Castro's untimely exit could expedite the process of U.S.-Cuban relations

When I was about eight, I started watching I Love Lucy on Nick at Nite. I immediately became an ardent and devoted fan of the genius red-headed comedienne and her bandleader husband, Ricky, otherwise known as Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball's real-life partner. Like Ricky, Desi was originally from Cuba, having fled to Miami during the Batista revolution of 1933. However, we still heard a lot about the country on the show. Anyway, after one segment, in which Ricky sang exuberantly, "I'm on my way to Cuuuuuuba, that's where I'm gooooing!", I asked my mom why nobody went to Cuba on vacation anymore if it was so great there.

"Because," said my mother, "Cuba is a Communist country, and we aren't friends with them." I think I must have accepted the answer -- how interested could I have been at age eight? But after last week, when Fidel Castro announced that he is stepping down as president after nearly 50 years, I realized that I couldn't accept an easy answer about Cuba any longer.

Cuba is so close -- 90 miles from that boundary marker in Key West, Florida -- and yet what do we really know about it? When we hear or read "Bay of Pigs" or Cuban missile crisis, we probably think of American history class in high school, black and white pictures of JFK on the porch at the White House pacing back and forth and kids hiding under their desks at school during a nuclear attack drill (I've always wondered what good people thought the desks would do if there ever were a nuclear attack) We maintain a long-standing trade embargo against Cuba, and Fidel remains persona non grata in America's book.

But what do we really know about Cuba the country? How much can we believe of what we see and read, knowing that nearly everything that comes out of Cuba is censored by its state-run media, and that American media is often biased because of the two countries' history? Was Fidel a dictator or a savior?

Given the vast numbers of Cubans who have immigrated here since 1959 -- nearly 3,000 last year alone, many on makeshift rafts -- I don't think everyone there believes that Castro was or is the greatest thing since sliced bread. On the other hand, I'm not a poor farmer who sees his government and his policies as the best thing that could have happened to the country.

According to the CIA World Factbook, the electrical blackouts that have plagued Cuba since 2004 are only now beginning to go away. The same goes for the food shortages of the 1990s where nutritional staples like milk and eggs had to be rationed. As for computers, citizens can't have one, or access the Internet without special permission from the government. For tourists, computer use is available but is ridden with firewalls. Cuba is a popular country for "medical tourism." Foreigners flock there for medical treatment and surgeries that are cheaper than in their countries, while many natives have to go without. And while the literacy rate is very high, parents can't choose whether to send their children to public or private school because the latter doesn't exist

For us this sounds pretty awful. Which is why I'm glad to see Fidel Castro go. However, I'm not holding my breath for sweeping reforms anytime soon. His brother, Raul Castro, expects to be voted in as the new president this week. While he recognizes the need for higher salaries for Cuban workers and a more modern transportation infrastructure, he's not exactly going to "pull a 180." Fidel is his brother, after all.

Many Cubans and Cuban-Americans here in the United States are hesitant to celebrate Fidel's exit because of his heir apparent, as evidenced by the large volume of comments on CNN, MSNBC and other news Web sites. In an MSNBC story, 74-year-old Alicia Gonzalez said, "There's no difference [with Raul Castro in power]. Why? Because people are used to the system. There could be a succession, but it will take time."

Yes, it will take time -- which might not be a totally negative thing. An expedited turnaround in government policies toward the democratic -- which many Cubans want --could be chaotic and lead to further instability. But I hope that we will see improvement in the standard of living in Cuba in our lifetime, starting with the eventual lifting of that trade embargo and a thaw in U.S.-Cuban relations. I believe that we will in time know more about Cuba than just Ricky Ricardo and maybe one day be able to sip a Mojito at a café in Havana as a legal American tourist.