A Protest’s Last Resort / 14ymedio

An ingenious way to demand, in the first person, that a sewer leak be fixed. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 9 January 2017 — The residents of a central street in Old Havana exhausted every way to get a sewer leak fixed. For weeks they had complained at the “Accountability Meetings” of the local People’s Power, reported the problem to their polyclinic, and written letters to the Havana Water Company; but the hole is still there.

The desperate residents’ last resort has been to make their dissatisfaction known through the hole itself. Handwritten on a piece of cardboard, an ingenious demand to fix the break is written in the first person: “How long am I going to be like this? I have been like this for three months already and no one does anything. Will it take a death to resolve the problem.”

The initiative is unusual in a country where showing a poster with demands may be the shortest way to a prison cell, but the text has managed to survive several days in the midst of the daily bustle, because it mixes the despair and distrust of the citizen with that humor that relaxes tensions and makes you smile whether in a maternity ward or a funeral parlor.

Che Promotes Sale Of Beer On Tap in Cuba / 14ymedio

An image of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara presides over a beer bar in Havana. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 7 January 2017 — In December the Cuban parliament banned the use of name of the deceased former president Fidel Castro to designate public spaces and banned the marketing of his image. It was not the same with Ernesto Che Guevara, whose face adorns everything from ashtrays that are sold to tourists, to a sign promoting the sale of beer on tap in a Havana bar.

The ex-guerrilla is also seen in school murals, hospital rooms and shirts sold to foreign visitors in all the airports in the country. A thriving industry of souvenirs is sustained with the image of a man who was an outspoken critic of capitalism and the market.

Reinterpretations of the image of Che have taken all possible and imaginable forms: from the American musician Jim Morrison to Christ. As he figures so prominently in the daily landscape, many Cubans no longer even notice the frowning expression that stares out over them from so many walls.

Juan Condemned To Nothing / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez

In just over 50 minutes, the script details the expenses that face this fictional character, inspired by the director’s own brother. (Screen capture)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 9 January 2017 — How to explain to our grandchildren the economic absurdity of today’s Cuba? What pedagogical juggling will be needed to detail the black market, the ration book, the “Hard Currency Collection Stores,” and the capped prices? Will they believe us when we describe the devalued Cuban peso and its counterpart, the chavito? The movie The Singular History of Juan With Nothing, by the director Ricardo Figueredo, could help in this educational endeavor.

The documentary tells of the life – the “survival” – of Juan, a worker whose only source of income is his monthly salary of 250 Cuban pesos (CUP), the rough equivalent of 10 Cuban Convertible pesos (CUC – each worth roughly one dollar). Juan is a hypothetical “ordinary Cuban” who does not receive remittances from abroad, who does not “divert” (i.e. steal) state resources, or resell products to survive. A citizen living a grey life, that doesn’t allow him to buy even a new shirt, invite his girlfriend to a coffee shop, or polish his shoes. continue reading

In a little more than 50 minutes, the script details the expenses faced by this fictional character, inspired by Figueredo’s own brother, in order to feed himself and pay for basic services such as water, electricity and gas. The story is based on real testimonies that delineate a distorted economy, plagued with contradictions and where honesty is an obstacle in the struggle to survive.

In the voice of actor Luis Alberto Garcia, who serves as narrator, The Singular History of Juan With Nothing details the products still distributed on the ration book and their corresponding prices, a glimpse of the subsidized poverty enthroned by the rationed market which, as the economist Juan Triana says, also “transmits injustice.”

A selection of archive images helps to understand the misery trap in which millions of today’s Cubans are snared. It is an explanation sprinkled with sarcasm and certain historical details that the government has wanted to bury, such as its promises that shortages would never reach our markets or that Cubans would never fail to be able to enjoy their traditional Christmas nougats.

It is likely that this mix of humor and good memory have contributed to the film’s not having been selected to participate in last December’s latest edition of the Festival of New Latin American Cinema. However, the film is already circulating in alternative media networks, which means it enjoys a larger audience than it would have had in a few showings in December. So the life of Juan is being seen in the same way that characterizes it: separate from institutions and away from official privileges.

Among viewers, the title of the film awakens the memory of a poem by one of the regime’s favorite poets, Nicolás Guillén, in which he assures us that, after January 1959, we Cubans will become “Juan with everything,” an assertion that becomes a mockery when the protagonist uses a fifth of his salary to buy soap and deodorant in state-owned stores, at prices with “taxes of more than 200%,” the documentary says.

