Juan Diego Rodríguez – Translating Cuba

Capped Prices in the Private Shops in Holguín, Anarchy in Havana

Many stores do not have any of the six items for sale with established prices.

Pelican, a private business in Holguín, this Tuesday / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Miguel García/Juan Diego Rodríguez, Holguín/Havana, 9 July 2024 — Curiosity and need come together in the private shops of Holguin, which this Tuesday have had a greater influx of customers than on other days. At the entrance to the premises, a board showed the new prices, which have been capped for basic products since July 8.

In one of the many points of sale visited by 14ymedio, the employees had just learned about the new regulation and changed, in view of the buyers, the numbers written next to each item . Although the oil and pasta were below the new amounts, the powdered milk went above the 1,675 pesos per kilo established by the Official Gazette.

In the kiosk managed by the MSME Bodegón Holguín, the line filling the sidewalk in front of the premises did not respond, however, to any of the six products that have been exempted from taxes on imports and which have capped prices. The crowd, in fact, was waiting to acquire the newly discounted instant soft drink packages, which are mainly intended for the school snack.

The capped price “is not going down because if that’s what’s legally allowed why sell it cheaper?”

This Monday, vegetable oil at 990 pesos per liter was now in line with the new regulation. But the price, instead of satisfying consumers, raised criticism among those who believe that once set at that limit, “it will not go down because if that is what is legally allowed, why sell it cheaper?” asked an elderly woman who arrived at the Bodegón. continue reading

With a pension of 1,420 pesos per month, she can’t benefit from the new prices. “There is a lot of disorganization with this measure. At the Chinese Fair there were several kiosks that have not even heard about it and still have cooking oil at more than 1,000 pesos per liter,” the woman complained. “I found chopped chicken at 370 and 380 pesos per pound in several places; it seems that they have not realized that it’s at 340.

In Havana, the panorama has not been very different. Some central businesses have opted for caution, while several places in El Vedado and the neighborhood of Cayo Hueso did not even have for sale what popular humor has already baptized as “the magnificent six.” Others displayed the new prices on their boards.

The EJT market shelves of 17 and K, in El Vedado, returned to their usual appearance / 14ymedio

On Reina Street, in the municipality of Centro Habana, on Monday the line was extended in front of a private business that announced a pound of chicken at 310 pesos. What was saved in money was lost in time, because the line could take up to two hours between getting a number and accessing the counter. The main cause of the delay, according to an employee, was that “we have to wait for them to bring more supplies.” They were exhausted due to the multiplied demand.

In Havana, the shelves of the Youth Labor Army [EJT] market at 17 and K, which last week appeared surprisingly empty in the face of the confusion due to the entry into force of the capped prices, returned to their usual appearance. However, they didn’t sell chicken. “The chicken is still kidnapped,” an old woman said with a sneer.

The prices in the informal market, through home delivery applications on social media groups that market everything from spaghetti to beef, were the same as a few days ago, unrelated to the new official guidelines.

“The big chicken thighs: I’m not lying. If you want quality, this is your option at 380 pesos per pound and we charge home delivery separately,” said an ad in a WhatsApp thread dedicated to food and cleaning products. In the photo that accompanied the ad you could see a package with the colors of the American flag and three letters: USA.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Havana’s Famous Sloppy Joe’s Bar Falls Victim to Government Apathy

The situation is unsustainable in a place that Gómez Fariñas describes as “iconic, recognized in the world” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez/Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 6 July 2024 — Sloppy Joe’s Bar, an alcoholic refuge for the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Errol Flynn, used to be one of the culinary temples of Havana but has fallen victim to state apathy. A shortage of bread and other products is impacting its quality of service and the only ones finding anything to eat there are termites, gnawing away at its famous dark wood bar.

