Juan Diego Rodríguez – Translating Cuba

The Europa Restaurant Reopens in the Cuban Capital with High Prices and Poor Service

“Mold is invading Europe,” a woman sarcastically comments, as she looks in horror at the black stains on the ceiling. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 26 November 2023 — After being closed for several years due to the pandemic, the state restaurant Europa, on Obispo Street, reopened its doors in Havana. The establishment, however, looks different from how its customers remember it: the menu has shrunk, the service is careless and the prices – as is now common in the historic center of the city – are impossible to pay.

A dozen diners fail to fill the 20 tables at the Europa. From a corner, and without being able to dissipate the heat, a fan scares away, as far as it can, the flies, while some tourists half-heartedly snack on some squares of cheese.

“Mold is invading Europe,” a woman sarcastically comments, as she looks in horror at the black stains on the ceiling. Her companion – who already predicted that the food would not have much charm – distastefully shreds some fish steaks. “The menu said fish with vegetables, but the vegetables never arrived,” she complains. continue reading

“It’s a widespread problem, all state restaurants are like this,” asserts another customer

The women’s conversation exhibits tones of discomfort and they criticize the crude decoration, “with two fried spaghetti,” of the dish, whose garnish of rice they suspect is “stolen from the bodega [ration store]” due to the number of broken grains. “There is no one who will eat this fish, with the amount of bones it has. They didn’t even remove the scales properly and it comes covered in fat,” they snort.

At the door, a wooden blackboard scares away visitors with the Europa menu: ropavieja [shredded beef – but literally ‘old clothes’] at 375 pesos, pork slices at 775, fish steaks at 945, lobster tail at 1,180, whole lobster at 1,390 and rice – which must be paid for separately – 100 pesos.

From one of the central tables, a man questions the waiter about the “lack of details.” The glass with the juice, he assures, has been brought to him cracked and, as for the napkins, they have not even bothered to put out a paper one. The employee’s response is definitive: “Excuse me, but we don’t have any.”

The disappointment of having lunch at Europa is evident among most diners. Unfortunately, those who leave as quickly as they can criticize, it is not the only “decadent” establishment found on the streets of the capital. “It’s a widespread problem, all state restaurants are like this,” says another customer. “It seems that they abandon them on purpose, so that the private sector ends up taking them over.”

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For a Few Hours, Luyano Was No Longer Cuba’s Garbage Capital

“Look how the garbage ate up the sidewalk,” say those who can now see the foundations of the house, after Community Services ’scraped’ the street. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, November 24, 2023 — The residents of Luyanó could not believe their eyes this Friday morning: the mammoth garbage dumps that had been accumulating for weeks in various corners of the Havana – and that only a day ago has been reported by 14ymedio reported – had disappeared as if by magic.

The four containers on the corner of Melones and the Luyanó road, sunk this Thursday in a sea of waste, are now lined up and clean. With the plague at an acceptable level – although the stench of several weeks does not go away overnight – the worker at the Cuban Post Office kiosk could afford to come to work without closing the window tightly.

The “royal garbage dump” of Luyanó, at Rodríguez and Reforma, was reduced to a minor category: where there was once a powerful landfill, now there is a humble garbage dump, although the leones [lions] – employees recruited by Communal Services for their garbage trucks – left the containers battered and lying on the sidewalk. continue reading

“How afraid they are of the internet,” says a neighbor, alluding to the warning that circulated days ago on a Facebook group of residents in the Havana neighborhood

But not everything is coming up roses in Luyanó, “Cuba’s garbage capital,” as its neighbors described it, resignedly. On Thursday, the corner of Luyanó and Luco was full of papers, cans and puddles of waste, and now what was hidden under several layers of filth has been revealed. “Look how the garbage ate up the sidewalk,” say those who can see the foundations of the house, after Community Services “scraped” the street.

“How afraid they are of the internet,” says a neighbor, alluding to the warning that circulated days ago in a Facebook group of residents in the Havana neighborhood. “Luyanó is going to become a giant bonfire,” they warned, if the Government did not collect the garbage soon.

But there is no rest. This Friday, Luyanó woke up face to face with a new unpleasantness: a penetrating smell of gas that runs along the road, moves through the alleys and knocks on the neighbors’ doors. The first complaints are already on the networks, and in the mouths of Havana residents: “When it’s not one thing, it’s another.”

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Luyano, Cuba’s Garbage Capital, ‘Is Going to Become a Giant Bonfire’

In the vicinity of the Cuban Post Office is one of the largest garbage dumps in Luyanó. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, November 23, 2023 — “Luyanó is going to become a giant bonfire.” The warning, recently published on a Facebook group of residents in the Havana neighborhood, was accompanied by a photo of Rodríguez Este Street, between Manuel Pruna and Juan Alonso: a formidable garbage dump, which neighbors had been denouncing for weeks, in flames.

The sidewalks, streets and even the doorways of Luyanó attest to the seriousness of the situation. “Complaints are of no use. The garbage dumps are still there and this neighborhood has become the Cuban capital of garbage,” Francisco, who lives not far from Manuel Pruna, tells 14ymedio.