The agricultural market and illegal trade networks complete the choices that the impoverished man must resort to in order to feed himself, while simple arithmetic makes clear he won’t be able to do so, that no one can live a decent life with a decent wage. The tension grows and the audience’s uneasiness rises as the money slips out of Juan’s hands and his plate remains empty of food.

The interviews with self-employed workers, retirees, state employees and analysts make Figueredo’s film transcend a mere didactic explanation to achieve a high testimonial value, a hardened portrait of a Cuba no one is satisfied with, not even the voices closest to the official discourse that are heard in the film.

However, the greatest achievement of the documentary will only be seen later, when the incredulous generations of the future believe that we are exaggerating by telling them what we have lived through. The Singular Story Of Juan With Nothing will be like those fossils that, when unearthed, show the fierce anatomy of an extinct animal, the grim skeleton of an economy in ruins.

Cuban Faces of 2016: Fidel Castro, Former President of Cuba (Birán, 1926-2016) / 14ymedio

Fidel Castro harangues the crowd. (Archive)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 30 December 2016 – Cuban Faces of 2016: His death propelled ex-President Fidel Castro into the headlines of the international press, which had forgotten him since, in July 2006, diverticulitis forced him to leave power. Following the death of the nonagenarian leader, the government of his brother Raul Castro declared nine days of mourning, during which parties, loud music and the sale of alcoholic beverages were banned.

The official television broadcast an extensive and exhausting program with praises to Castro, documentaries about his life, some of his most talked about speeches, and the opinions of his followers and friends. In Miami, Cuban exiles celebrated his death on the streets and social networks were filled with caricatures, jokes and condolences.

In the Plaza of the Revolution in Havana a photo of former President was installed before which thousands of Cubans paid tribute to him, and his ashes, which were guarded for two days at the Ministry of the Armed Forces, subsequently traveled across the island from Havana to the cemetery of Santa Ifigenia in Santiago de Cuba. There they were placed in a stone-like mausoleum near the tomb of José Martí.

Cuban Faces of 2016: Marlies Mejías, Cyclist (b. Santiago de Cuba, 1992) / 14ymedio

Marlies Mejías, cyclist. (Facebook)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 29 December 2016 — The young cyclist Marlies Mejías has participated in two Olympic Games and won seven titles at the Pan American Championships. This year she became the first Cuban athlete of her specialty to be hired by a professional club, the Weber Shimano Ladies Power. She also recently successfully broke into the world of mountain biking and was crowned winner in the second edition of the Titan Tropic in western Cuba.

In 2016, the athlete suffered a serious fall and thought that she would not be able “ever rise again as an athlete,” but in six months she has managed to compete in great events. Mejías was in seventh place of the Women’s Omnium in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and made history in the women’s section of the Vuelta a Colombia competition, winning the awards for points and flying goals.

At the Pan American Track Championships, held in Aguascalientes, Mexico, the Cuban won a silver medal in the individual race and a bronze medal in the first edition of the women’s Madison event.

Cuban Faces of 2016: Viengsay Valdés, Dancer (b. Havana, 1976)

Viengsay Valdés, ballet dancer. (Facebook / Carlos Villamayor)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 29 December 2016 – Cuban Faces of 2016: Viengsay Valdés has been First Ballerina of the National Ballet of Cuba since 2001, after a 15 year career that began in the Alejo Carpentier Provincial Ballet School. During the Special Period, this young woman with her exotic name, which in Laotian means “victory,” graduated with a Gold Degree from the National School of Art.

Valdés has been guest star in the most prestigious ballet companies in the world, such as the Marinski Theater Ballet in St. Petersburg; The Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow; The Royal Danish Ballet; and the Royal Ballet of London. This year she especially stood out during his performances in the 25th edition of the International Ballet Festival of Havana, celebrated between October 28 and November 6.

A comprehensive tour of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia completed her agenda in 2016. Mid-year she played the character of Kitri for a season of the classic Don Quixote. Critics say that it is the most emblematic role of the extensive repertoire of the ballerina.

