Category: Zunilda Mata

During lunchtime, the basement of the National Library becomes a hive of employees lined up, some of them with their own spoon, or a container with some food they brought from home to add to the dwindling ration. A man surrounded by women is a source of funny stories and dirty jokes. Few now remember the power he once had.

Valenciagao was peering through State Security’s peephole when, on 16 September 2006, a party was organized for his 34^th birthday while the president was in bed fighting for his life. A video, shown only to Communist Party members and trusted officials, he appears during the festivities with a bottle between his legs and a hilarious commander’s cap on his head.

The video includes scenes that Raul Castro would later call “indecent conduct” in an atmosphere of “moral laxity.” The General boasted of having eliminated the “test-tube baby” leaders who had risen from youth organizations to positions of greater confidence. He wanted to give the impression of having supported the institutional structure to the detriment of the caprice that prevailed in the decisions of his brother.

Although the images focused on the reasons for the dismissal of Carlos Lage from his post as vice president and of Felipe Perez Roque as foreign minister, they also led to the fall of other senior leaders. Sent to the public pillory were Otto Rivero, vice president of the Council of Ministers and one of the few names mentioned in the Proclamation; Fernando Remirez de Estenoz from the International Relations Department of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC); Martha Lomas, minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration; and Raul de la Nuez, Minister of Foreign Trade.

Accusations ranged from “addicted to the honey of power,” to having been disloyal, dishonest or havoing abused their power. The “pajama plan” – as this kind of forced retirement is called in Cuba — hung over all of them, without rights to appeal. Today, Carlos Lage languishes in the campaign against the mosquito that carries dengue fever and the zika virus, Feliz Perez Roque has had to overcome a nervous breakdown that brought him to the brink of suicide, and Estenoz rents part of the living room in his home for a restaurant with the name Complacer.

Valenciago, however, continues to attract powerful men. During the long years of his dismissal he has meticulously reviewed the documents once belonging to the aristocrat Julio Lobo Olavarria. The books making up the library of this man — who came to own 16 sugar mills, a radio communications agency, insurance, shipping and even an oil business — are the focus of attention for a once favored youngest son.

Lobo, who was obsessed with Napoleon Bonaparte, treasured more than 200,000 documents related to the French military and government, among them 6,000 letters and a repertoire of incunabula, unique and rare volumes that make up a part of the National Library’s archives, all of which were confiscated from the businessman. Valenciaga has been immersed in this treasure to draft a study on the paper money of the French Revolution.

Little now remains of his former arrogance. A drab employee of a place where they frequently send the defenestrated, he does everything possible to not be seen as a man who was once a member of the Councils of State and of Ministers. He struggles against two enemies: State Security and the lung diseases caused by a closed environment, filled with old books and poor air conditioning. Among the agents “of the apparatus” and microorganisms he spends his life.

However, the former Secretary of the State Council has had a good start, that is putting first in his bibliography consulted for his work on paper money, the book One Hundred Hours with Fidel, Conversations with Ignacio Ramonet. A volume that in its time generated a joke popular on Cuba’s streets, which asked, “Why are we going to read about 100 hours with Him, if we’ve already spent our whole lives putting up with him?”

The man who once stood at the right hand of power now walks gingerly. Department colleagues say he “doesn’t talk about politics,” he prefers sexual insinuations about the most attractive employees, rather than references to the Plaza of the Revolution and his former responsibilities.” He’s like a kid who wants to go to parties and pinch bottoms,” one of his closest colleagues tells 14ymedio.

Valenciaga lived more than a hundred hours with Fidel Castro, but is still cautiously awaiting the moment to tell the tale.

This kind of transport is very popular in the area and moves thousands of passengers every day, in old trucks reconditioned to move people. The situation got worse this weekend with the celebration of carnivals in Santa Clara, which significantly increased the number of travelers in the region.

There was a huge crowd of people at the Sancti Spiritus terminal on Monday around noon. The truck drivers refused to provide their services, explaining that last Friday a group of private drivers was detained at the provincial delegation of the Ministry of Interior.