On Wednesday, state media finally took note of its decline. Silvia Gómez Fariñas, who writes an unlikely recipe column for Cubadebate, bemoaned the lack of bread there during a recent visit when she was hoping to impress “some Spaniards” who had accompanied her. A 14ymedio staff writer — an avid follower of Gómez Fariñas — immediately decided to pay a visit to Sloppy Joe’s, located just a stone’s throw from Old Havana’s Central Park.

Gómez Fariñas admitted that she did appreciate the politeness of the staff as well as the roast pork finger-sandwiches. “So far, so good,” she noted, but the happy feeling “did not last long.” Things started going downhill when she was unable to order anything from the “selection of ’bocaditos’ and sandwiches,” all around 500 pesos. When she asked why, she was told bluntly, “We’re out of bread!” continue reading

Sadly, the term “sloppy” is an apt description for the bar’s bathrooms / 14ymedio

Reporters from this publication had better luck than Gómez Fariñas. On Wednesday morning, they were able to order items from the menu that included bread but were warned that, within a few minutes, it would be sold out. The accompanying beverage was an imported Turkish orange juice with a high proportion of artificial ingredients.

The situation at a place that Gómez Fariñas describes as “iconic” and “known the world over” is unsustainable. The government, she says, is “letting it go to pieces ” and wonders if they are doing it on purpose. Of one thing she is certain: private owners would never let this happen.

Prohibition in the U.S, which lasted from 1920 until 1933, forced many famous drinkers — most notably Ernest Hemingway — to look for a bar where they could enjoy a mojito and a Cuban cigar. The place became even more famous after the release of the 1959 British film “Our Man in Havana.” Fidel Castro appropriated Sloppy Joe’s a year later and its celebrated clientele never returned. The establishment, which was founded in 1917 by a Spanish immigrant, José “Joe”García, has a twin in a nearly perfect condition in Key West, Florida

The display cases, which once provided an escape from the restrictions of Prohibition, now only hold bottles of Havana Club rum / 14ymedio

In those days, Sloppy Joe’s offered a bun topped with minced beef that became famous in Havana and that Gómez Fariñas, understandably, misses. “Those who visited before 1959 say that it was like ’ropa vieja’ but very finely minced, a ’picadillo’ that was made with a knife,” a technique similar to the one used to make steak tartare.

The 14ymedio reporters had to settle for a “bodega” bread with tuna, at 400 pesos, which came to the table without any cutlery and had been topped which a thick layer of oil. Notable also was the repetitious selection of alcoholic beverages. The display cases, which once provided an escape from the restrictions of Prohibition, now only hold bottles of Havana Club rum.

Customers are grateful that Sloppy Joe’s has kept the air-conditioning on, though it operates only intermittently, part of the “war-time economy” measures the government has implemented. The display cases hold photos of better times and the listless waiters try to remain seated as long as they possibly can.

The food menu includes sandwiches that cost between 350 and 500 Cuban pesos / 14ymedio

Under the tables, a squadron of mosquitoes goes about its business. Only moving to a table in a better lit area, or one nearer the street, mitigates the risk of contracting Oropouche or dengue fever, both of which are on the rise in Havana. Without insecticides or the means to combat the swarm, employees shrug their shoulders and make the table swap as smooth as they can.

Unfortunately, the bar’s bathrooms do sad justice to the English word “sloppy,” a synonym for untidy, careless or disheveled. There is a hole in the ceiling, a non-functioning urinal, the usual absence of paper, and toilets in poor condition.

No one – not even Gómez Fariñas – seems to care about the bar’s most serious and silent threat: termites. The grooves left behind by the insects as they devour the establishment’s wood are visible under the glass and old advertising signs for Heinz ketchup, Bauzá tobacco, various brands of liquor and products of all kinds. They evoke a past that Sloppy Joe’s, which Eusebio Real had restored in 2017, will never see again.

One customer, who stops briefly at the bar on his way out, offers his assessment: “Lots of reminders of capitalism but no actual capitalism.”

