the apron are also red, on account to the influence of Garibaldi.

Due to my very little knowledge of Spanish I was not able to understand the differences in the ritual opening of the Lodge, which was shorter and simpler than in Italy, but I was impressed by the fact that they recite the ritual by heart, without the use of any manual. After opening the Holy Book, the national anthem is played on an old tape recorder and all our Cuban brethren salute the Cuban flag.

There are about thirty brothers in the lodge and at least one third of them dark-skinned; many are young, most are dressed in trousers and short-sleeved shirt, but some wear shirts that we would only wear to the beach. Many are also the "laggards", who are allowed to enter the lodge according to ritual. I was impressed by the fact that after such entry, the Worshipful Master descends from the East and greets them shaking their hands on the Level. One brother goes around the lodge distributing fans (with the stamp of the Lodge) and everyone flaps away to mitigate the heat. I too, with great satisfaction, keep likewise busy.

As I said I do not know Spanish and many pieces of the ensuing ritual work remain obscure, but I understand perfectly when an appeal for the collection of certain drugs is read. As many of you know drugs in Cuba are almost impossible to find (except in well stocked pharmacies for tourists!) especially because of the embargo imposed by the USA. Is it really possible that the International Masonry can't do anything against this infamy? I am a doctor and I can not help but think with sadness at the scandalous waste of medicines that occurs in my country.

When the list of requests for initiation is read I am astonished: the applications are so numerous and the reading lasts so long that it becomes almost exhausting. Only the name, age and profession of the applicants knocking at the Temple are disclosed; there are some doctors, lawyers and civil servants, but the vast majority is workers, students, clerks. And here's a new surprise! One brother goes around distributing paper glasses and then another brother passes filling them with hot coffee, which I particularly enjoyed.

Finally it is time to say goodbye. The brother who accompanied me is a Fellow-Craft in my lodge and has the great merit of knowing Spanish but, having the higher rank, it is my duty to speak, while he simultaneously translates my words. I had prepared a speech more articulate, but I limited it to bringing fraternal greetings from my lodge and all Italian Freemasonry, particularly trying to emphasize the feeling of brotherhood that I spontaneously feel for these unfortunate brothers of ours. At the end, almost dashing, I hug and kiss the Worshipful Master. I do not know if this is done here, but by the smiles all around I realized that the gesture was greatly appreciated.

The Speaker speaks, but I do not understand a word. In return we try to be very generous with the "Tronco della Vedova" [*]. On closing, the scratchy-sounding tape recorder delivers the Masonic Anthem and everyone salutes the Flag of the Institution. We hang around a bit longer: we want to make a donation to the Masonic Asylum (a hospice for old Masons run by the Cuban Freemasons) and once again we try to be generous.

We also ask if they would like a twinning between my Lodge and the Soles de Martì Lodge: in addition to cultural exchanges we could also make the commitment to send packages of medicines from time to time. It does not take long to realize that the proposal is very welcome and they tell us that we will get a list of most needed drugs.

We stop to talk a little with the brother from Montevideo: he tells us that the Lodges in Cuba work every week without summer break. I do not know whether to admire their hard work or be ashamed of our poor one. He says that Masonry is generally appreciated in Cuba and not only because in the past has actively fought for independence and against corrupt regimes, but also because being a Mason is considered indicative of righteousness and a sign of distinction. He finally concludes that the position our Cuban Brothers hold toward the current Socialist government is not uniform: some appreciate the work done by Castro, others condemn him. I propose to investigate these issues on some specific text.

We are sitting under the porch of the Masonic Home while waiting for the driver of the car we rented to pick us up. We are famished, because we thought a dinner would follow at the end of the work [as it is the custom in Italy], but we are told that it is not the custom here, because none of the Cuban brethren can afford to go to a restaurant, even a modest one. While we are talking, a limping old man stops leaning on his cane and asks if we are Venetians. No, we reply, we are Italians, but from Florence. He is an old Mason, we talk a bit about Freemasonry and a bit about Italy, then he limps away, but after a few steps he comes back: "You see", he says, "I'm an old poet and my head and my legs are no longer good. Now with much difficulty I go back home, which is far away, but if I could, I would love to fly with you to embrace all the Italian brothers." Perhaps the spirit of Cuban Masonry is all in the words of that venerable old Mason.

A few days later we are on the road: we left Havana because we want to discover a little of the rest of the island; we pass through a small village of which I don't even remember the name and was struck by the sight of a building with Masonic insignia. We stop and we walk to the entrance, the door is open and with a little hesitancy we enter. The building is dilapidated, we hear the noise of ongoing work; in the hall are some seats that once were two armchairs and two pieces of furniture falling apart, containing old books of various topics. We call out asking for permission to enter, the noise stops and a man covered in plaster dust appears. He is a Mason, member of that village Lodge.

He explains that the building is unusable and has been so since a long time, but for lack of money they cannot restore it, except by voluntary labor. He shows us the Temple: a bare room with a few rickety chairs; most of the "furniture" is missing and is painted directly on the walls; in a bucket are collected the aprons. We say goodbye and we leave with much dismay in our hearts.

The time to depart has arrived. From the plane I watch the Island fading away. It was a wonderful journey, but a certain melancholy pervades my soul. The Cubans have not been a lucky people: they fought for independence; have endured corrupt regimes; for nearly half a century are governed by a socialist system that, while achieving great social reforms, has limited their freedom and ended up preventing their economic development. And on that island live thirty thousand Masons who, against many difficulties and hardships, persist in working for the welfare and progress of humanity – Of all Humanity.


See you soon Cuba, I promise.

* * * * * *
* Translator's note:

"Tronco della Vedova", in Cuban Masonry called "Saco de Beneficencia", is a pouch made of black cloth, circulated among the brethren by the Almoner for the collection of money before closing the lodge. Protocol requires the brethren to deposit their donations inside the pouch with a closed fist, so that the amount is not advertised. On exiting the pouch the hand is open to show that nothing is taken from it. A brother unable to attend the meeting but wishing to donate will charge an attending brother to deposit his donation in his stead. It is somewhat hilarious (for a foreigner) to hear names shouted out loud during the almoner's collection. These are the names of the brethren who couldn't attend the meeting but attended to the call of Charity nevertheless.


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