English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
One of the workers, without even looking up, answers that they’re closed and that “no one knows” when they’ll open again. 14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 3 March 2026 — At the corner of 23 and L, where for decades Havana used to line up to enjoy a five-scoop ensalada (‘salad’), this Tuesday the only flavor … Continue reading “At Coppelia They No Longer Sell Ice Cream, Only Cooking Wine”
The blackout reveals the absolute harshness with which Cubans perceive their situation 14ymedio, José Lassa, Havana, 13 February 2025 — The ups and downs of electricity give no respite to the refrigerators where Coppelia’s ice cream is stored. From blackout to blackout, between shortages and closures, a scoop of chocolate can become a warm milkshake … Continue reading “The Energy Debacle Melts the Little Ice Cream That Coppelia Offers to Cubans”
In the long lines to enter the ice cream shop, the main topic was the rapid deterioration of the emblematic State business 14ymedio, Natalia Lopez/Jose Lassa, Havana, 8 February 2025 — It has been a few days since the Coppelia ice cream shop reopened and the drop in variety of offerings has already begun to be … Continue reading “On the Third Day of Coppelia’s Reopening, Everything Starts To Be Missing at the ‘Ice Cream Cathedral’”
The reopening hype was quickly quelled by the employees’ clarification that, due to the low availability of ice cream, only two specialties are now served per person. 14ymedio, José Lassa, Havana, 6 February 2025 — Coppelia is open! was the most common comment this Wednesday on the central corner of 23rd and L in Havana’s … Continue reading “Closed for Two Months, Havana’s Iconic Coppelia Ice Cream Parlor Is Resurrected With New Prices of Between 30 and 40 Pesos per Scoop”
Not even the ice cream shop employees know when it will reopen its doors. 14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 26 December 2024 — Nobody knows when Coppelia will reopen. Cuba’s most famous ice cream parlor, located on the emblematic corner of 23rd and L, in El Vedado, has been closed for months. “The cathedral of … Continue reading “Coppelia, the ‘Cathedral’ of Ice Cream and of the Cuban Regime, Has Died”
The gas is essential for production because, without it,” you cannot make ice cream at all,” explains an employee. 14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 6 December 2024 — There is less hustle and bustle than usual around the white and blue facade on Rancho Boyeros Avenue these days. Coppelia’s main ice cream production plant in … Continue reading “With No Ammonia to Freeze Its Ice Cream, Havana’s Coppelia Has Been Closed for Two Months”
Without the traffic light, passers-by lose the ability to cross 23rd Street at that point 14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 7 November 2024 — First the traffic light that regulated the passage of pedestrians in front of Coppelia, the city’s iconic ice cream parlor, stopped working, and now Hurricane Rafael has given the final machete … Continue reading “Havana Loses Its ‘Abbey Road’ With the Fall of the Traffic Light in Front of Coppelia”
“They limit you to one flavor option and the portion sizes keep getting smaller” 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 31 August 2024 — Cuba’s Coppelia ice cream parlors are a stark reminder of country’s current economic crisis. Created shortly after Revolution to provide a sense of prosperity and abundance, the outlets, which can be found … Continue reading “Closed for Months, the Coppelia in Cienfuegos Is Now Open a Few Hours a Day, Until the Ice Cream Runs Out”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 28 November 2023 – When it comes to ice cream and sweets, Cubans are true believers. On Tuesday, they lined up In front of Coppelia, Havana’s much-diminished “cathedral of ice cream,” which had been closed for several weeks. They had little reason to rejoice, however. The sluggish employees and poor … Continue reading “A Diminished Coppelia Reopens in Havana with Tiny, Bare-Minimum Scoops”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 9 November 2023 — The emblematic Coppelia ice cream parlor, located on L and 23, in the heart of Havana’s El Vedado, is closed on all four sides this Thursday, with the lights off and the tables cleared. Again, as was the case earlier this year, there is no ice … Continue reading “Cuba’s Iconic Ice Cream Parlor Coppelia Closes Because ‘There is No Ice Cream, No Milk, No Sugar’”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 30 May 2023 — Even during the worst of the Special Period, people lined up outside its entrances in double rows, waiting to get in. But the days when Coppelia could call itself the “cathedral of ice cream” are long gone. Though it has not had to close like it … Continue reading “Low-Quality Ice Cream Forces Coppelia to Offer Soft Drink and Cookie Combos”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 24 March 2022 — “It doesn’t taste like milk, it tastes like a powder that they give to the elderly on the ration book called lactosoy. That’s the flavor,” complains Ernesto, a Havanan at the gates of Coppelia. A local regular and fan of ice cream, the young man went … Continue reading “‘Coppelia Ice Cream No Longer Tastes like Milk, But like Soy, Like the Mincemeat’”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, March 19, 2022 — Employees at Havana’s popular Coppelia ice cream parlor reported seeing fewer customers just days before a price increase is scheduled to effect on Tuesday. Although it is common to see dozens of people waiting outside early in the morning to avoid the customary long lines, on … Continue reading “Few Customers at Havana’s Coppelia Ice Cream Parlor After Prices Go Up”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 3 October 2021 — A week ago the Coppelia ice cream parlor in Havana resumed table service but only for customers with a telephone reservation. The new access mechanism to the ’Cathedral of Ice Cream’ has not prevented the long lines or frustrating waits that have been an inseparable part of the … Continue reading “Havana’s Coppelia Ice Cream Parlor Opens a ‘Line for Failures’”
14ymedio, Havana, 4 January 2020 — After hundreds of criticisms in Cuba’s streets and on social networks about the high prices in the popular Coppelia ice cream parlor, which were raised at the beginning of the year, the Government of Havana announced on Monday that the new prices would be lowered, without specifying the details … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Backtrack on Price Increases for Coppelia Ice Cream”