The images of the burning of the garbage dump – one of the gestures of protest considered the most serious on the Island – did not have the impact that the neighbors expected. “Now the Police have stationed their guayabitos (the gray-shirted officers) to ensure that no one sets fire to their garbage at night,” says Francisco.

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The cars pass with difficulty between the mountains of waste, which at midday – with the heat and the stench at their peak – no one can avoid. continue reading

You can barely make out the blue lid of the container, submerged by plastic bags, cans, cardboard and fallen branches. The garbage that wraps around the poles, the traffic signals, gains ground on the street and the sidewalks.

In the vicinity of the Cuban Post Office is one of the largest garbage dumps in Luyanó. Of the three containers in front of the kiosk, two are upright and the other has already dumped its contents onto the avenue.

“No one wants to accept garbage,” acknowledges Francisco, who regrets that there are those who, as long as the waste does not touch their houses, do not even flinch. “If you go to the bodega [ration store], if you want to take the bus or take your child to the circle, there you will see a good dump,” he adds.

Some letters painted with reluctance by the Police on the fence of a garage demand that the people of Luyanó “not throw garbage.” Seen from afar, the garbage dump on that corner looks like the barricade of a city at war.

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Havana’s 100-Year-Old Reina Street Church Restored with Funds of Unknown Origin

Built a century ago by the then all-powerful Jesuit order, the construction was made possible by contributions from important Cuban families. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, 22 November 2023 –Dust-free altars, new paint and luminous stained glass. One of the most iconic buildings in Central Habana, Sacred Heart Church on Reina Street is celebrating its centenary after a major renovation. Though the scaffolding has been removed and the interior is spotless, questions remain. Who financed the project? How much did it cost? Given the friction between the two in recent years, did the government make the process difficult for Jesuits, who have been in charge of the building since its consecration in 1923?

Jorge Luis Rojas, the priest in charge of the renovation, is tight-lipped. When asked about the project, he declines to give details, saying he is not authorized to reveal who paid for it, or if Havana’s Office of the Historian provided technical advice or finanancing.

However, the quality and pace of construction — the project took three years from start to finish, in time for the centennial — suggest that it was the Catholic Church itself, through its financial associations, and the Jesuits who provided the necessary funds.

Two German organizations which routinely pay for construction costs in Cuba on behalf of the Catholic Church are Adveniat and Kirche In Not (Church in Need), which describe themselves as “donation-based continue reading

intermediary charitable institutions.” However, 14ymedio was unable to obtain confirmation from Jesuit sources in Havana that these organizations were involved in the project.

The iconic tower, one of the capital’s tallest structures, remains covered by scaffolding and protective mesh.

When asked about it, vendors selling prayer cards at the building entrance reply tersely, “It’s being done with church money.”

What is certain, however, is that the religious order needed government permission and resources to carry out a work of this caliber. The final phase of construction is now underway outside. The iconic tower, one of the tallest structures in the capital, remains covered by scaffolding and protective mesh.

The Reina Street church, as it is known to locals, is not only one of the most sumptuous religious buildings in the city, it also dared to hang semi-public Christmas decorations during Cuba’s Special Period in the late 1990s.

Built a century ago by the then all-powerful Jesuit order, the construction was made possible by contributions from important Cuban families. Fr. Luis Gogorza and the architect Eugenio Dediot oversaw the project.

The Jesuits still mount a crèche, or Nativity scene, to celebrate Christ’s birth. (14ymedio)

Fidel Castro persecuted and later disbanded several organizations that met at the church both before and a few years after the Cuban revolution. One of them was the Catholic University Group, founded by a Jesuit priest, Fr. Felipe Rey de Castro, in 1927. It became a thorn in the side of Fulgencio Batista after publishing a survey on the deterioration of the country during his presidency. It later presented a problem for the Castro regime when many of its members arose in protest – taking up arms – in response to the island’s drift towards communism.

There is little to remind visitors of this past in the old neo-Gothic church. In the midst of a crisis that affects every aspect of daily life, Havana residents visit the church to be impressed by the stained glass windows and, perhaps, to forget that the rest of Havana, with the exception of a portion of its historic center, has no benefactor restoring it.

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Washing Machines, from Havana’s Plaza de Carlos III Directly to the On-Line Shopping Site Revolico

The washing machines excited the customers of the Plaza de Carlos III, some of whom took several. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, November 20, 2023 — The longest line of the day in the Plaza de Carlos III had a reason this Monday: the store brought out automatic washing machines for 384 MLC (freely convertible currency, effectively $384 US). Several dozen people crowded the store, located in the part of the Centro Habana shopping center that accepts only foreign currency; the majority left with several washing machines.

At least three were bought, but in one case several men loaded six washing machines onto a single truck.