The arrests occurred at several operations at checkpoints on roads connecting Santa Clara with Sancti Spiritus, where the carriers were required to show proof of having purchased their vehicle’s fuel through the Cupet chain of state gas stations.

Ubaldo, 53, one of the drivers who serves the route and who has refused to work for the past three days, told this newspaper that the business does not make enough to buy fuel at Cupet because a liter is nearly 30 Cuban pesos, and the same amount can be bought illegally for about half that. “Nobody wants to drive the road because the fares are the same and we don’t do charity,” he says.

Most of the gas that is sold in the informal market comes from state enterprises [i.e. is illegally “diverted” at various points], which in recent months have experienced up to 30% cuts in their fuel assignments because of the tense economic situation in the country.

Given the crowding of passengers at interprovincial terminals and various points between Villa Clara and Sancti Spiritus local authorities yielded to pressure after noon on Monday and called the truckers one by one to ask them to make the trip and guaranteed that no one will ask for proof of payment.

Some of the self-employed saw this decision as a small victory and returned to work Monday afternoon, but others, more distrustful, have preferred to wait to verify that the controls have been ended. “I do not want to lose money nor my license,” Raymundo, who owns a Ford truck that regularly makes the trip from Villa Clara to Trinidad told this newspaper.

State buses in the region are not adequate to meet the demand for interprovincial travel. From the bus terminal in Sancti Spiritus vehicles leave five times a day – at 5, 6, 7 and 10 am and 2 pm – bound for Santa Clara, but they suffer frequent breakdowns and technical glitches.

Transport managers and specialists in the area are studying “setting caps” on the prices of private transport, as was done in the capital, according to sources in Villa Clara’s provincial government. The authorities, are hoping to counter the rising fares by also bringing in a fleet of new “Diana” brand buses assembled on the island.

In Havana, the picture is not very different. Desperate customers crowding corners to board a shared fixed-route taxi and workers who need more than three hours to get home at the end of the working day are scenes that are repeated everywhere. The imposition of price controls for “almendrones” (the old American cars used in this service, named for their “almond” shape) has contributed to the transport crisis, which interferes with daily life in the Cuban capital.

Passengers see this as a test of strength between the government and the self-employed transportation providers, a confrontation where the private operators seek to overcome the fare restrictions, and the authorities try to control the rising prices the sector has experienced since mid-June.

The shortages at the gas stations regulated by the State contribute to the problem. Of the five gas stations in Havana’s Vededo district 14ymedio visited this Sunday, only one, at 25^th Street and Avenue of the Presidents, was open for business. El Tangana, at the corner of Malecon and Linea, and the station at 17^th and L, as well as the station at Linea and D Street all remain closed for lack of supply.

An article published last Thursday by the official daily Granma recognizes the reduction in the number of private cars that make up a major part of the transportation routes within the capital city, due to the drivers’ response to the freezing of rates on July 14, a decision taken by the Provincial Administration Council in Havana.

With the application of Agreement 185, which established that self-employed drivers could not raise their fares and must adhere to the fares in effect prior to July 1, drivers have chosen to shorten their routes or significantly curtail their working days, as recognized by Granma, the official organ of the Communist Party.

“Before, I could take just one car from my house in Santiago de las Vegas,” a passenger told this newspaper. “Now I have to take two vehicles, one to Sports City and another to the end, so the trip costs me twice as much,” the woman lamented, who said the government thought it had found a solution to the price increases caused by a reduction in the supplies of fuel in the informal market. However, she says, “what has happened is that the drivers have split the routes and no one can force them to run the whole way,” explains the irritated customer.”

Of the more than 496,400 people who in January of this year were “self-employed,” at least 50,482 are dedicated to the transport of cargo and passengers.

During the early afternoon, the delegations made their cultural and pastoral presentations. The Santiago delegation accompanied the chorus of the “first diocese in Havana bringing the message of Charity”with percussion instruments. Those from Camagüey presented a choreographed dance, while those from Bayamo, Pinar del Rio and participants from every corner of the island made an effort to leave their mark on the celebration.