Cuban Faces of 2016: Juan De La Caridad García Rodríguez, Archbishop Of Havana (b. Camaguey, 1948) / 14ymedio

Juan de la Caridad García new archbishop of San Cristóbal de Habana. (Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba)

14ymedio, Havana, 28 December 2016 – Cuban faces of 2016: Ordained as a priest in 1972 and consecrated as a bishop in 1997, Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez belongs to a new generation of prelates within the Cuban Church. He served as a priest in Ciego de Avila and as a bishop in Camagüey until his appointment as Archbishop of Havana in April of this year.

The arrival of Garcia Rodriguez at the head of the capital diocese occurred after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Jaime Ortega y Alamino for exceeding the age of 75 years, as established by the Code of Canon Law. After receiving the news, the lay Catholic Dagoberto Valdés considered that it was “a gift from the pope to the people of Cuba,” because the Camagüeyan priest “truly smells like the sheep,” as the pontiff wishes.

Weeks after taking office, the new archbishop generated a festering controversy stating that he did not want there to be in Cuba ” capitalism or anything like that, but that socialism progress” to go “forward in a fair and balanced society of brotherhood.”

A Sanctuary For Cuban Migrants On Their Way To The United States / 14ymedio, Mario Penton

The director of Caritas Panama, Deacon Victor Berrío, speaks to Cubans. (Courtesy)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Miami, 5 January 2017 — Dozens of Cubans take refuge every week in the shelter set up by the social ministry of Caritas in Panama to continue their journey to the United States. Although currently there are no bottlenecks in Central America and the flow of migrants remains constant and away from the cameras, the situation is far from solved and will probably get worse, explains Deacon Victor Luis Berrio, executive secretary for Caritas Panama.

“On the last night of the year we had about 140 migrants. Every day 20 or 30 arrive, but as they come they go,” explains Berrio. continue reading

According to statistics provided to 14ymedio by the National Immigration Service, in Panama, for all of 2016 more than 750 foreigners were returned to their countries of origin. Of these, only 5 were Cubans. The majority of those arriving in Panama do so from Colombia, which is used as a springboard by those who travel without a visa from Cuba to Guyana and the Lesser Antilles.

For all of 2016, more than 750 foreigners were returned to their countries of origin. Of these only 5 were Cuban

“The border crossing are going well,” explains Berrio, based on what migrants who are in communication with his institution have told him.

“Some spend months here. In gratitude, they then write to tell us how they are doing in the United States once they reach their destination,” he adds.

Yuniel Ramos is a 31-year-old Cuban from Alamar, in eastern Havana. He has been at the shelter for five days and, although he has tried twice to cross Costa Rica to continue his trip to the United States, he has been captured by law enforcement agents, who return him to the Panamanian border.

“Here they give us food, cleanliness and welcome us until we can continue the journey,” explains Ramos, who learned of the existence of the Caritas hostel through the messages of other migrants on Facebook.

“The truth is that we cannot complain because the police treated us very well in Panama and Costa Rica. They even offered us food when we crossed the jungle from Colombia. The indigenous communities helped us cross the Darien Gap, but we have to pay them,” explains the migrant.

“We arrive exhausted from crossing the jungle. This place is a great help. Many people have been waiting for a miracle from God to continue their journey, because they have no money,” he says.

Ramos hopes his relatives in the United States can send him money to continue his trip.

“They want to avoid people having to go with the coyotes, but they force them by keeping them from passing through. We just hope for a miracle that will allow us to continue on the way to the United States.”

The Caritas shelter arose as an initiative to alleviate the humanitarian crisis sparked by the presence of thousands of Cubans stranded in Panama after the closing of the border with Nicaragua at the end of 2015.

“We had to set up dormitories where we used to have offices before. The important thing is that people have a safe place to sleep and a plate of food to put in their mouths,” says Deacon Berrio.

“After the airlift Cubans have continued to arrive; since August we have hosted more than 1,500, which obviously requires considerable expenditure”

Two large groups of Cubans were transferred thanks to an airlift that the Government of Panama agreed to with Mexico. In total some 5,000 Cubans were evacuated. But the problem did not end.

“After the airlift Cubans have continued to arrive; since August we have hosted more than 1,500, which obviously requires considerable expenditure,” he explains.

Thanks to the solidarity of organizations in the United States, Panamanian institutions and Cubans resident in that country, they have managed to continue aid for the migrants, valued at more than 120,000 dollars.

The deacon says he has had no communication with the Cuban Church during the crisis.

“We have seen five Cuban-Panamanians born in this shelter. There is no other institution like this in Panama,” he says proudly.

