In Cuba’s Hershey, where an American experiment ended bitterly, hopes stir

A pedestrian stands on the train tracks at the train station in Hershey, Cuba, as the sun rises on March 30, about 30 miles east of Havana. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

By Nick Miroff-May 5

HERSHEY, Cuba — Along the coastal highway 30 miles east of Havana, the road signs point to a turnoff for Camilo Cienfuegos City. It doesn’t exist. At least not by that name.

“AIR-shee” is what everyone still calls it. Hershey. That much remains.

Most of the rest of the model town founded by U.S. chocolate tycoon Milton S. Hershey in 1916 is in a state of heartbreaking ruin. The looming sugar mill, once among the world’s most advanced, is a gutted, ghostly hulk. Its rusting machinery spills from the wreckage as if blasted by a bomb or kicked apart by a giant.

In Cuba’s Hershey, Where an American Experiment Ended Bitterly, Hopes Stir by Thavam Ratna