Havana - A song, both humorous and poignant, about Cuban migrants has become one of the most popular hits on the communist island, illustrating a change in the attitude of locals towards those who decide to leave. The song Gozando en La Habana, which can be translated as "enjoying myself in Havana," by David Calzado and his Charanga Habanera is about a young girl who goes off to Miami. But once there, she calls her boyfriend in Cuba to talk about how much she misses her country.
"She says she has money, the car she always dreamed of, but she cannot find in Miami what she left in Havana," the song goes.
The abandoned boyfriend then teases the girl: "You are crying in Miami and I'm enjoying myself in Havana."
For months, Gozando en La Habana has been the most listened to and danced to song in Cuba. Circulated widely on CDs, tapes and even pen drives, it can be heard on Cuba's state radio and television even though it touches on a thorny issue. It is rare to find a young person who doesn't know all the words.
"We have managed to create a phenomenon and it is becoming an anthem of Cuban youth," Calzado told the German Press Agency dpa. He said the song became such a huge hit because many Cubans can identify with the story.
For Calzado, there are no political connotations. But he admits that the song mentions Miami, rather than Paris or Madrid, because it is a stronghold for Cuban exiles. In the 50-year history since the revolution led by Fidel Castro in Cuba, tens of thousands of migrants have settled in the US city after managing to leave the island for political or economic reasons.
Until recently, Cuban authorities considered those exiles as the worst criminals, enemies of the state and imperialists. "Gusanos," or worms, was a common insult used to refer to them.
But Havana's outlook on migrants has changed. Legislation has become more flexible, and Cubans who work abroad and send money to their families back home are now an important economic factor for the island. Some studies consider those remittances as Cuba's top source of foreign currency, even above tourism.
"Why do you cry, if it is thanks to you that I was able to buy my computer," the boy in the song tells his girlfriend in Spanish.
Still, Cuban legislation continues to discourage leaving. Even for short trips, Cubans need an exit permit, including a letter of invitation from their foreign host. The entire process costs more than 300 dollars, which is a massive burden for Cubans who on average earn less than 20 dollars a month.
The exit permit is usually granted if the time-consuming paperwork is completed and the relevant fees are paid. Cuban authorities now allow entire families to leave at one time, something they would reject in the past.
There has been a sea change in migration from Cuba. The country has come a long way from past mass waves of emigrants - the last of them in September 1994. At that time, Cuba was facing extreme hardship, which included protests against the government in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet bloc that was Cuba's main trade partner.
Castro allowed those who were "most upset" to go, and for an entire month the coast guard remained passive as 30,000 Cubans went out to sea in makeshift vessels, in the hope of reaching Florida. It was the crisis of the "balseros," those who went to sea in a "balsa" or raft.
The United States grants refugee status to any Cuban who arrives on its territory, as long as they make it to shore. If the person is intercepted by the US Coast Guard, he or she is sent back to Cuba, in line with the so-called "wet foot, dry foot policy."
The law was left unchanged in the wake of the events of 1994, which claimed many lives. But Washington agreed to grant up to 20,000 visas per year - compared to 5,000 per year until then - to Cubans, to promote more orderly migration. Most of those visas are given out in a lottery.
Nowadays, Cubans who leave the island in precarious boats are an exception, although there are still some cases.
Calzado insists that he is not "a blind man who says everything is fine." But he claims that he never thought of leaving - not even in 1997, when he got into trouble with the authorities after his band flew over the audience in a helicopter during a concert.
"We were banned for six months, because (the authorities) understood that was ostentation. Not even at that time, when it looked like they were going to ban the Charanga forever, did I think about leaving," he says of his band.
Calzado notes that, in his travels, he has not found perfection in advanced countries either.
"In the most developed countries, where you have one thing, you lack another. In the face of imperfections, I'd rather stay in my home environment, where I feel that the atmosphere is just what I need," he says.