Old Havana, Internet Territory / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar

Liensey Martínez, a young resident of Teniente Rey Street between San Ignacio and Cuba, now enjoys having internet at home. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 7 January 2016 – A few lights blink in Julian’s living room, on San Ignacio Street between Teniente Rey and Amargura in Old Havana. This week he was given a router to connect to the internet, as a part of a pilot project being carried out in the area. However, the old man has no computer and hasn’t managed to enter the great World Wide Web.

The Telecommunications Company of Cuba (Etecsa) has chosen 2,000 users in the People’s Council districts of Catedral and Plaza Vieja for a free experiment in web connectivity from their homes. The requirement was to have a landline, but many residents who qualified do not have the technology to enjoy the service.

“I leave it on all the time so it doesn’t get damp,” says Julian, of the apparatus whose LEDs twinkle in his modest home. The old man dreams that they will also offer a “time payment plan” so he can get a laptop, just like was done “with the purchase of the refrigerator.” continue reading

So far, navigating from home has been a privilege reserved for high officials, highly trusted professionals and foreigners living in Cuba. Those connections were established through the old-fashioned dial-up method, but the new test is being done with the faster ADSL lines.

The requirement for enrollment in the pilot was to have a landline, but many residents do not have the technology to enjoy the service

For Julián, the main benefit would be to connect with his family living abroad, although he acknowledges that, “Really it’s all the same to me to have the internet or not.”

The experience of Liensey Martínez, a young resident of Teniente Rey Street between San Ignacio and Cuba, is different. He has a computer and with the delivery of the router, a TP-Link brand, he is able to also put in a home wifi network to connect to a tablet or cellphone.

This week they gave Julian a router to connect to the internet, but he does not have a computer. (14ymedio)

“The connection works well, sometimes it gets slow, but it almost never freezes,” says Martinez, who operates a private business in his home renting rooms to tourists. “We benefit a lot because we make almost all reservations online and now it is more convenient. Before we had to go to the Plaza Hotel or a Wi-Fi zone,” he says.

The entrepreneur details that the pilot test includes 30 hours of free navigation during the month of January and a similar amount for February. However, “I can also enter my Nauta navigation account using my username and password,” and use the balance deposited in that service.

The experiment will conclude on 28 February, but the hourly rates for navigation packages have not been made public. “People say there will be packages of 30, 60 and 100 Cuban Convertible pesos (CUCs, which are about the same in dollars) depending on the hours but that’s just rumors that hear,” Martinez says.

Cuba is one of the countries in the world with the lowest rates of internet penetration; as of July 2015 the state telecommunications monopoly has enabled public Wi-Fi hotspots

Old Havana is one of the country’s municipalities with the most wifi zones, a good part of them located in the hotels, but there is also one on the corner of the centrally located Obispo Street at San Ignacio. But the connection from these points remains expensive for most wallets, although Etecsa recently lowered the price of one hour of Internet browsing from 2.00 CUC to 1.50, in a country where the average monthly salary barely exceeds the equivalent of 25.00 CUC.

Cuba is one of the countries in the world with the lowest rates of internet penetration; as of July 2015 the state monopoly of telecommunications has enabled public Wi-Fi hotspots, which now number more than 200 throughout the country. According to official figures about 250,000 users connect in these areas daily.

In recent weeks antennas for a wireless connection have also been installed in in several places along Havana’s Malecon and the company plans to extend service all along the coastal boulevard. The wifi zones at Hola Ola, La Piragua, 12 and Malecón, 3rd and B, and Fuente de la Juventud are already operational.

However, eyes are watching Old Havana. Cubans are waiting for 2017 to be the year they can finally become internet users.

Time Takes Another Life In Cuban Politics / 14ymedio

Carlos Fernández Gondín made his mark on the Ministry of the Interior. (Cubadebate)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 8 January 2017 — Faithful, hard-line and knowledgeable of the ultimate secrets of dissidents and ministers, Carlos Fernandez Gondín made his mark on the Ministry of Interior (MININT), the most feared Cuban institution. But shortly after taking over the portfolio in 2015, life played a bad trick on him and he had a stroke, and this Saturday he became the most recently deceased of a dying gerontocracy.

His death, at age 78, came as no surprise to anyone. The official note says he died “because of complications of a chronic illness,” and on June 6, at the celebration of the creation of the Ministry of the Interior, he did not appear on the cameras of national television, something that fanned the rumors about his state of health.

