As the U.S. Wages Economic War on Cuba, These Women Are Building Bridges

Musa Alves, a Brazilian-American designer living in New Orleans, and Carolina Leyva, a Cuban American from Florida who is studying medicine in Havana, have joined forces to support the Cuban people amid a crisis caused in large part by U.S. economic warfare against the island.

Musa, founder of From Nola to Cuba, and Carolina, founder of Corazón con Cuba, are building cultural bridges between the two countries and delivering aid directly to the Cuban people.

This is a story of people helping people and grassroots solidarity in the face of U.S. collective punishment against Cuba. Musa and Carolina talk about what it means to travel to Cuba not just as visitors, but as lifelines for families and communities.

TRANSCRIPT

"With the current [U.S.] blockade, we wanted to make this emergency trip to bring solar chargers and batteries, things that people need right now," said Musa Alves, graphic designer and founder of From Nola to Cuba.

"The name of my project is Nola to Cuba, and I started it in October of 2024. That was my first time coming and the first time that I brought aid," Alves said.

"What got my attention about Cuba was I had always admired the Revolution, the history of the country, the culture. I felt drawn to it. I'm Brazilian American, so I felt there was some connection to me being from New Orleans, but also being Brazilian. There was just a magnetic pull that made me want to come here," she said.

"I've been here seven times, but with my volunteers, it's been 11 or 12 in the past year and a half," Alves added.

"Our main focus is not coming here to save anyone. It's about coming here and celebrating life and showing solidarity and showing support," she said.

"I don't think that people fully understand that what's happening to Cuba right now is collective punishment, and they don't realize that it's everyone who's affected. [The blockade] is not just a means of affecting a government, it's affecting a population of people," Alves said.

"I was meeting a friend here and met Carolina Leyva from Corazón con Cuba. So I was talking with Carolina about the work that she was doing and she explained her project and it really inspired me. I asked if I could commit to getting supplies here to her every two months. Would that help her? And she was like: 'Absolutely, that would help,'" she continued.

"And I thought, what would stop me from doing the same thing on the other side to support what she is doing here in Cuba? And I felt just a massive connection to her and the project that she had of helping the communities," Alves said.

"I am Cuban American. I've been coming to Cuba since I was a year old. Every year for two months my whole summer was spent in Cuba. I grew up knowing the island, its cultures. And I just loved it so much that I decided to study medicine here," said Carolina Leyva, medical student and founder of Corazón con Cuba.

"I've been here studying medicine since 2018. Originally it started just because I love Cuba and I would beg to come here every year. And then my aunt, she works at a polyclinic. So I would come in and be with her at the polyclinic, and I started to learn about how medicine was here," Leyva said.

"I really enjoy the fact that Cuba does preventative medicine, whereas in the U.S., you only get treated when you're sick. Here they teach you about whatever illness, especially chronic illnesses, how to manage them like diabetes, hypertension. So I think that that's why the Cuban population lives just as long, if not longer, as most first world countries," she explained.

"About three years ago, I was working with tourists and a lot of them would bring donations, medication. And they would ask me who they should take it to. And I could never give a response because I really didn't know of any organizations or any that I could trust," Leyva said.

"So I just started accepting it, just because I figured, you know, I could donate at the hospital to patients, to my professors. And now through the Instagram and through word of mouth, people bring donations," she added.

"We started out pretty much just doing medicine and medical supplies and giving it out to the community and to different hospitals. But pretty much nowadays we take anything that anyone wants to give us, from used clothes to hygiene products, to food, to toys, and we distribute it accordingly. So there's really nothing off limits," Leyva said.

"When the power goes out, this remains charged and lights up," Alves said during a donation handoff. "A solar panel! You can put this under the sun, connect it to the battery and use these at the church or your house."

"It's sad and beautiful, whenever we do any type of activity, which of course is thanks to monetary donations, which we don't get very often, we try to always prioritize children and the elderly, because I feel that those two populations are the ones that are most affected here," Leyva said.

"My organization is not political. We are just interested in helping the Cuban people. In the U.S., there's a lot of false information about Cuba, that Cuba is dangerous," the medical student said.

"I've never felt safer. I come here and I walk alone at night. I talk with strangers, and I hang out with people on the Malecón. All I've done is make more and more friends when I come here and I get more of an idea of how beautiful the culture is here and how much everyone's looking out for each other," Alves said.

"And whenever I speak with any American tourists that come here, I ask them: 'Have you felt safe in the time that you've been here? Have you felt threatened?' And I have never received a yes," Leyva added.

"After being here this many times, I feel like Cuba is another home for me. And especially being Brazilian American, I don't feel the same connection in America that I do when I'm in Brazil or when I'm here," Alves said.

"There's this instant sense of familiarity and a warm welcome and a physical touch. To share that and be able to enjoy that with everyone, it's a massive reward," she concluded.