Cubans jostle to welcome US President Obama

Chants of "America" ​​and "Obama" echoed on the street where President Obama and his family walked with umbrellas in the rain.

The Obama family holds an umbrella and walks on the streets of Cuba. Photo: New York Times

“Welcome to Cuba. We like you,” a Cuban man shouted as the US president and his entourage passed by. In the apartment above, a woman cheered and shouted a welcome through the bars of the iron door, according to the New York Times.

A motorcade of motorcades escorted the presidential limousine, flying the flags of both the United States and Cuba for the first time, through the narrow streets of Cuba. Many people stood on the side of the road waving enthusiastically, having waited for a long time in the heavy rain. Mr. Obama was the first US president to visit the country in 88 years.

President Obama was surprised by the Cuban welcome. "This is a historic opportunity to talk directly to the Cuban people and discuss trade deals," the White House boss told staff at the US embassy."I look forward to building a good relationship between our two countries. I hope for a brighter future than what we had in the past."

Referring to US President Calvin Coolidge, who arrived in Cuba 88 years ago on a three-day trip on a ship, Mr. Obama compared: "Now, it only takes three hours to get to Cuba."

Mr Obama also thanked the embassy staff for bringing their children to the speech. The US leader said he wanted the children to see that "it's natural for the US president to visit Cuba". He also wanted them to grow up seeing it as normal for Cubans and Americans to do business together.

Mr. Obama and his entourage then strolled along the cobblestone streets of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and visited the statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the Cuban national hero. The US President also visited the Havana Museum, which houses a statue of Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America.

At the Cathedral of San Cristóbal de la Habana, Mr. Obama met with Cardinal Jaime Ortega, who the American press said played an important role in promoting secret negotiations in 2014 to bring Cuba and the United States closer together.

Cardinal Jaime Ortega made a secret trip to the White House on behalf of Pope Francis to promote the agreement between President Obama and President Raul Castro.

Obama's walk today is a prelude to an upcoming meeting with President Raul Castro, the first formal meeting between the two countries' leaders after more than half a century of estrangement.

Obama's name seems to be everywhere in Cuba, from a bartender on a high-rise hotel floor, to Cubans braving the rain on awnings near the beach, to families watching Obama wave and smile on TV.

Carmen Diaz, 70, said she felt "deeply satisfied" to see the US leader visit Cuba, something she thought would never happen.

But there were still incidents. Dozens of protesters against Obama’s visit were taken away by security forces. Some streets where Obama walked were completely empty. A shopkeeper near a poster of Obama and Castro talking said she was asked to close her shop when the US president passed by.

"People will look through the window. I will tell all my friends about Obama, we are happy to see him come here," she said.

Obama was admired by many Cubans from his candidacy to his inauguration as president. On December 17, 2014, when Obama announced the normalization of relations with Cuba, he was seen as the embodiment of economic opportunity in Cuba.

Cuban officials have asked citizens and government employees to show respect for the US president's visit. Many Cubans have been working in recent weeks to clean up the city.

The potholed roads were smoothed, and the buildings Obama passed were repainted. Cubans joked that Obama was "Saint Obama" and that the US president would not be able to stay in office for a month or a year if Cuba was so ugly.

Outside the baseball stadium where Obama will visit on March 22, Juliet Garcia Gonzalez, 17, said she was glad to hear the news because Obama gives her generation hope, a rare thing in a country that has long been at a standstill. But she wasn’t sure Obama’s visit would be enough to change that.

“I want to travel. I want to get out of here,” she said, scrolling through her mobile phone connected to the stadium’s wifi. “I will come back when Cuba gets better.”

According to VNE