The powerful ministry he led controls the police, immigration and aliens, prisons and the omnipresent State Security, among other departments. Gondín arrived at the top of the institution thanks also to the perfect fidelity he always showed towards Raul Castro, under whose orders he fought in the Second Eastern Front in the years of the fight against Batista. continue reading

Gondín made his career in the Cuban army, graduating from the Matanzas School of War and was later selected to study at the Soviet Union’s Frunze Academy. He participated in the military adventures in Angola and Ethiopia, reaching the position of second in command of Cuban troops in Angola.

The powerful ministry he led controls the police, immigration and aliens, jails and the omnipresent State Security, among other departments

From 1980 he sat on the Central Committee, the highest organ of the Communist Party of Cuba which decides the number of members of the Politburo, the maximum circle of power in the nation. He was also an elected member of Parliament as of the seventh legislature.

In 1989, MININT’s leadership was purged and Fidel Castro named Abelardo Colome Ibarra, known as Furry, as interior minister while Gondín became the first deputy minister. Both had worked together since in 1978 when Gondín was named to head the Counterintelligence Directorate of the Armed Forces

“He was a man of the Armed Forces who came to MININT at a time when it was purged of its more open and reformist elements,” political scientist and historian Armando Cuban Chaguaceda told 14ymedio from Mexico.

According to the academician, there has always been a rivalry between the Ministry of the Interior and the Revolutionary Armed Forces that climaxed with the conviction of General Arnaldo Ochoa and 13 others accused of getting rich through drug trafficking operations in 1989.

“The MININT apparatus has more sophisticated people than the military. There are many people dedicated to analyzing, to thinking, especially those who are in contact with the outside,” explains Chaguaceda. He believes that Gondín’s death will not affect the current policy on the island. “Until proven otherwise it is more of the same,” he says.

Gondín was also known for being a meticulous man, who knew how to stay in the shadows. He was considered the eminence grise after the political repression during the mandate of Furry. Several dissidents point to the recently deceased military man as the main organizer of the arrests, house arrests and strict surveillance against opponents, especially against the Ladies in White.

Gondín was also known for being a meticulous man, who knew how to stay in the shadows. He was considered the eminence grise after the political repression during the mandate of Furry

However, shortly after assuming the position of minister, Gondin suffered a stroke that left him unable to perform his duties. Since then and to date, Cuba’s most powerful ministry has been under the command of Vice Admiral Julio Cesar Gandarilla Bermejo, first deputy minister of the Ministry of the Interior who comes from the Ministry of the Armed Forces Military Counterintelligence arm.

The analyst Julio Aleaga, author of a study about who’s who in Cuban national politics, told 14ymedio that Gondín’s time in management was “very short” and when he was named to the post “it was already known that he was a sick man.” When asked who will fill the vacancy, he points to Gandarilla Bermejo, who has completed missions in 11 countries, including Angola, and who is also a septuagenarian.

Aleaga discards the idea that Alejandro Castro Espín, son of the current ruler, and a man whom many point out as possible replacement, will be placed at the front of the ministry. “If they were preparing Alejandro to ascend in the control of the dynasty, he would hold a position at another level, not in the Ministry of the Interior,” he says.

For his part, Juan Antonio Blanco, executive director of the Cuban-based Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, is skeptical about the arrival of a reformist era with the death of Gondín.

“It is more likely to be related to facilitating the ascent of the grandson, Raul Guillermo Rodríguez Castro and the son, Alejandro Castro Espín, within MININT and the elite of power,” he says.

For Blanco, “What is coming is the definitive consolidation of Castro’s succession before 2018,” the year in which the second term of Raul Castro ends.

For his part, Chaguaceda says that it is difficult to establish a parallelism between the longevity of Cuban rulers and that of the elderly secretaries of the Communist Party in the Kremlin during the time of the Soviet Union. By 1982, a successive chain of deaths had renewed Soviet rule and allowed a younger generation to take power and implement change. The fundamental difference would be that in the Soviet case the rulers were part of the nomenklatura and not the creators of the system itself, as is the case in the Cuba.

“In Cuba the succession is given, in the life of the founder and with a decade of development, while in the USSR, Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko died in quick succession, which shook the ossified bureaucracy of the politburo,” the expert explains.

Many of the members of the Politburo are in the seventh decade of their lives. In the coming months obituaries and new appointments could appear very frequently in the Cuban press.