Although the price is equivalent to more than 92,000 pesos at the informal exchange rate, it was a golden opportunity: the same appliance, with similar characteristics, is sold for $480 on the online shopping site Revolico. continue reading

Everyone seems to win, but, as a side effect, in the network of hard currency markets there is a shortage of certain goods that are hoarded while waiting for a client to pay in foreign currency

Many digital shopping sites base their offers on devices purchased in the network of stores that only accept payment in MLC. The Cuban émigré pays for the product in dollars and the merchants guarantee delivery to their relative’s home on the Island. Everyone seems to win, but, as a side effect, in the network of foreign currency markets, certain merchandise is hoarded, waiting for a customer paying in foreign currency.

LED light bulbs, sandpaper, plumbing parts, microwave ovens and even pillows are among the offers that sell out quickly and immediately go to the informal network. Many times, the photo of the product that is posted in the online classified is from when it is still on display in the state store, with the original price covered of course.

The washing machines at Carlos III this Monday already belong entirely to the black market. The stores in MLC have become a direct route to supply these illegal trading networks.

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Twenty-third Street in Havana, Transformed Into a River by the Heavy Rains

23rd Street and Infanta, El Vedado, Havana, this Wednesday. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, November 15, 2023 — Twenty-third Street, the main avenue of El Vedado, became a river on Wednesday afternoon as a result of the intense rains that are affecting western Cuba. Within a few minutes after the downpour began, it was barely possible to travel through La Rampa due to the current of water that descended from the highest areas towards the Malecón. The vehicles parked in the area, most of them modern cars belonging to officials of neighboring ministries, were pushed by the flow of water that increased with each minute.

Lluvias intensas sobre la ciudad de La Habana en la tarde de este miércoles y nuestro diario reporta ahora mismo desde la calle 23 en El Vedado. pic.twitter.com/RF3moeUPtE

— 14ymedio (@14ymedio) November 15, 2023

“This happened before in other neighborhoods, but 23rd Street is ready for a boat race. I’ve never seen that before,” said a man who took refuge under the eaves of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Problems with sewage affect the entire Cuban capital, and the water can’t drain through the sewage grids. It continue on its course, increasing in strength and dragging all kinds of things in its path. continue reading

In a few minutes, streets and sidewalks were completely flooded. (14ymedio)

From the nearby garden of the Hotel Nacional, located on a natural elevation, several tourists, with capes and umbrellas, took photos of the whirlwind that rolled down the street towards the sea. There were many, and the daring ones decided to cross the street, with water almost up to their knees; but most of the passers-by were more cautious, perhaps aware of the potholes that the water hid that can cause a twisted ankle or something worse.

“This happened before in other neighborhoods, but 23rd Street is ready for a boat race. I’ve never seen that before.” (14ymedio)

Not even the most glamorous area of Havana is saved from the crisis. A river of water and vehicles pushed by the current remind us of the fragility of a city in ruins before any whim of nature.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘What He Wants is Green,’ Not Cuban Pesos

The copper makeup does not hide the living statue’s displeasure when Cuban pesos are placed in the chest. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 10 November 2023 — The sullen face, the revolver in his belt and a straw sombrero converted into a tricorn hat: the living statue of the pirate on Calle de los Oficios does not need to set up an ambush to fill his chest. The one dollar bill that he carries in the lid of his piggy bank, like a talisman, says it all: the secret to getting the buccaneer to move – like everything in Havana – is money.

Not even the copper makeup can hide his displeasure when a naive person drops Cuban pesos into the chest. Based among the old Havana cannons, the pirate barely changes his position. “Don’t even think of saying anything else to Jack Sparrow,” one observer sarcastically comments, alluding to the bandit in the film Pirates of the Caribbean. “What he wants is green.”

The buccaneer, who tries to make a living under the tropical sun, is another sign that Old Havana has seen better times. Like the so-called “heritage stores” – which sold any souvenir at a very high price to tourists – or the Obispo bookstores, street art was one of the projects with which the Office of the Historian aspired to breathe life into the historic center and, thus, fill its own coffers.

Now, however, Eusebio Leal himself has ended up becoming a statue – and not a living one – while the Office, without a historian and under the control of the Government, has been unable to sustain its cultural and financial projects in the city center. This is attested to by the scarcity, if not continue reading

the total dismantling, of the initiatives that depended on Leal’s skill and personal contacts.

A solid fence prevents walkers from entering the small Oficios park, on the corner of Sol. (14ymedio)

A solid fence prevents walkers from entering the small Oficios park, on the corner of Sol. Leaves, garbage and poorly maintained plants are what can be seen between the bars of what was once a recreational space for Havana residents. Years ago, an artificial stream ran through its canals that filled several fountains, and the elderly people of the area sat on its benches to sunbathe.

A herd of tourists, who do not pay much attention to the ruins, wander through the Havana port, cross the Plaza de Armas and go up Obispo in search of the bookstores indicated on the map on their phones. Total disappointment: La Moderna Poesía, which was once the most famous bookstore in Cuba – the young Lezama Lima held his gatherings there – is now in the most regrettable abandonment.

Only in the Fayad Jamís, whose wooden façade has not been varnished for years, are there books, but few are Cuban. Most of them are Venezuelan titles that are of little interest to the reader, and some of Leal’s books translated into English and French, which are sold as a kind of sentimental tourist guides to Havana.

