I have never been to Havana, though I've long wanted to go. It's one of those storied cities of the mind that you're afraid an actual visit might spoil -- like Buenos Aires or Alexandria. Yet the other day I got the distinct impression I had been to Havana. It hit me as I was reading a piece by Oswaldo Paya, the Cuban dissenter awarded the Sakharov Prize in 2002 for refusing to be cowed by Cuba's commissars. His petition calling for free elections and a decent respect for human rights garnered 11,000 signatures -- an impressive tribute to the...