Santiago’s Island: Hemingway, Cuba, and Resilience Born of Necessity
United States
Cuba
6/3/2026
“He settled comfortably against the wood and took his suffering as it came…”
— The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway (1952)
Ernest Hemingway was one of my favorite American authors. He wrote many famous books, but I must admit my favorites are The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Hemingway was also a war writer and spent time writing about what he observed during the Spanish Civil War and WWII. His reflective writing had his readers “see” the pain and suffering of everyday individuals living in dire circumstances whether from war or from the forces of nature. His personal life was full of ups and downs, but I like to believe he lived his life to the fullest. Unfortunately, he died by suicide at the age of 61 in Idaho.
I bring up his story because of Cuba. Hemingway loved Cuba and considered himself a “Cubano Sato”. This country offered him solitude which fueled his creativity and gave him opportunities to do world-class fishing. He also wrote The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls in Cuba. For twenty years, Hemingway found peace and inspiration in Cuba. Unfortunately, he was forced to leave in 1960 due to the Cuban Revolution and Cold War tensions. He never went back. Today, that same island is testing its people in ways Hemingway understood well.
Since 1959, Cuba’s relationship with the United States has been defined by distrust and unwavering hardship. Fidel Castro’s overthrow of the U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista was a decisive turning point, and tensions rapidly intensified after Castro nationalized U.S. businesses, aligned Cuba with the Soviet Union, and embraced socialist rule. Decades of sanctions, covert operations, and deep economic pain endured. Although relations briefly seemed to thaw in 2015 when President Obama eased some trade and travel restrictions, but that thaw did not last.
In January 2026, Trump’s move against Venezuela’s oil supply struck at one of Cuba’s most critical fuel lifelines, increasing the island’s already harsh energy crisis. Trump has called Cuba a "failed nation" and floated ideas like a "friendly takeover." Since March 2026, U.S. leaders including President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have engaged in “talks” with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel with no productive results. As of June 2026, little progress has been made. It is also important to note that both past and present Cuban leaders have also contributed to the suffering of the Cuban people. Today, many Cubans are enduring severe fuel shortages and widespread power outages that stretch for hours and even days. Daily life is an exhausting test of will and imposed resilience. There is no clear end in sight.
Bringing this full circle, Hemingway’s book that he wrote during his time in his beloved Cuba -The Old Man and the Sea, emphasizes human struggle against the forces of nature. However, it would seem a similar theme applies to Cubans today. They are also living in Santiago’s world of scarcity and resilience. The question is how long they can survive while powerful leaders decide their fate.
I leave you with this final quote from Hemingway- “The punishment of the hook is nothing. The punishment of hunger, and that he is against something that he does not comprehend, is everything.”