‘Hot Avocado’, A Viral Video Infuriates Cubans / 14ymedio

Note to viewers of the video: This video was taken by the police, and as can be seen with careful viewing, the uniformed officers are not the only enforcers in this video; many plainclothes officers are also present.

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 7 January 2017 — Images of a police operation against informal fruit and vegetable sellers fill the viral video that is infuriating Cubans. Although the event occurred in mid-August 2016 in Old Havana, when some people uploaded it to Facebook, only in December was the recording leaked to alternative networks where it now is being passed hand-to-hand.

The video shows the most agitated moment of a trifling occurrence on the corner of Aguacate and O’Reilly streets in the historic center of Havana. A pushcart vendor is arrested by the police, who confiscate his merchandise, while onlookers gather all around so as not to miss what is happening.

The minutes, captured by one of the plainclothes officers who participated in the arrest, show popular outrage at the event, which some present called “abuse.” The harshness of the vendor’s beating at the hands of plainclothes officer is also captured in the video. continue reading

According to witness statements gathered this week at the scene, the incident began when a police officer detained an avocado seller who did not have a license to sell agricultural products. The vendor’s resistance and the subsequent action to overcome it, sparked solidarity and protests among those passing by this busy intersection.

The video, taken by the police, not only documents the moments of greatest violence, but also seems to have the express purpose of recording the faces of those who reacted with greatest dissatisfaction to the police operation

“Every now and then something like this happens,” confesses Luisín, a pedicab driver who covers the route between the Fraternity Park and the historic center. The man remembers the arrest last August and says that, “for days the neighborhood did not talk about anything else, because it got hot.”

The same corner is a focal point and meeting place for the police who staged the operation. “We have to show an iron fist against the illegalities, because we can’t have people getting rich selling food to the population,” Veronica, a retiree and habitué of the place, told this newspaper.

The police video not only documents the moments of greatest violence, but also seems to have the express purpose of recording the faces of those who reacted with the greatest dissatisfaction to the police operation.

The official offensive against the pushcart vendors started last January, after a sharp rise in food prices. The government imposed price caps at some points of sale in the capital, closed the El Trigal wholesale market, and unleashed a concentrated raid against street vendors selling fruits and vegetables.

However, twelve months after the start of the offensive, food prices have not dropped as much as the authorities hoped and informal sellers have again proliferated all along Aguacate Street.

In the face of the problems of supply and low productivity, the government plans to import 1.75 billion dollars worth of food in 2017, about 82 million dollars more than in 2016.

The Ministry of Transport Gives Back a Street / 14ymedio

The residents of the neighborhood of Nuevo Vedado have waited for almost four decades to recover a stretch of Calle Marino. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio Havana, 6 January 2017 — The residents of the neighborhood of Nuevo Vedado have waited for almost four decades to recover a stretch of Calle Marino, closed during all that time by mandate of the Ministry of Transportation. The block was turned over to the exclusive use as parking access for the Ministry’s officials in the ‘80s, and since then has been blocked off the passage of vehicles.

The return of this street has been one of the most repeated demands in the “Accountability Meetings” with the area’s deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power, events where citizens can speak directly to their elected officials and “hold them accountable.” For many years, however, the Ministry has turned a deaf ear to the demands. At the beginning of 2017 the stretch was opened to traffic, to the surprise of those who had given up for lost this small piece of the city.

As a general rule, official media only refer to urban irregularities committed by citizens, but rarely shed light on the violations committed by the state sector. No national or local newspaper has reported the closure of a stretch of Calle Marino … nor will they now announce its opening. But all the residents of the neighborhood already know and are happy.

Havana’s Malecon with Internet / 14ymedio

A young girl takes a selfie in one of the new areas with wifi coverage on Havana’s Malecon. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 5 January 2017 — This year began for Havana’s Malecón with five new points of wireless connection to Internet. The newly authorized Wi-Fi zones are located in La Piragua*, El Castillito de 12 and Calzada, the corner of 3rd and B, Hola Ola and the area around the Fuente de la Juventud (Fountain of Youth). This Thursday dozens of users arrived to test the service offered by Telecommunications Company of Cuba (Etecsa), at a rate of 1.50 Cuban convertible pesos per hour.

Looking for the few shady spots on the Malecón, netizens gathered near walls, buildings and monuments, to avoid the reflections of the sun on the screens of their phones and computers. “At night is when you can use it best,” explains Raudel, a young man who logged on Thursday for the second time near the Hotel Nacional.

