Cuba's ambassador to New Zealand, Maria del Carmen Herrera Caseiro, and her husband Manuel Sanchez Oliva, received the royal treatment as guests of Te Tai Tokerau MP and Mana Party leader Hone Harawira, his wife Hilda and their family on Sunday.
The couple's visit began with a guided trip toCape Reinga with a member of Mr Harawira's staff, followed by dinner with the Harawiras at their Waimanoni home, with fellow guests Yoanis Rivera Montoya and Cheleyna Malley Rivera, wife and daughter of Northland Age sports reporter Francis Malley, members of a very small Cuban community in the Far North.
Mr Harawira said he had made a point of inviting the couple to the Far North, having assured them that they would be well looked after. He had first met the ambassador when she made an unofficial visit to the Waitangi Day celebrations some years ago, and they became, and remained, good friends.
He had also taken Ms Caseiro under his wing, as he was concerned that she was being left out of some circles, particularly in the elitist Wellington political arena, where he believed she should have been made more welcome.
Ms Caseiro was full of praise for the New Zealanders she had met.
"Kiwis are very nice people, very easy going," she said.
The couple attended the opening of Te Rangi Aniwaniwa for the new school year, and a celebration of its 21st birthday, on Monday (see page 9) before travelling to Waitangi to join other foreign dignitaries and delegates who had been officially to the celebration by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
They are expected to return to the embassy in Karori next week.
