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Peso problems have sent middle-class Mexicans flying to Cuba . . . for vacation. With a dollar costing six times as many pesos this January as a year ago, and with air fare more than doubled in December, the US has become simply too expensive for many Mexicans. Resorts such as Vail in Colorado - where Mexicans have vacationed and invested in real estate - note a drop in spending from south-of-the- border visitors.

And many Mexican hotels raised their prices 70 percent last month, prompting the flight to Cuba for winter vacations, Cubana de Aviacion officials told the Mexico City News.

The airline has put together low-cost tours ranging from five to eight days, and allowing Mexicans to pay in pesos. The average package is less than a Mexican would pay at a resort in his own country, the officials said.m