Las Terrazas

March 5, 2007

In the 1970s there was a small community in the Piñar del Rio province in the Western part of Cuba that developed in a biosphere reserve named Las Terrazas. This past Saturday my culture class visited the small now touristy area. The small village is made of small homes built on terraces on the side of a mountain and initially was built to be self sufficient although it never gained the status. Today the village relies on tourism for its lively hood. What is most interesting about the region is that the village was built with respect to the nature around it. Trees will be part of the buildings are open ventilation and cultivation of plants is encouraged. The main attraction to the village is its eco friendliness. Before we left I was very excited to go since the concept of eco tourism interests me. However I was surprised when I arrived and saw that the village totally relies on tourist revenue. It was different than I had expected. Here in the middle of mountains was a small village completely protected in the woods which invites tourists in basically to show them a good time. There were numerous bars, boating docks, trails, restaurants, and a small hotel for tourists to stay at. There was even a small zip line in order to show people an aerial view of the village. The whole thing seemed like a good idea in concept but has in my opinion turned into a village built only for tourists and has lost the initial ideas behind it. The area is far from self sufficient as it had once aspired to be. It is sad that a beautiful place can not be simply lived in but needs to be exploited in order to survive.