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Private Businesses in Cuba Hide the Chicken and Other Products To Avoid the Capped Prices

State foreign exchange shops sell the same items at more expensive prices

The EJT agro market at 17 and K in El Vedado, Havana, usually with very well stocked shelves, was almost empty / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez/Olea Gallardo, Havana, 3 July 2024 — A day after the new measures announced by the Government on June 27, which establish a maximum profit margin of 30% on private sales to the State, it is not yet known with certainty whether or not the prices are capped for six products in private retail stores. There is only one thing certain: these basic necessities included on the list of capped prices by some municipal governments this weekend disappeared from the shelves on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the authorities of Plaza de la Revolución (Havana), Jobabo (Las Tunas) and Pinar del Río published lists of products with maximum prices for cooking oil (900 pesos per liter), chopped chicken (680 per kilogram), powdered milk (1,675 per kilo), sausages (1,045 per kilogram), pasta (835 pesos per kilo) and powdered detergent (630 pesos per kilo). But yesterday, Monday, when the regulation was supposed to come into force, in municipalities like Boyeros they said that they didn’t know anything, and among the businessmen it was all rumors and confusion.

“Does anyone know anything about the official prices? We’re confused.” The comment of Yulieta Hernández Díaz, president of Grupo de Construcciones Pilares, summed up the state of the matter well. continue reading

This Tuesday, the bewilderment of Cubans is even greater. The agro market operated by the Youth Labor Army (EJT) of the Armed Forces, at 17 and K in El Vedado, Havana, usually very well stocked, had almost all its shelves empty. The few products for sale were piled up together on the top shelves on the K Street side.

Prices of meat products in the state foreign exchange store La Época / 14ymedio

The sellers, however, responded to the surprised customers with a simple shrug of the shoulders. “They say they don’t know, but it’s clear that they must know something,” said an old woman. It was the same in the Arango market in Luyanó. “There’s nothing on the shelves; it’s dead, empty, a very strange thing,” a neighbor told this newspaper.

In the butcher shop at 17 and K, which operates as a private business, there was only chicken breast and picadillo [chopped meat]. The clerk said that he didn’t know why there were no chicken quarters or thighs, but customers could hear him talking on the phone with someone who told him that he that he had to change the blackboard: “Now I have to put the prices in kilograms.” He didn’t mention the amounts.

In the private business (MSME) Zona K’liente they weren’t selling the bird either. “There is no chicken or milk anywhere.” “There is no chicken and there won’t be,” was the forceful response of the butcher of the 19 and B market, also in El Vedado. The reason? “Because they capped the prices.” And he cried out: “Better to raise chickens at home!”

Something happened, of course, in the last three days, and the authorities were reluctant to report it. A butcher from Sancti Spíritus gave the explanation to this newspaper: yesterday he was introduced to some “comrades” of the Party along with two inspectors, who warned him of the entry into force of the regulations and “they read the prices.” They didn’t give him any citation: “It was just a verbal warning, and they told me that there could be consequences if I increased the price of those products.”

“They say they don’t know, but it’s clear that they do”

It was just what an anonymous official source had warned in an audio that spread like wildfire since Saturday, in which the “established” prices were specified. The voice, with an accent from the west of the Island, assured that “groups of confrontation” were going to go to private businesses to give them “a wake-up call.” Subsequently, it warned, there might be “a forced sale of these products or confiscations of them for the social institutions that also need these products.”

As a result of the uncertainty and the threats, private individuals have simply hidden the merchandise. Also in Sancti Spíritus, a neighbor said that he had managed to buy chicken in a nearby MSME, “just for being trustworthy”: 10 pounds at 4,000 pesos.

“Chicken cannot have disappeared from the face of the earth; it’s here in Cuba, but they hide it because they don’t want to sell it at the prices dictated by the State,” explained another Cuban, a resident of Central Havana. “It’s always the same: they capped the price of taxis, the taxis disappeared; they capped the price of malanga and the malanga disappeared. Well, now chicken has disappeared.”