There is not much to expect from the “heritage stores” either. The once formidable Havana branch of Cuervo y Sobrinos – the Cuban watchmaker founded in 1862 and nationalized by Fidel Castro – which managed to resurrect its prestige thanks to Swiss investors, has now withdrawn its luxury watches from the capital. Instead, they sell straps and bracelets.

The Obispo troubadour-beggar tries, in vain, to gain a tip from a Russian by singing in her language. (14ymedio)

Completing the panorama of the high tourist season are numerous beggars and other “hunger artists” who, guitar in hand, try to extract a few dollars from the visitor who observes them. When a Canadian or an Italian arrives there is luck, but if he plays to a Russian, not even singing to him in his language – as the troubadour-beggar does in Obispo – he might manage to get a ruble.

With that thunder, on the island of pirates and ruins the only thing left to do is sneak over to the Plaza Vieja and look on the map for a bar where you can quench your thirst. The visitor’s final disappointment awaits him there: there is no beer even in the Casa de la Cerveza. “Havana is closed!” they shout at him, without him knowing very well where the voice is coming from.

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Trillo Park in Havana, Where Food and Garbage Go Hand in Hand

The centrally located park does not seem to be among the priorities of the Communal Services Company of the Cuban capital. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 11 November 2023 — “They are not going to pay me for this!” shouted a man Saturday morning, as he was throwing part of the garbage that was overflowing a few meters from a container of the agricultural fair at Parque Trillo, in Central Havana. In the same space, bananas and garbage bags almost bump up against each other. The line for rice snaked past a mountain of waste. The flies went back and forth, again and again, from the pallet of a small private business with cheese and powdered milk to the filth accumulated on the street.

The centrally located park, far from the main avenues and in an area with low-income residents, does not seem to be among the priorities of the Communal Services Company of the Cuban capital. The neighborhood is not among those that benefit from the removal of more than 17,000 cubic meters of garbage that, according to Havana authorities, is carried out daily, “a figure that does not approach half of the total trash generated by the city’s municipalities.” continue reading

In the nearest row, shoppers chose to shake off flies and some put a handkerchief or hand to their nose to avoid the stink

Shortly after the first kiosks were set up this morning, the proximity of the waste and its bad odors caused complaints from sellers and customers. A few minutes later, a man with a dark cap and a shovel tried to lift some of the trash into a rickety blue container that was only partially full. Reluctantly and grumbling, he clarified that this was not his responsibility and that he was not going to receive a single cent for such a thankless task.

But a few shovelfuls of filth hardly alleviated the problem. In the nearest row, shoppers chose to shake off flies and some placed a handkerchief or hand over their nose to ward off the stench. “Here in Havana we are going to have to use the masks again, but not because of the Covid, but because of the stench that is everywhere,” a woman complained. The new pandemic that hits the Cuban capital is not a virus, but the crisis. It is spread through laziness, its breeding ground is the lack of fuel, and it also affects the human beings who inhabit the city.

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Little Remains of the Bright Screens that Celebrated Havana’s 500th Anniversary

Its base rusted away, it fell over, perhaps from a gust of wind or a knock from some passer-by. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 8 November 2023 – It’s not as if the brightly lit screens located in various parts of Havana for its 500th anniversary in 2019 were of much use to anyone. Apart from the few messages that did have any use – those about traffic, cultural events, or Covid – most of them were just slogans, like “Cuba, the Best”, or idyllic photos of the capital that didn’t reflect any sort of reality.

Installed by the Ministry of Culture, they were announced with the same pomp and ceremony as all the other activities that commemorated the capital’s five hundred years, notable events which its historian Eusebio Leal promoted with special determination before his death. Soon, just as with other initiatives for the fifth centenary – like the tourist bicycles – the screens were neglected and, one by one, stopped working. continue reading

Soon, just as with other initiatives for the fifth centenary – like the tourist bicycles – the screens were neglected and, one by one, stopped working

One of the few that did continue to work is in Carlos III and Infanta Avenue, but you can barely make out what it’s showing because it has lost contrast and the strong sunlight on the glass doesn’t help either, in making out the details in the picture. The back of its casing is all covered in graffiti. Another screen, on Belascoaín and Carlos III, in Karl Marx park, wasn’t so lucky. Its base all rusted away, it fell over this week, perhaps from a gust of wind or a knock from some passer-by.

Reduced to wreckage on the ground this Wednesday, it presented a vivid image of all that now remains of those celebrations which claimed to modernise Havana.

The back of the screen on Carlos III and Infanta is all covered in graffiti. (14ymedio)

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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Cuba’s Iconic Ice Cream Parlor Coppelia Closes Because ‘There is No Ice Cream, No Milk, No Sugar’

All Coppelia employees are on the street, selling the sweet treats they have left in stock. (14ymedio)

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 cream.

A novelty, this time, is that all the employees are on the street, selling the sweet treats they have left in stock. Only marquesitas and capitolios, rough and tasteless, for 50 pesos. “There is no ice cream, there is no milk, there is no sugar, there is nothing,” one of the workers proclaimed with humor, responding with another question when asked when the establishment would reopen: “Oh, my love, in what country do you live?”