Among the more than 60 young people from Camagüey who attended the meeting was Dariel Hernandez, coordinator of the youth ministry in that diocese. “We come having prepared for this event for almost a year to be in sync with what is happening right now in Poland with Pope Francis. We have raised money to cover the cost of these activities,” he explained to 14ymedio.

Melisa Boga, is a second year student of Foreign Languages at the University of Cienfuegos. “We are 84 from our province; I hope and desire to know the reality of the other young people who have come here,” she said.

Around 9:00 PM, a message to young Cubans sent by Pope Francis specifically for the occasion was broadcast, interrupted with cheers and shouts of approval.

The pontiff recalled the legacy of Father Felix Varela when he said, “You are the sweet hope of the nation.” And declared, “To be carriers of hope you need not to lose the ability to dream,” and said that someone who “doesn’t have the capacity to dream is already retired.”

“Young Cubans: open yourselves to great things! Do not be afraid!” continued Francis, while the crowd cheered and applauded. ” Dream that with you, the world can be different! Dream that Cuba, with you, can be different, and better every day. Do not give up!” he said.

“It is not necessary for us all to think in the same way. No, everyone has to join in the ‘social friendship,’ even with those who think in a different way. But we all have something in common: the wish to dream, and this love for the homeland,” said the Pope Francis. The Pope invited young Catholics to “to build bridges, to work together with the word, with the desire, with the heart.”

Daniel arrived two weeks ago with a group organized by the Martin Luther King Cultural Center, founded by Raul Suarez, a religious man who enjoys official favor.

Under the terms of the relaxations, Americans are obliged to justify their trips to the island in great detail, and are at risk of the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposing a heavy fine if they don’t comply with the requirements of their visit.

However, since the opening of the island to tourism in the nineties, many of them have come to Cuba through third countries. The basic change in the last year and a half bas been the ability to set aside circumspection, and jet-set American have turned Havana’s streets into their latest fashion show.

In the first quarter of this year about 100,000 Americans arrived in Cuba, a figure that is double last year’s number.

“I went to Viñales, Maria La Gorda beach, and tomorrow I’m going to Holguin and Santiago de Cuba,” Daniel details. “Part of the agenda was prepared from there,” he added. His program was put together thanks to the increasing number of alternative agencies and private accommodations that offer ever expanded services.

“I’m staying in a private home near Neptune Street and the family has connected me with another to accommodate me in the East,” says Daniel. He prefers spending time “with the people, to get to know the country better,” but doesn’t rule out “enjoying the Hotel Nacional or the Riviera for the last two nights,” two of the great architectural obsessions of yumas who tour Havana.

“They come looking for anything that reminds them of the US presence in Cuba: Hemingway’s house, old cars, hotels that were erected with money from the mafia and, of course, they want to try a famous Cuba Libre,” explains Yamilé, a Havanan who runs a dance academy near the Prado and also offers city tours and “escapes to all sorts of places.”

“The yumas are now the preferred tourists, because they have money, they’re willing to pay for high quality, and they try to be nice,” explains one of the guides working with Yamilé. “We have people who rent rooms who will only accept Americans.”

Ivón rents two rooms on Compostela Street, in the historic center of the capital. “A few years ago having an American or an Israeli was a real pain,” he said. “We had to inform [the police] every time the tourist left the room, talked to someone, or if they had a really big suitcase,” but now “there are so many yumas” that the controls have eased up somewhat.

At Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, the immigration officials’ practice of stamping the visa on a separate piece of paper, rather than on one of the pages of the US passport, remains in place. This way the passport doesn’t record the trip to Cuba.

In legal respects, for the United States they are not tourists, but citizens who come to expand the “people to people” diplomacy pushed by Obama. But Cuban ingenuity has also adapted to this furtive way of entertainment and has created offerings that meet the requirements.

