14ymedio, Havana, 3 September 2020 — Who would have thought a year ago that the sale of beans would lead to lines and crowds. An essential ingredient on Cuban tables and traditionally sold in agricultural markets by national producers at low prices, beans were commonly found on the stands of all the stores.
With less and less national product, most of the beans come from Mexico, whose black beans are especially appreciated by Cuban housewives, who believe that they soften well and star in the Cuban dish frijoles dormidos. But beans have been disappearing from the stores that sell in Cuban pesos, making their way the the ‘shoppings’, stores that sell in convertible currency, where beans range from 1.50 CUC to 2.50 CUC (Cuban convertible pesos).
But even at those prices, beans are in short supply. Thus, this Wednesday, at the popular Flogar store, on Galiano Street, in Centro Habana, they put out beans and after a few minutes, anxiety and the rush resulted in a line around the corner.
In these days of scarcity due to the pandemic, Raúl Castro’s phrase takes on a different meaning: “Beans are more important than cannons.”
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