Other employees responded, dragging their feet, but suggesting that it won’t be soon: “It’s not known,” “This is for a long time,” “It won’t be around for a long time.”

A worker from the Coppelia ice cream factory itself, who asks to remain anonymous, confirms to this newspaper the dramatic situation in which the industry finds itself. “I know of colleagues who resold some of the ice cream we produced, but they hadn’t for months, because the product was of such poor quality that it wasn’t sold, it looked more like durofrío [popsicles] than ice cream.”

“We were quite indignant, they were letting us try that so that we would remember what real ice cream was”

According to the same source, last September, on the occasion of the G-77 Summit in Havana, a limited edition of Coppelia ice cream was made for guests at the official event and hotels. “They practically militarized the factory to prevent the employees from stealing some of the ice cream,” he says. “The day they were going to move the product, they allowed us workers to try a little dish of ice cream. We were quite indignant, they were letting us try it so that we would remember what real ice cream was.”

Called in Cuba the “cathedral of ice cream,” Coppelia was inaugurated in 1966 with the utopian objective that the Revolution would produce more and better flavors than in capitalist countries. Its splendor was brief, although not even during the crisis of the Special Period, in the 90s, when the quantity and quality of its offering drastically decreased, did the endless lines at its counters subside. Being the little that still functioned, the influx was enormous, and, once the circulation of the dollar was allowed, it was common to see foreigners entering with their currencies, to a better stocked area, without having to wait in line.

Its remodeling four years ago aroused much expectation, but could not stop the decline of the place. Since the covid-19 pandemic, when it was also closed due to measures to avoid contagion, it has not raised its head. The poor quality of the product and the high prices have been putting the final nails in the coffin of one of the symbols of triumphant Castroism.

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A Partial Collapse on Cuba Street Affects Dozens of Families in a Tenement in Havana

Yellow and black tape closed off the block where part of a tenement building collapsed. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 5 November 2023 — This Sunday morning, the damage caused by the partial collapse that affected the property at number 103 Cuba Street, between Tacón and Tejadillo, in Old Havana, was visible to all. Yellow and black tape closed off the block where the tenement building fell in without any loss of human life.

The quarters, with two floors and a large central patio, are inhabited by dozens of families who sought shelter outside the building due to fear of other possible collapses. In the area, visibly guarded by uniformed and plainclothes police, the dust and debris from the collapse mixed with the mud caused by the rains of recent days.

“When we saw that it was raining and raining, we feared the worst because when four drops fall in this city, everyone knows what happens,” said resident of the block where the partial collapse of the right wing of the building occurred, speaking to 14ymedio. “Although the side doesn’t look so bad, when you stand in front and look inside you realize that this place is uninhabitable, it is a danger to life.”

The side the resident is talking about faces directly on to the Police station at Cuba and Chacón streets, a castle-shaped construction that mimics colonial architecture. The area, widely visited by tourists, also has a large concentration of hostels, cafes and private restaurants aimed primarily at foreign pockets. continue reading

“When we saw that it was raining and raining we feared the worst because when four drops fall in this city everyone knows what happens”

In the midst of this image of prosperity and entrepreneurship, the partially collapsed tenement building on Cuba Street houses low-income families and over the decades it has suffered deterioration and internal transformations to optimize every square meter. So-called barbacoas [barbecues] — a kind of horizontal platform — are built to create extra ‘floor space’ between the floor and ceiling in some rooms; doors open onto a load-bearing wall; and boarded up windows are some of these changes.

The deterioration of the entire property, together with the humidity that has made the structure even more fragile these days, have been decisive for what happened this Saturday. On Sunday state brigade was trying to remove the debris accumulated inside and collapse the parts that represent the most danger. The families residing in the tenement do not yet know if they will all be able to return.

In the area, visibly guarded by uniformed and plainclothes police, the dust and debris from the collapse mixes with the mud caused by the rains of recent days. (14ymedio)

Two days before the collapse, a family that lives there had sent a video [see below] to journalist Mario Pentón to warn about the danger they were in due to the poor condition of the building. After the collapse, other residents sent the América TeVé reporter some materials where they recorded what they experienced. At one point one of the affected people is heard saying: “The delegate said that this was not going to fall and she sees how it is falling,” referring to the representative of the Popular Power who serves that area of Old Havana.

The drama of these neighbors is repeated beyond that particular building. In June 2021, the Government approved the General Urban Planning Plan of Havana for 2030. The full text gave a detailed account of the pitiful situation of the capital, proposed a long list of solutions and actions, and finished with impossible budgets. Its status, two years and several collapses later, is alarming.

The document specifies, first of all, the state of Havana in all areas of urban planning, from green areas, sanitation, public transportation and, as a priority, housing. The section dedicated to Old Havana presents an overwhelming fact: more than 40% of the more than 20,000 homes identified in that area did not meet minimum habitability conditions.

