Juan Juan Almeida, 16 November 2017 — The Cuban authorities decided to close a private cultural venue that revolutionized the Matanzas nights, place its employees in front of a court, and then reopen the place as a state disco.
Located on General Betancourt Road, in the residential area of Peñas Altas in Matanzad, and under the slogan “A universe to be discovered,” the modern Galaxy club became the most famous private audiovisual iniciative for young people with fat wallets.
Customers had to book in advance if they wanted to enjoy the shows or theme nights, among which were parties with different themes: beach, Brazilian, Hawaiian, gym, fitness shows, or the attractive “semaphore parties” (where those who dress in green are single, yellow means looking for a couple, and red signals committed). The club was attended by more youth from the capital than from the city of Matanzas itself. continue reading
Things go well in Cuba, until one day they go badly. Galaxia was a busy club until it ceased to be a successful ship and became the Titanic. The raids and arrests were carried out in mid-August, but in early November, local authorities decided to reopen the site using the same equipment and furniture as before. They just changed the name; now it’s called La Bella Atenas.
“For the municipal council, the club had a culture of drug consumption and pimping practices that neither the police nor any of its employees were able to control; but as the space left by the Galaxia club was an essential part of the local income and the cultural landscape that the province devotes to the recreation of youth, it was decided to reopen, change the name to clean up the image and make it work as part of the state company that operates nightclubs and luxury restaurants,” says a municipal party official who prefers the prudence of anonymity, saying that there is a fine line between telling the truth and forced silence.
“The officers of the Anti-Corruption Unit of the DTI (Technical Research Department — i.e. State Security) said they found elements indicating that drugs were trafficked there, foreign capital was laundered, and paid sexual acts were directed, controlled and performed to the benefit of the managers,” said sources close to the case who can not explain why the owners of the place and most of the employees, without even being military, were all put before the Western Military Court of Matanzas.
Part of the popular rumor says that due to the gravity of the case and the evidence collected of the illegal activity that took place in Galaxia, the prosecution determined that the acts constituted a threat to the well-being and the security of the area. The other part of the proclamation says that the whole scandal is a dirty plan orchestrated by someone with influences who wanted to close the place to appropriate an established business. The Cuban authorities, for a change, have not offered any version of their own.
It is appropriate to remember that during the extraordinary session of the National Assembly of People’s Power [Cuba’s single unicameral parliament], held on May 30, Cuban Vice President Marino Murillo said that in the new socialist model of the island “the concentration of the property and wealth, even under the existence of private forms of management is promoted.”
Translated by JR
US politics is back to debating it. As far as they see it, Cuban dissenters are divided into those who are in favor, and those who are against the embargo. Each side contributes its reasons, but few stop to think about the advantages that the elimination of the US policy represents, in the preservation of its personal freedom.