In four years, as seen in an official graph, private sector sales have gone from 4.1% of the total to 44.4% / Onei

Meanwhile, in the State stores selling in freely convertible currency (MLC), there were not only the lost products in that had been sold in pesos, but they were much more expensive. In La Época, in Central Havana, detergent of 1.5 kilos was at 5.45 dollars (1,908 pesos at the informal exchange rate), and 1.25 kilos of Argentine chicken was at 6.55 dollars (2,293 pesos).

“They’re never going to cap themselves, as you can imagine,” said a client at the doors of the MLC store.

The effort to attack the MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprise) by imposing a profit cap on them has been criticized by specialists such as Pedro Monreal, who insists that the way to contain inflation, which has not stopped growing exponentially since the entry into force of the so-called Ordering Task* (2021), is none other than the reduction of expenses.

The economist has again published a revealing post on Tuesday, based on figures published yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics and Information (Onei) that indicate the spectacular increase in the weight of the “non-state sector” in retail sales. In four years, as observed in an official graph, private sector sales have gone from 4.1% of the total to 44.4%, while state sales went from 95.9% to 55.6%.

It remains to be seen whether prices will be discussed on State TV’s Round Table program scheduled for this Tuesday, to which “leaders of the Communist Party” are invited to “analyze partisan actions based on boosting food production in the country.” Cubans know what the end of the film is: a shortage of products and more difficulties to obtain them.

*Translator’s note: The Ordering Task was a collection of measures that included eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso (CUP) as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency, which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Balcony Falls Onto a Cafe in Vedado, Part of a Wave of Recent Collapses

Taking advantage of several legal loopholes, some small business owners are converting residential apartments into cafes and mini-factories / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 21 June 2024 — At 11:00 PM Thursday night, a balcony collapsed onto El Tablazo, a cafe located on First Street, between C and D streets, in Havana’s Vedado district. The incident, part of a wave of collapses that is now impacting even one of the capital’s most solidly-built neighborhoods, occurred at a time when the building was fully occupied. Three adults were injured in the collapse.

Stacks of marble slabs and bags of cement, stored on a second-floor balcony by a construction crew, led to the collapse. Independent journalist Julio Aleaga, a resident of the property, reported that recent repairs to the building, which he claims were not executed properly, contributed the structural failure.

The accident was reported on the Facebook page of the Revolution Plaza Municipal Assembly. Two floors of both this building and its neighbor, which are located very close to the shoreline, were recently repaired – at least superficially – by the owners of the ground-floor cafes Chucherías, El Tablazo and 3D, the latter owned by the comedian Roberto Riverón, known as “Robertico.”

14ymedio was also able to confirm the presence of a large construction crew working throughout the entire block / 14ymedio

For Aleaga, the collapse was yet another indication of how new business ventures are operating on the island. Taking advantage of a series of legal loopholes, he believes private owners of small businesses are converting residential apartments into cafes or mini-factories.

The owners of these businesses have no other choice, explains Aleaga, than to carry out these conversions with heavy tools. “Instead of using a hammer and chisel, they use sledgehammers, which affect the structure of the building. And since no one is overseeing these projects, everyone does what he wants,” he says. continue reading

That is what happened with the balcony, which — according to Aleaga — fell not only because of the excess weight but also because of “vibrations and pounding that rattled the structure.”

The balcony fell not only because of excess weight but also because of vibrations and pounding that rattled the structure

The situation is made worse in buildings like the one on First Street due to its proximity to the sea, which has a corrosive influence on the exterior walls. The property recently benefited from a cosmetic resurfacing, at least on the façade.

The buildings on First Street are located near the Meliá Cohiba hotel and other businesses catering to tourists, so it is quite possible that there were foreigners in one of the cafes on Thursday night. Chucherías, El Tablazo and 3D are part of a cafe circuit considered fashionable by Havana residents. Due to their popularity, these businesses generate a lot of noise, which impacts local residents.