The families residing in the block do not yet know if all of them will be able to return

Overall, the problem was summarized as follows: “High rate of collapses, mainly in the central areas of the city. Housed: 449 facilities, with 5,471 nuclear families (17,314 people). In critical condition: 946 properties, with 8,329 homes and 26,151 inhabitants. Tenements: 6,899 properties, with 60,170 nuclear families. 82 neighborhoods and 69 precarious centers, with 18,721 and 1,923 homes respectively, concentrated mostly in Boyeros, Guanabacoa, Arroyo Naranjo and San Miguel del Padrón. Changes of use for housing in “inadequate” premises.

To alleviate this situation, there were two main approaches: new construction for the outer ring areas, and comprehensive rehabilitation for the center, starting with Centro Habana, Cerro, Plaza and Old Havana, municipalities designated as degraded. From the first years, work had to continue in the area, including the recovery of 60% of the buildings in fair and poor technical condition, and prioritizing 12 blocks of the historic center (two of them in Old Havana).

The recommendations contained in that document were not put into practice. According to the 2022 Statistical Yearbook, the Government invested 3.226 billion pesos in hotels and 23.360 billion pesos in business and real estate services and rental (a section of diffuse content, which includes the construction of hotels). Meanwhile, 1.4% of the general state budget, 1.016 billion pesos, was allocated to housing construction. A minimal amount, which explains many of the tragedies that will continue to occur in Havana and other cities on the Island.

Hace menos de 48 horas una familia cubana me envió un video de las condiciones en la que estaba su edificio en Cuba #103 % Chacon y Tejadillo. Hoy en la madrugada el edificio colapsó. Los vecinos me comentan que hay varios heridos pero gracias a Dios no hubo que lamentar pérdidas… pic.twitter.com/l5HR0JUHdo

— Mario J. Pentón (@MarioJPenton) November 4, 2023

“Less than 48 hours ago a Cuban family sent me a video of the conditions in their building at #103 Cuba at Chacon and Tejadilla. Today, in the early hours the building collapsed. The neighbors tell me there are several injuries but thanks be to God there are no fatalities.”

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In Havana, the Former Varsovia Restaurant Becomes a Luxury Private Business

Nowhere in the new and exclusive complex can you read the old name by which Havana residents still know the place, el Varsovia (The Warsaw). (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 2 November 2023 — Neither the gray sky nor the rain that fell at intervals on Havana this Thursday clouded the brand new figure of the old Varsovia [Warsaw] restaurant on the corner of 12th and 17th streets in Havana’s El Vedado district. With its freshly painted façade and shiny windows, the store has reopened, converted into a complex of private businesses with prices that, even in one of the most affluent neighborhoods of the Cuban capital, would scare anyone away.

The entrance on 17th Street introduces the customer to a bright environment. Blackboards written with chalk and a certain informal touch welcome buyers to the butcher shop area and warn them that they will have to pay 1,300 pesos for each pound of beef steak they wants to buy. If their desire is to sink their teeth into a steak again, then the price rises to 3,000, but they also finds out that there is no more brisket left and the steak is gone.

“I came in because I didn’t want to get wet,” a woman explains at the door, shaking her umbrella before completely crossing the threshold. “I can’t afford to pay for any of this but I have to say that the place turned out nice,” she points out, immediately adding: “It’s a shame that the exterior paint wasn’t enough for the entire building, because now it looks older and more destroyed, with the ground floor being so renovated.”

It’s a shame that the exterior paint wasn’t enough for the entire building, because now it looks older and more destroyed with the ground floor being so renovated.

On 12th Street there is another entrance to the complex, but this one leads to a small business that sells “household supplies.” A living room set with two armchairs costs a whopping 200,000 pesos, while an ornamental glass ball reaches 80,000. “I don’t think anything is sold here because I’ve never seen such high prices,” grumbled a young man who was exploring the establishment for the first time this morning. continue reading

Outside, a woman and her daughter pressed their faces to the window to see the interior of the store, but the windows, suitably dark, barely allowed the goods for sale to be distinguished from the sidewalk. After a few seconds, the two crossed the street and directed their steps towards a nearby bus stop, protecting themselves from the rain with a piece of cardboard from a box a TV came in.

The restaurant area of the new Varsovia, which is not yet operational, has six tables for four people each. This Thursday the employees were still cleaning that part and, a few meters away, the bakery, which only had bags of breadcrumbs, was already sending out deliveries. The market located in the building was well stocked with preserves, beers and soft drinks.

Sweets, chocolates and ice cream star in the new Varsovia complex. Candies, chocolates, fruit cakes and all types of jams, most of them imported, complete the syrupy offering in a country where diabetes rates are increasingly alarming and in a month in which sugar is the only product that has reached many of the ration stores.

“I can’t afford to pay for any of this but I have to say that the place turned out nice.” (14ymedio)

Nowhere in the new and exclusive complex can you read the old name by which Havana residents still know the place, but the reminder was not necessary for some of those who approached this morning to talk about “the new image of the Varsovia” or, as an old man declared: “Look what the Polish comrades have become!”

