Liveblog: “Today” in Cuba, the final hour

Just as my arms are about to give out we enter into the last hour of the “Today” show in Havana. While the first hour focused on politics and the economy, the second hour looked at cultural issues and seemed weaker than the first. Will the final hour end strong? Let’s take a look.

9:30am- Now that Lauer’s given his farewell I might as well end the liveblogging. (I already changed the channel to “How It’s Made”).

A few parting shots:

1. I almost forgot to mention that in the previous hour Matt Lauer briefly went over the travel restrictions from the U.S. to Cuba, and gave a quick update on Elian Gonzalez.
2. Just found a pair of blog posts on the coverage by “Today” that are worth looking at aside from the ones already mentioned.
3. Here are the links to the first and second hours of this morning's liveblogging.
   
4. Personally, I would’ve liked to have seen the program focus more on the island’s dissidents, and interviews of the common people and families on the island. The coverage didn’t rock the boat too much and I doubt it will change anybody’s previous conceptions on Cuba. It was okay and sufficient enough for the casual viewer.

9:15am- Remember the guayabera comment I made in the first hour (“7:05am”)? Lauer opens the final hour by interviewing one of Cuba’s top guayabera designers and even sizes up for one of the shirts!

It looks like the final hour won’t be ending “strong” as Lauer signs off from Havana. But not before saying that the Cuban people bear no animosity towards the U.S. people. A nice gesture to end his reporting from the island.

9:00am- Jeez, I need coffee. It’s times like these that I miss living in Miami just to drink some deliciously strong café Cubano. That java makes Red Bull seem like tap water.