“We have a visit to the town of Regla to see the museum, which has very good explanations of Santeria in Cuba, and then the program includes a fiesta we they can dance and eat,” explains Yamilé. “When the activities are done, they are free to do whatever they want and go wherever they want.”

Yoga classes, visits to ecologically interesting places, visits to small industries, and even programs focused on helping Havana’s abandoned dogs, make up a part of the kaleidoscope of activities that have been developed since the easing of travel for yumas.

“They just need a justification and we give it to them, we adapt to what they need because we have people who know everything,” boasts Yamilé.

In a bar in Old Havana, dozens of Cuba Libres are waiting for thirsty yumas. “I see them and it’s like they never left, as if they had always been here,” says the waiter, while mixing Cuban and American flavors.

The tension between the capacity dedicated to international tourism and those marketed to Cubans is considered the main cause of rising prices in options for Cubans living on the island, especially the all-inclusive packages.

“We have been saving for a year and in the end had to borrow money because the prices have gone up,” complained one customer in the Cubatur offices at the Habana Libre hotel. “They’ve told us that all the facilities on the northern keys are reserved and there is no room,” said the buyer.

A tour of several agencies in Havana confirmed that the prices of many tourist packages have risen between 8% and 15% in one year. The Islazul agency, one of the busiest among nationals due to its economic rates, also increased some prices, especially those of multi-room houses on the beach.

“It’s nothing new, every summer prices go up as demand increases,” an employee of the chain justified by phone from her office in Cienfuegos. She said that there has not been a significant increases in prices, but that now there is less availability and the cheaper deals sell out early.

The employee said that “the most sought after options by domestic clients are accommodations along the coasts and keys, although there is also high demand for those that include a nature trail or historic points of interest.”

Sources in the tourism sector warned this newspaper that as of the 1^st of July package deals in Cuba will be even more expensive, with costs increasing up to 50% in some cases.

The deficit in rooms, which has become more acute since the beginning of this year, benefits private facilities in tourist areas, as is the case with the Yeli Boom guesthouse at Guanabo beach to the east of Havana. With a swimming pool and two minutes from the sea, the place initially focused on foreign tourists, but has gradually included domestic clients.

“I reserved a place for 70 Cuban convertible pesos [about the same in dollars] a night, because my son is coming from Barcelona to spend some days with the family and I couldn’t’ find another place that is that close to the sea and decent,” commented Maria Josefa, a retired teacher. She ruled out houses at Playas del Este that are state-managed because “they have very bad conditions, when the sink isn’t broken the mattress is bad.”

“My only regret is that in these private homes it’s not all-inclusive, because it’s really convenient not to have deal with the food,” added the lady. “It’s a matter of time before these places that already have such good conditions get a handle on this, when they allow you an open bar.”

Currently, the man who is also the former secretary of the Council of Ministers works in the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology in a polyclinic that often receives visits from foreign delegations. More than once, in the hallways, he has run into former colleagues and diplomats who revered and honored him when rumors suggested he might become the first vice president.

The name of Lage was among the successors mentioned in the proclamation with which Fidel Castro announced his departure from power due to health problems, read out on national media on 31 July 2006. In paragraph six of that text Lage is called out for his accomplishments, such as being the “driving force of the energy revolution program” and the management of its funds. Off the Island, the vice president was seen as a civil figure with whom it might be possible to negotiate a future transition.

Between 1993 and 2009, from his high position, Lage represented Cuba at several Latin American summits, in speeches before the United Nations and at the inaugurations of numerous presidents. Popular humor baptized him as “the administrator of the madhouse,” for showing a certain sense in the midst of the political delusions that characterized those moments in Cuba.

However, rather than promote him to the position of first vice president, in February 2008, Raul Castro named the orthodox Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, thus sending a clear signal of strengthening the power of the so-called “historic generation” and avoiding potential reformers. A Reflection published by Fidel Castro confirmed the disgrace, when he accused Lage and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque of having played an “undignified role.”

