One of many wandering bands Patch Adams performed to the students from Elian's school   Castellana School performers

Dec.12, 1999 4:00pm- Sexteto Rumi   While walking the corridor, I heard beautiful music.  I thought to myself, it must have came from a radio.  Then I listened again.  It sounded crisp and clear.  I began to move toward the sound.  The music got louder.  Appeared in the corner of the patio cafe in the hotel was a group of musicians playing to a crowd of few.  The audience were all moving to the beat.    This group called themselves "Sexteto Rumi."  They were one of many six-piece orchestras roaming the streets of Havana.  "Sexteto Rumi" members, however, played regularly at the Copacabana Hotel.  Their job was to croon tiresome tunes requested by the tourists such as “Guantanamero” or “Che Guavara.”  Each member received $7.00 a month for a salary.  It took two monthly salary to purchase a meal at the Copacabana hotel buffet line.  Louis, the guitar player of the band said he used to be an English teacher.  Now he said, he makes more money as a musician playing for tourists.      Through the economic hardship, Cuba catered greatly to the tourism industry.  All precious goods are reserved to the demanding dollar carrying guests.  And for an ordinary Cuban to afford the heavy priced item, it was suicidal!  Cuba is desperate for dollars.  There are two economies in Cuba.  One functions in dollars and one in pesos.  The dollar stores never accepted pesos but everyone accepted dollar. Dec. 13, 1999 8:00 am- Meeting Patch Adams    Patch Adams arrived the previous evening.  On this trip he was the attraction.  This morning we'd get to meet him for the first time.  He entered the room in his towering 6'4 frame.  His head banged against the door frame as he walked through the doors.  He introduced himself in an technicolor, eclectic outfit- a baggy pant that can be rolled up into a giant diaper and a bright shirt with a tie in an image of a fish.     Proclaimed as an activist first and a physician second, he said Hollywood portrayed his story a little skewed.  "They couldn't make Robin Williams younger, so they make it a mid-life crisis for me,” Adams said.  He contemplated suicide as a teenager.  He admitted that Rudy, a true-life character he met at the psychiatric ward, was the turning point in his life.  However, his romantically love, portrayed in the movie by actress Robin Wright, was in fact his best friend who was murder by a millionaire's son.     Nowadays, Adams commanded decent pay for his appearance.  He traveled around the world to promote his cause- Peace and Justice.  He admitted Hollywood has done a great deal for him financially.  It helps building his hospital in West Virginia named Gesundheit!   His brainchild, Geshundheit is aimed to serve patients for free.  2:00 pm- The Castellana     We reached ICAP, the Cuban Institute of Friendships with the People, for a conference.  It seemed like an eternity.  The Cuban officials lectured about their ideology with lot of repeating of words like the revolution and Cuban people.  A very typical socialist speech.      After lunch we went to the "Castellana" a special school for mental handicaps.  Upon the arrival at this rundown facility, we picked up a group of youngsters from a performance school called the “Colmenita,” the honey bee.  Approximately dozen of  young people dressing in clown outfits ranging from early teen to twenties entered the bus.  Red nose, green hair, wacky hat, weird ties and funny customs, they accompanied us and entered a gated villa with droopy tropical plants.     This state runs facility was proud of its independence and ingenuity in generating its subsidy.   The director in her white overcoat explained about the subsistence mode of the facility.  Besides a tour through a warehouse where people worked on art and craft, three modernized green houses filled with green plants were proudly presented to the guests.    Cosmetically, this place was in the state of disrepair.  Walls were covered with fungi from years without new paint.  Some rooms didn't have doors.  The faucet, which some of the patient drank from, were filthy.  When we entered near the stage area, a group of people chanted, "The clowns are coming."  They planned a special performance that was so moving; everyone joined in the dance as the entire place moved to the music blasting from an old stereo.  The spirit the performers and patient displayed was moving for some, tears shed before we were loaded back onto the bus.