INTRODUCTION
<Introduction Page One
The following report of the ACCESO trip 2004 summarizes our itinerary and the dialogue and exchange at each visit. I tried to capture as much as I could through notes taken at each visit. I have tried to limit my own interpretation and let the Cuban people tell the story in their own words.

Cuba is a land with striking contrasts between abundance and want. The lack of basic material goods is immediately apparent. At the same time, there is an abundant wealth of human dignity. The Cuban people are a living testimony to the human spirit that knows no bounds.

As compared to our visit last year, there are some troubling changes. Relations between the U.S. and Cuba have steadily deteriorated over the past year. Comments that we heard at our visits to MINREX and the U.S. Interests Section addressing current issues are included in this report.

One of the most important goals of ACCESO is to bring Americans and Cubans together in an effort to increase mutual understanding. As the Director of the Museum of Afro-Cuban History in the town of Regla told us, "… the most important thing is that we all are brothers and sisters. In this historical moment for our people your presence here is vital. The relationship between the Cuban people and the American people is very deep. Even before the U.S. name existed, before the Republic of Cuba existed…our blood, our people were linked; it is a very deep friendship. People are different on the outside, but what is inside is the same. We can understand each other."

There is an unbreakable bond of human spirit between the Cuban people and the American people. That bond is the spirit of the Rosa Blanca. It is the human spirit that endures.
La Rosa Blanca

Cultivo una rosa blanca,
En Julio como en Enero,
Para el amigo sincero
Que me da su mano franca.

Y para el cruel que me arranca
el corazon con que vivo,
Cardo ni ortiga cultivo:
Cultivo una rosa blanca.

I cultivate a white rose,
In July as in January
For the sincere friend
Who gives me his hand frankly.

And for the cruel person
Who tears out the heart with which I live
I cultivate neither nettles nor thorns,
I cultivate a white rose.

-Jose Marti, National Hero of Cuba