The former restaurant was baptized during the nominal fever that spread through Cuba when the Island’s alliance with the communist countries that made up the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CAME). In those years, restaurants with names of the capitals of the countries that orbited the Kremlin, such as Warsaw and Sofia, or named after the Soviet capital itself, such as Moscow, proliferated.

At the Varsovia, dishes allegorical to Poland were served but also Creole combinations accompanied by the emblematic fruit juices of Bulgaria, pears in syrup from Romania or sweets made from condensed milk imported from the German Democratic Republic. The spell of the world of the proletariat began to break in the late 1980s and by the 1990s the restaurant fell into a tailspin.

A woman and her daughter pressed their faces to the window to see the interior of the store, but the windows, suitably dark, barely allowed the merchandise to be distinguished from the sidewalk. (14ymedio)

“You couldn’t even come here, even at the time when they turned it into a restaurant [that took payment] in convertible pesos,” recalls Manolo, a resident of 12th Street. “It had red curtains that were never washed and cockroaches walked on the walls. The menu was very limited and state employees stole with both hands. There was a time when this was empty because they no longer had cooking supplies.”

Manolo says that the demise of Varsovia was accompanied by the crisis of the entire neighborhood. “This entire area is around what was the second most important corner in El Vedado after 23 and L. Here on 12 and 23 we had everything: cinema, pizzeria, a hamburger place, ice cream parlor, flower shops, bakery and stores.”

Now, some of the other establishments in the neighborhood are in decay, and others are under repair, the Varsovia shines with a particular light, that of the incandescent glow emitted by an 80,000 peso crystal ball.

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The Month Begins and the Lack of Rice Leaves the Ration Stores Empty in Cuba

The *bodega* [ration store] on Arango Street, in the Havana neighborhood of Luyanó, November 1, 2023. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, November 1, 2023 — November has begun, and in front of the bodega [ration store] on Arango Street, in the neighborhood of Luyanó in Havana, you don’t see the usual crowding at the beginning of the month. There are no shouts, no pushes, no line of improvised stools for the customers, who wait for hours until it is their turn to buy. So far, only the rationed three pounds of sugar per person have arrived, but none of the most anticipated product: the rice.

With long faces and looking bored, the bodega employees don’t seem to enjoy this quiet panorama. Clueless neighbors approach, but most already know that the protagonist of Cuban meals has not yet arrived. “I was told by my mother who lives in Key West [Central Havana],” Lisandro, a father of two children, tells 14ymedio. “We are not the only ones affected.”

This newspaper found that in large areas of the municipalities of Plaza de la Revolución, Diez de Octubre, Cerro and Centro Habana, the bodegas have also not been supplied with the quota of rice that consumers receive monthly. The absence of rice is not something minor, because it forces families to buy food on the free market, in informal networks or in the newly opened premises managed by the MSMEs [micro, small and medium-sized businesses]. In all of them, one pound of the worst-quality rice exceeds 170 pesos, and it rises to 250 in its best version. continue reading

The basic basket in Cuba has been reduced over the years. Of more than 20 subsidized items that were once distributed through the bodegas, there are only a few left, which can be counted on the fingers of one hand. But rice had been the most constant in its arrival, due to the fact that its deficit dramatically decreased access to food in the Island’s homes. This November, the tall thin gentleman will be late to appear on the dishes of those who can only eat from the subsidized basic basket.

Behind closed doors, on Arango de Luyanó Street itself, some casseroles still have the luxury of containing some grains. Others wait for the shout of “the rice has arrived!” Trying to get there early, people throw themselves down the stairs and the bodega is again filled with people, stools and shopping bags.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Casablanca, Havana: Where Christ, ‘Che’ Guevara, Tourists and Beggar Children Gather

Against all odds, the hamlet remains standing, but it is one of the roughest places in the capital city. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 29 October 2023 — For Havana residents, Casablanca does not refer to the pristine residence of the president of the United States or to the film from the 1940s, but to the weak coastal neighborhood on the other side of the bay. Neither Che Guevara’s nicely-painted house – an attraction for tourists – nor the colonial fortress of La Cabaña have managed to give life to the place, where the poverty of Havana assertively shows itself, without make-up, to visitors.

On the hill where the town is built – belonging to the municipality of Regla – the Spanish once fought against the English. The slope became famous centuries later, in 1959, due to the “butcher” Guevara’s mass executions. The silhouette of Havana from Casablanca, the sea air and the tortuous path to the castle were, many times, the last sensations of those condemned to death.

Against all odds, the hamlet remains standing, but it is one of the harshest places in the capital. The saltpeter and the passage of time have been relentless to the constructions of Casablanca. The best preserved are the Catholic church and the small Antonio Govín lodge, dedicated to the Creole Freemason who defended liberalism on the Island during the 19th century.