Now, every morning, el benjamín—the youngest son—separated from power imparts guidance to workers in the campaign against the mosquito that transmits dengue fever and chikungunya. The rest of the day he receives complaints from residents of Nuevo Vedado about the fumigators and medical personnel linked to the inspections for mosquito breeding sites.

Lage’s relations with the rest of the polyclinic workers are cordial, according to what several of his colleagues told this newspaper. Few dare to remind him of the times when his order was sufficient to appoint a director or remove an administrator. Often, after work, he offers a colleague a ride in his red-wine Russian made Lada, a replacement for the car he kept in his time in power.

In the corridors of the healthcare center he is called “the goodies bag man,” an allusion to his order at the beginning of this century that put an end to the bags with products like soap, frozen chicken and detergent that were distributed among healthcare personnel. Scornfully, his current compañeros remind him of that cut.

Not even in the domino games regularly organized at his home, where he invites other polyclinic workers, does Lage speak of that 3 March 2009, when Raul Castro removed him from his position as vice president. He was also dropped from the Central Committee of the Communist Party and lost his position as a deputy in the National Assembly of People’s Power.

“He will not mention his previous life,” an employee of the 19 de Abril laboratory told 14ymedio. “At first they maintained a visible surveillance operation” on him, said the employee, but “over time it has been lessened.”

An attempt to obtain statements from Lage himself received no response. “That man knows that silence is what keeps him alive,” commented his colleague.

“in a closed society,” she says.

In the midst of writing the novel, Guerra found herself surprised by the announcement of the reestablishment of relations between Cuba and the United States. The author incorporated some of these events in the book, which she describes as “a historical novel” given the importance the political environment plays in the plot that runs through the story.

The book explores the conflicts generated by distrust and paranoia that run through a society where, for decades, everyone is afraid of everyone. While Cleo is considered among many intellectuals to be an infiltrator from the United States secret services, for others she is a skillful agent of Cuban intelligence, planted to give the idea that there is publishing tolerance in Cuba.

With a work prohibited and ignored in Cuba, Cleo finds success as a storyteller because her books are published and read outside the island. Her work is translated into several languages ​​and she is seen as a chronicler of the failure of the revolutionary process. The volume explores the Cuban tragedy with sensitivity and humor, confirming Wendy Guerra as an indispensable writer in the panorama of contemporary Cuban literature.

“more formal.” It has been a surprise and generated a lot of popular criticism that Raul Castro did not participate in the reception at the airport. People comment on the street that the US president held his own umbrella to protect himself from the rain, while Cuban officials relied on their sycophants to hold theirs.

The Cuban Art Factory in Vedado was surrounded by a hubbub this morning in advance of a visit by First Lady Michelle Obama. Word spread among the neighbors and in a few minutes the nearest streets were filled with onlookers. The presidential entourage set off spontaneous reactions of joy, despite the poor coverage on official TV of the American president’s visit.

“I had to come by way of Cerro Avenue because Boyeros Avenue is closed,” comments a man with a suitcase trying to get to the interprovincial Coubre Bus Station from Astro Station, a few yards from the Plaza of the Revolution. The collective taxis have also altered their routes to avoid the restricted areas.

“I had to go by interior streets, which are full of potholes because they didn’t fix them for the coming of Obama,” complains Rodney, driver of a deteriorated Cadillac that makes the trip between Fraternity Park and the Playa district. Several of his passengers in the car also criticized the closure of the shops and markets near places the occupant of the White House is expected to visit.

Residents of San Leopoldo, near San Rafael and Lealtad Streets, where Obama ate last night at the San Cristobal paladar (private restaurant), still couldn’t get over their astonishment. “He came here, to this neighborhood, which is not Miramar or Old Havana, said an astonished Xiomara, a flowerseller who heard the shouting last night and went out onto her balcony to find, “a ton of brand new cars.”

The menu the family asked for in the private restaurant is also the talk of the neighborhood. “A sirloin, m’ijo,” says the woman. “In this block there are children who have never eaten beef,” says Xiomara. The cup from which the president took a sip of Cuban coffee should “end up in a museum,” she says.

