24 hours with Pablo Antonio Rodr?guez Vidal
Our man from Havana
Plumber, painter and practical man
In many ways, Pablo Antonio Rodr?guez Vidal epitomises our common perception of an ambassador. He’s elegant, charming and educated, but there are not many ambassadors who will proudly show you their bathroom and enthusiastically tell you how they plumbed the loo in themselves. He is rightly proud of the fact that he is a practical man. He makes no secret of the fact that Cuba is not a rich country, how it struggles still with the US embargo and if something needs to be done he is very happy to roll up his sleeves and do it. Not your typical spoilt diplomat, then. “If I can do it for myself, I will,” he says, a product of a society that rightly values manual skills as well as intellectual ones, respecting everyone’s contribution, however humble.
It’s a 24/7 job for the Cuban Ambassador and one where, again for economic reasons, the Cuban government sends “two for the price of one”. His able second in command is also his wife. He says he’s tougher on her than he would be on any one else working for him. But he smiles. “I am the boss here, she is the boss at home”. The seven-hour time difference with Havana means that his day starts early and ends late. He rarely gets to bed before the small hours of the morning.
There are long and traditional links between Cyprus and Cuba, as part of the non-aligned movement. Cuba has no formal representation in Israel but Vidal also takes care of the 1,000 Cuban citizens living there, which means that Sunday becomes a working day too.
It’s obvious that his deep love for his country goes beyond mere formalities. On the wall of his office next to his family photos is a shot of Fidel Castro. On the bookcase, there are pictures of Che Guevara. Pablo believes that there are alternative ways to run societies without rampant capitalism and it’s clear that Castro has been a massive influence on his life – he is almost a father figure for a boy brought up in a family of six by a mother determined to educate her children. Although he admits that Cuba has got its economic and social problems he is still proud of a system that sets about redistributing wealth: “The balance in the world is too unequal, it is not healthy he argues to have only one superpower.”
And what will happen, I ask, when Castro dies? I am surprised to see his eyes moisten. “Everyone in Cuba will have lost the man they love most,” he replies. He believes there will be little change in direction; the way to remember their beloved leader will be to continue his vision.
Trained originally in international law in Moscow, he has been a lecturer, arbiter and, most recently, the Legal Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cuba. This is his first role as an Ambassador. Is he enjoying the job? “When I get enough sleep, I do”.
He will often attend two or three functions a night before settling down to correspond with his colleagues in Cuba. A smoker, he tells me that the famous Cuban cigars are very popular here in Cyprus. Not their biggest importer, that is Spain, but the highest number are smoked here per head of population: 1.5 per person a year. Somebody, somewhere in Cyprus is smoking a lot of Havanas.
Cuba is increasingly exploiting its beauty as a tourist destination and trying to attract a different, rather more sedate type of tourist. Recently they have introduced year-long visas for people of “the third age”, mainly Canadian senior citizens who can go and enjoy the good climate and get free health care. Health care is a proud export of Cuba, they give free medical training in the International School of Medicine to foreign students who can not afford to train in their own countries.
How does he end his day? “Painting”. Next to his bedroom he has created a studio for his large canvasses. They are good and I assume he must have been trained. But he tells me that he is totally self-taught. He has won prizes in Cuba for his sculptures. He is an unusual man, full of humanity, creative, more than a professional diplomat. He is an ambassador for a political system that many would try to destroy but that at least, in one man, has produced someone with warmth and compassion, without bitterness but still with a strong sense of mission. “I am convinced capitalism is not the way to live, we must share”.
It’s impossible not to be drawn by his enthusiasm for politics and art. “The most important thing is to be honest in every aspect of your life”. Hard to doubt that he is not.
