Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa K. Harper.
Hi Vanessa K., we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey with Cuba began in 2005, when I traveled to the island to conduct fieldwork for a master’s degree at the University of Florida in collaboration with the University of Havana. I lived in rural communities, worked alongside subsistence farmers, and witnessed firsthand the resilience, creativity, and generosity of the Cuban people. That experience changed the trajectory of my life and became the foundation for more than two decades of work on the island.
I returned to Cuba again and again; not as a tourist, but as a researcher, storyteller, and collaborator – building long-term relationships with artists, farmers, musicians, educators, and families across the country. Over time, those relationships evolved into a deeper commitment to cultural exchange and ethical travel, which ultimately led to the creation of Travel Cuba With Us, the boutique tour company I co-founded with my husband, Alejandro Berroa, a native Cuban and seasoned guide with decades of experience working throughout the island.
Since 2018, we’ve led cultural, academic, and wellness-based travel experiences under the U.S. Treasury Department’s “Support for the Cuban People” general license. Our work is rooted in small-group travel, local partnerships, and transparency, offering guests meaningful access to Cuban life while ensuring that their presence directly supports the people and communities they meet.
Yoga has been a steady throughline in my life since the late 1990s, and over time it felt natural to weave that practice into our work in Cuba. In 2023, we officially launched Cuba Yoga Retreats, creating intentionally crafted experiences that blend yoga, meditation, cultural immersion, and community engagement – both on and off the mat.
Today, our work spans cultural travel, wellness retreats, oral history projects, and community-based initiatives in Havana and beyond. While the projects may look different on the surface, they’re all rooted in the same purpose: fostering non-political, human-centered connection, collaboration, and long-term relationship-building between Cubans and the wider world.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been anything but a smooth road. But in many ways, that’s been one of our greatest teachers.
Working in Cuba requires a deep well of patience, flexibility, and humility. The U.S.-Cuba relationship is layered and constantly shifting. Navigating evolving regulations, logistical barriers, and chronic resource scarcity is simply part of the work. Nothing moves quickly, and very little happens exactly as planned. Every project, whether related to travel, wellness, or community collaboration, requires creativity, persistence, and above all, trust. That trust is built slowly and sustained through long-term relationships with Cuban partners who are themselves navigating an incredibly complex environment.
The Covid-19 pandemic was a particularly difficult turning point. Tours to the island came to an abrupt halt, and the humanitarian situation on the island intensified dramatically. At the same time, it clarified our purpose. Rather than stepping away, we dug in, focusing on how we could continue to support the people and communities we’ve been connected to for years. That period led to us founding Support the Cuban People, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to humanitarian aid, cultural exchange, and support for local artists and entrepreneurs.
Today, Cuba is facing some of the most challenging conditions we’ve seen in decades. Prolonged power outages, fuel shortages, and aging infrastructure affect daily life in very real ways. Systems that once felt stable, like healthcare, education, and transportation, are under significant strain, and families are constantly needing to adapt. Regional shifts, including recent changes in Venezuela, have also had ripple effects that are felt quietly but deeply on the island, adding another layer of uncertainty to an already fragile situation.
All of this means that the work we do now requires even more care and attentiveness. We’re constantly navigating change while staying grounded in our values. Our commitment isn’t only to leading ethical, people-centered travel experiences, but also to investing long-term in what we’re building in Cuba. We do this through our nonprofit efforts, through cultural exchange, and through La Shambhala de La Habana, our yoga studio in Vedado. This community space has become a small but meaningful point of stability and connection, where Cubans and visitors practice together, share resources, and support one another in tangible ways.
The road has never been smooth, and it likely won’t be. But the work is sustained by relationships, by mutual respect, and by a shared belief in connection over extraction. Especially now, those values matter more than ever.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At its core, our work is about creating meaningful, ethical pathways for connection with Cuba, grounded in long-term relationships, cultural respect, and transparency.
Through Travel Cuba With Us, we design and lead small-group and custom travel experiences under the U.S. Treasury Department’s “Support for the Cuban People” general license. Our trips are intentionally immersive and human-centered, often focused on art, agriculture, history, storytelling, and everyday Cuban life. Rather than moving quickly from place to place, we prioritize time, presence, and conversation, ensuring that travel directly supports Cuban families, artists, farmers, guides, and small business owners.
A natural extension of that work is Cuba Yoga Retreats, which we launched to bring wellness, cultural exchange, and community engagement together in a way that feels rooted in Cuba. These retreats blend yoga and meditation with cultural immersion and are hosted in partnership with La Shambhala de La Habana, our yoga studio in Vedado. The studio serves both Cubans and international visitors and has become a shared space for practice, learning, and connection, very much steeped in inclusivity, accessibility, and care.
What sets us apart is that this work didn’t begin as a business. It grew out of decades of lived experience, research, and relationship-building in Cuba. We didn’t just parachute in with a concept. We co-created alongside people we’ve known for years. My husband and partner, Alejandro Berroa, is Cuban-born and brings deep cultural fluency, historical knowledge, and on-the-ground experience that shapes everything we do. I’ve been working and living in Cuba since 2005. Together, we operate at the intersection of cultural travel, wellness, and community support, always with an emphasis on ethical engagement and the non-political cultural exchange between the U.S. and Cuba.
What we’re most proud of, brand-wise, is how integrated our work is and the shared spaces it creates. Travel, wellness, oral history, and support from our nonprofit aren’t separate offerings for us. They’re interconnected expressions of the same values. Our tours don’t exist in isolation from our yoga retreats or from La Shambhala de La Habana itself, for example. They reinforce one another, creating continuity rather than one-off experiences.
Most importantly, our work is not about consuming Cuba, but about understanding it. Whether someone joins us for a small-group journey, a yoga retreat, or a future oral history-focused experience, they’re participating in something rooted in listening, reciprocity, and long-term commitment. That’s the ethos that defines our brand and continues to guide everything we’re building.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
One thing we’re especially excited to share is an upcoming Oral Histories of the Cuban People journey scheduled for January 3-10, 2027. This experience brings together so much of what has shaped our work over the years: storytelling, cultural exchange, and deep listening. And it feels like a natural culmination of decades of relationship-building in Cuba.
The tour is designed as a small, intentional journey focused on oral history – sitting with artists, farmers, elders, and community members to hear their stories in their own words. Participants won’t just visit places; they’ll spend time in conversation, learning how personal histories intersect with broader social and cultural change. It’s about slowing down, bearing witness, and honoring voices that are too often overlooked or simplified.
This kind of experience reflects what we care about most through Travel Cuba With Us: creating space for understanding rather than consumption, and offering travel that feels meaningful long after the trip ends. For readers who are curious about Cuba, storytelling, documentary photography, and/or the power of human connection, this journey is an opportunity to engage with the island in a thoughtful and unique way.
Pricing:
- $3,100 single occupancy
- $3,700 double occupancy
- $4,100 triple occupancy
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.travelcubawithus.com
- Instagram: @travelcubawithus
