Rafael Betancourt is a research consultant for the Canadian Embassy in Cuba and a professor of urban economics and local development at a number of universities in Cuba. Before participating in a discussion on whether the Cuban Revolution failed, he talked about Canadian modesty, American football, and being torn between two countries—and two favorite desserts—in the Zócalo green room.
What word or phrase do you use most often?
It’s actually an expression President Obama used in his December 17 speech [on the opening of Cuba]: “No es fácil.” It isn’t easy. It’s an expression we use all the time when facing difficulties.
Where would we find you at 10 a.m. on a typical Sunday morning?
I would be fixing or eating breakfast with my grandchildren and my daughter and son-in-law, and probably heading off somewhere in Old Havana, or a park or another public space.
Do Canadians understand Cuba better than Americans?
Yes. They’re more modest. They listen more, and they look. And I think that they are more in tune to cultural diversity.
What section of the newspaper do you read first?
World news.
Who taught you to ride a bicycle, and where did you learn?
I was just thinking about that today as I rode down Redondo Beach. I’m pretty sure that I was taught by one of my older brothers in Havana before coming to the United States.
What’s your favorite spectator sport?
American football. Sacrilege, but yes it is. They just started showing American football on Cuban TV a couple months ago, and I got to see the Super Bowl right before I left. But really, what I watch the most in terms of time is baseball, by far.
What’s hanging on your living room walls?
A poster of one of [René] Portocarrero’s green series of women’s faces, from a side view. And a watercolor from an artist from Holguín [in Cuba] that is painted on recycled paper.
What profession would you like to practice in your next life?
Architect.
What dessert do you find impossible to resist?
Tocino de cielo. It’s like an egg custard—like a flan. But it’s made with egg yolk. And, I should say—because I have two lives—the other one is obviously cherry cheesecake. So my Cuban side says tocino de cielo. My American side says cherry cheesecake.
Who is the one person, living or dead, you’d love to have a beer with?
My grandfather. He was a general in the War of Independence—of Cuba from Spain. I would love to ask him about his life so I could understand mine a little better.