The choice of the restaurant, away from the most exclusive circuit, caused people to feel warmly for the president who so far has won the favor of ordinary people. However, his presence has paralyzed a city where it is already complicated to get around and buy food. “It’s making me crazy!” a woman shouted midday at the corner of Carlos III, after waiting more than an hour for a bus.

“I collect everything that comes from there,” explains Mauricio, who has never set foot in the United States, but says he feels like “a son of the land of opportunity.” His vision of the country situated only 90 miles away has been formed through TV shows, Hollywood movies, and what friends who have managed to get there tell him. “I should have been born there,” he says without blushing.

The normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States has made more visible the fascination many Cubans feel for their powerful neighbor. “Now I go out wearing the American flag whenever I can,” boasts Liudmila, 22 and a devoted attendee of the informal gatherings on G Street in Havana. A student in her last year at the Teaching Institute, she says that she goes to classes wearing the stars and stripes.

“Before the teachers were irritated when someone was dressed that way, but now it has become normal and many do it.” At meetings of the University Student Federation (FEU) they have asked the students to avoid wearing clothes with allusions to the United States, but “it’s useless, because people keep wearing it,” explains Liudmilla.

T-shirts with Barack Obama’s face also proliferate. “He is my idol,” said Adonia, a young mixed-race man of 19, who sees the United States president as a role model. Asked if he would wear any clothing with allusions to Raul Castro, he grimaced in disgust. “No, we’ve already had too much of that everywhere to wear it on our bodies,” he says.

Cuba is one of the few Latin America countries where the word gringos is not used to refer to Americans. Instead, popular language uses the noun yuma, with a strong sense of admiration. Despite intense official propaganda, the word Yankee never took hold in everyday speech.

“The yumas are the best,” exclaims a taxi driver who operates on the route to the airport. “They give the best tips,” the man justifies. A similar opinion is shared by waiters in paladares (private restaurants), as well as in state establishments. “They come with the idea that here they also have to leave 10 percent of the check and that benefits us greatly,” says a waiter at Los Nardos, a place in Old Havana.

Yumaphilia reaches ridiculous extremes. “I only wear clothes that say Made in USA,” says a client of a sophisticated Havana clothing purveyor. ”Quality is quality and they have it,” says the woman. She adds that the day they open “a McDonald’s in the Plaza of the Revolution, I swear I am going with my children and we are going to ask for the biggest things on the menu.” The saleswoman in the shop provokes her, asking, “What about sovereignty, Girl?” Her response is brief and biting. “Can we eat that?”

*Translator’s note: Yuma is an affectionate term in Cuba for an American.

“Packages still can’t be sent to the United States,” explained an employee behind the glass.

Again, Cuban reality belies the headlines. Susana, director of Mincom’s Postal branch, tries to convince the customer that she must have “misread” the newspaper, because “it is not yet possible” to send letters and packages directly to “la Yuma.” Her words resonate with an echo in a place where hardly anyone tries to send a money order from one province to another and others submit claims for the contents of shipments have been lost.

The employee corrected herself in the face of Sonia’s astonishment. “The thing is, we don’t have all the regulations for how to send things,” she justifies. Communications between the two governments — enemies for more than half a century — seem to be easier to resume that communications with Cuban citizens. “We take parcels for anywhere in the world except the United States,” the official emphasized.

The director repeats the same speech and insists that the direction whether to apply to the United States the same regulations applied to all other countries has not been received. “The agreements have been made but this is lacking,” she concludes. Every word she utters sounds like a new obstacle that will have to be overcome for any postal exchanges between the two shores.

In addition, Sonia receives confirmation of a more disturbing news. “Anyway, today is the last day to send or receive packages, because everything is stopped until the United States president leaves.” The reason, apparently, is congestion at the Havana airport as a result of the presidential visit.

Sonia asks whether the service, if any, can be paid for in Cuban pesos. “Yes, because we don’t blockade ourselves,” replies the branch director. But her phrase is vague and delivered with little enthusiasm. As faded as the stamps on Cuban letters.