The new Wi-Fi zones could help reduce congestion in other areas with wireless access such as La Rampa, Fe del Valle Park and the Latin American Stadium, which receive hundreds of customers every day. However, the main expectation for telecommunications in 2017 is the possible arrival of the internet to the island’s homes. “Connecting from home is something else,” says Raudel.

*Translator’s note: La Piragua is a large plaza-type open space along Havana’s Malecon overlooked by the Hotel Nacional.

Cuban Faces Of 2016: Victor Mesa, Baseball Manager (b. Villa Clara, 1960) / 14ymedio

Víctor Mesa, baseball manager. (Internet)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 28 December 2016 – Cuban Faces of 2016: The name of Victor Mesa has filled the sports pages this year. The explosive and controversial baseball manager announced in February that he would no longer manage baseball in Cuba out of fear for his physical safety and that of his family. This statement came a few days after he beat up two students in Pinar del Rio, having confused them with another individual who criticized him.

In March, Mesa led the selection of the Cuban team against the Tampa Bay Rays, who played a friendly match at the Latin American Stadium in the presence of presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro. In November, the National Baseball Commission (DNB) reported that the Matanzas team manager had been disqualified for nine games because of “inappropriate behavior” in a game between his players and the team from Holguin.

With Mesa there are no half-tones. Followers of the national pastime love him or hate him. His last scandal came after the announcement of the Cuban team for the 4th World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held next March. “Nobody approached the managers when it came time to come up with the 50 shortlisted,” criticized the manager of the Crocodiles.

What Do Cuban Children Want For Christmas? / 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata

Buying toys for their children on Three Kings Day is an major effort for most Cuban families. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 5 January 2017 – Chocolates, toys and technology star in the letters that Cuban children are writing to the Three Kings right now. The tradition of giving gifts to children on Epiphany, the 6th of January – the day the Three Kings are believed to have reached the manger to honor Jesus’ birth – arrived with force after decades of fierce atheism, but this year the economic crisis has cut the expectations of gifts.

Patricia, 28, works in a private day care center in Havana’s Miramar neighborhood. Last week she helped the children write letters addressed to Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar. “Most asked for electronic tablets, cars with batteries or video games,” she says. continue reading

The children at Patricia’s nursery are the children of parents with a high purchasing power: foreigners resident in the country or owners of private restaurants. They are willing to pay between 60 and 100 Cuban convertible pesos a month (about the same in dollars) for the care of their children and to satisfy all their whims for January 6.

However, the picture is very different in the vast majority of families. “I warned them that they have to ask for something cheap, because I have had many expenses,” says Yaimara, the mother of two girls, ages five and ten. The woman finished repairing the roof of her house and has been left in a complicated economic situation.

“The thing is, it’s not like before,” reflects Yaimara, who complains that “everything has gone up in price” and she cannot “reach into my wallet and buy toys, because now everything goes for food.”

A box with pieces to set up a small zoo costs 27.90 CUC, the monthly salary of a qualified state worker

The network of state markets is preparing for the occasion. The centrally located Carlos III Plaza in Havana has one of the toy stores most frequented lately. Inside, dolls compete with kitchen sets, costumes and small musical instruments.

A box with pieces to set up a small zoo costs 27.90 CUC, the monthly salary of a qualified state worker. Lower-income families buy plastic figurines or crystal marbles. “I’ve been saving up for this all year,” a grandmother told 14ymedio as she bought a truck with a tiny driver.

Others ask the Magi for food. “I want chocolates and soft drinks,” says Daniela, a sixth grader from a school in Cerro. Her parents warned her that “there is no money for toys” and the girl has adjusted her expectations in line with the family’s wallet.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Government supplied subsidized toys through a rationed market for industrial products. With the fall of the Soviet Union that was eliminated. Those who were children then are now parents and juggle to meet the demands of their own children.

For them, informal commercial networks are an alternative. For 25 CUC, the Revolico classified site (a kind of Cuban Craigslist) offers Lego City sets* that include three small figures: a deep sea diver and two scuba divers. Cheaper options are inflatable balls for 3 CUC, jump ropes for only 1 CUC and teddy bears for less than 5 CUC.

*Translator’s note: The Lego Deep Sea Starter Set – which appears to be the set referred to – is available for less than $10 (in some cases much less) in the United States. 25 Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) is roughly $25.