Against all odds, the hamlet remains standing, but it is one of the roughest places in the capital

Among the propped-up, half-finished walls and fallen posts, the rest of the houses do not resist the onslaught of time. To get to the most recent buildings – makeshift dwellings on the hill – you have to avoid the ruins of the oldest ones, immersed in vegetation and garbage. continue reading

There is no one on the streets and the vehicles heading to the tourist area circle the town. An old man is the only one digging through the garbage, but that scene is not unique to Casablanca: any pile of garbage in Havana has its “divers.” There is also no one waiting for the train at the station, which is completely closed. The abandonment is such that the railway line is barely visible above the pavement.

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Nor do dogs and cats walk among the portals of Casablanca. The only ones who question the visitors are the children. Weathered by misery and hardly shy, they repeat a formula when they see a tourist: “Give me a candy, come on. Give me a dollar.” If someone takes a bill out of their pocket, more children will appear, just as poor and ungainly, demanding theirs.

The only really resplendent thing in the town is Jilma Madera’s Christ, which stands out from behind the roofs. “On the horizon of Havana, Christ protects us,” says the official Ecured encyclopedia in a pious tone. The phrase sounds like sarcasm to those who travel the rugged path that leads to the top of the hill.

There is hardly anyone waiting for the train at the station, which is completely closed. The abandonment is such that the railway line is barely visible above the pavement

Inaugurated on Christmas 1958, the Christ brought bad luck – legend says – to Fulgencio Batista, and was never liked by Fidel Castro, who is speculated to have tried to remove it on more than one occasion. Beggar children also gather at the foot of the sculpture, and they are not the only ones who pay attention to any carelessness of visitors, no matter if they are national or foreign.

La Loma del Cristo, Christ’s Hill, is famous for assaults. There have been many who, in the blink of an eye, have seen themselves stripped of cameras, wallets and any other object at hand by a very fast Havana thief. The escape route – protected by the undergrowth on both sides of the road – is more than calculated: a little-known entrance to La Cabaña is the perfect hiding place for criminals on the run, after prior agreement with the Military Service recruits who guard the fortress.

Even so, tourists prefer to take their selfies near Christ’s sandals and not in the sinister residence of the “heroic guerrilla,” the statue’s neighbor. As a threat, which is not difficult to consider fulfilled in front of the dilapidated mansions of Casablanca, a phrase from Fidel Castro adorns a wall: “A revolution is more powerful than nature.”

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A Brand New State-Run Technology Store without Internet Access

The Gedeme store on Rancho Boyeros Avenue in Havana’s Cerro district. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, 16 October 2023 — There is a certain point on Havana’s Independence Avenue, better known as Rancho Boyeros Avenue, where there is no internet signal. At that spot, which is at the intersection of Palmar Street in the Cerro district — 2701 Rancho Boyers to be exact — the state-owned Industrial Company for Information Technology, Communications and Electronics (Gedeme) has opened a bricks-and-mortar store.

The grand opening on October 11 was marked by a small ceremony and a press release. The news item, which appeared as an article in Cubadebate and the provincial newspaper Tribuna de La Habana, explained that customers could go there to pick up purchases made through the store’s website or could purchase those products at the store itself using a QR code, both through the EnZona payment app.

The store’s location, it continues, “was chosen due to the urgent need to make the service more accessible to the public.” Previously, customers had to go to the Gedeme factory in Marianao, at least half an hour by car from the center of the capital, to pick up products they had purchased online.

The article claims the store offers a variety of products including lamps, computer equipment, mattresses, pillows and bases for refrigerators. However, what most people go to Gedeme for, as 14ymedio confirmed on Monday from conversations with regular customers, are light bulbs. “It’s the best thing they have in stock,” says José, who was at the store on Monday. continue reading

“To do this, I would first have to tell you to walk at least one block to the bus stop [where there is an internet signal] so you can pay, and that is not feasible”

The state-run company, which just a few days ago was visited by delegates from the National Assembly, seems to have given its employees only vague information about what it actually sells. “First, the electricity went out,” says José, “and then the service they provided was terrible.” He reports that, while he was there, a young man came in wanting to buy some light bulbs using the QR code and the EnZona app. The employee explained that EnZona does not work there because there is “a very big problem” with internet connection. “To do this, I would first have to tell you to walk at least one block to the bus stop [where there is an internet signal] so you can pay, and that is not feasible,” José claims the woman said.

Similarly, he complains that the employees do not inform customers of either the courier or transportation option as mentioned in the official publications. Instead, they only ask customers to buy online and pick up their orders twenty-four hours later.

The items listed for sale on its website, which can only be accessed from Cuba, are limited. Under “Telecommunications” the only thing the company had for sale on Monday was a landline telephone with a cable but no screen. The “Electronics” section offered a surge protector for household appliances while the “Computer Science” section only had a motherboard for those wanting to build their own desktop computers.

The website boasts of the company’s “innovative thinking, with quality and sustainability in its processes” yet still directs customers to pick up their purchases at the old Marianao address. The online catalogue’s largest section is devoted to office furniture, which includes desks and shelving made of pressed wood and metal. The company also installs aluminum marquetry and lighting systems.

“From what I heard, they said that they were already in talks with Etecsa to provide them with a phone so that customers could buy it right there along with the app,” says José, “But just think, why would you set up a technology company that sells online in an area where there is no internet coverage?”

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