14ymedio was also able to confirm the presence of a large construction crew throughout the entire block, especially at the corner of First and C streets. Workers have been tossing trash and construction debris into a large container located far from the construction site.

The fact that Havana is falling apart will not come as news to any of its residents. On Monday, two days before the accident in Vedado, there was a partial collapse at 423 Monte Street, between Ángeles and Águila streets, which injured one young woman. The collapse of the neighboring building in 2021 killed one man.

In December 2021, 14ymedio interviewed several people living nearby and talked with the residents of 425, 427 and 429 Monte Street, at least one of whom expressed safety concerns. “Pieces of the my dining room ceiling have been falling down. Everything shakes. If feels like we are in an earthquake,” he said. “The covered entry outside is exposed to the sky. The whole thing is falling apart.”
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A Trip From Havana to Santiago de Cuba: 717 Pesos by Bus, 6,000 Pesos by Truck

Days of waiting at Havana’s Villanueva bus terminal to get transportation

Those who arrive here have to sign up on a list and wait for the buses from the National Bus Terminal / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 21 June 2024 — If there is a place in Cuba where the transportation crisis becomes apparent, it is the Villanueva station in Havana. Periodically, and coinciding, as now, with school holidays – in December or the months of June, July and August – the networks and independent media are filled with images of hundreds of people crowded together – adults, children and the elderly – sitting on their suitcases, sleeping on the floor, between the heat and the flies, waiting for days and days to board a vehicle that will take them to the province.

The state-owned Empresa Viajero has designated this terminal for its “waiting list.” Those who arrive here have to sign up on a list and wait for the buses from the National Bus Terminal that have a free seat to pass, either because a ticket has not been sold, or because the traveler has not shown up. Given the scarcity of fuel, the number of vehicles decreases and, therefore, the option of getting a seat. Thus, in Villanueva the crowd gathers, increasingly tired, increasingly sweaty, in a picture typical of Calcutta.

This is what happened this Wednesday, when the line for signing up did not move. Those who were tired of waiting had two alternatives: either leave or travel in uncomfortable trucks without air conditioning at an astronomical cost when compared to bus prices. By bus, the trip to Santiago de Cuba was 6,000 pesos, the trip to Holguín, 5,000 pesos.

A more than considerable difference if one thinks about the prices of official buses: 717 to the first destination and 615 to the second. “We’re on board,” one man lamented to another, who was also waiting and who refused to get on those old, dilapidated vehicles: “Chico, I don’t have any money. And, frankly, if I had it I wouldn’t pay it to leave under those conditions either.”

The state-owned Empresa Viajero has designated this terminal for its “waiting list” / 14ymedio

Between the departure bays, walking with a cigarette in his hand, an old man dressed in military green was shouting: “Long live the Revolution, Díaz-Canel and I rule here, you don’t rule here.” The people, exhausted, laughed at him. In the terminal, only one of the bathroom sinks had a continue reading

trickle of water. As for the snacks that can be purchased, they are not cheap either: a milkshake or a soft drink, 250 pesos; pizza, 120.

Why are there citizens who lower themselves to these conditions, without even obtaining a minimum benefit, for example a cheaper ticket? The general response is that it is very difficult for them to acquire it the formal way, through the Viajando app . “It is an almost impossible mission online because the application collapses and the tickets disappear in seconds,” explains Lucía, who also says that she lives far from a ticket sales agency. “Maybe buying them there also means sleeping there because of the few opportunities. It’s all the same: very few buses and seats available.”

Those who got tired of waiting had two alternatives: either leave or travel in uncomfortable trucks / 14ymedio

Traveling also requires updating your phone’s operating program, something that is not available on all mobile phones and that has left many customers out. That was one of the complaints that users left on the official on-line press release that included the content of this Wednesday’s Round Table State TV program, dedicated to transportation.

Because, in effect, while citizens face the disastrous situation every day, the Government tries by every possible means to make it seem kinder. Thus, in the last Round Table, where in the midst of figures that sought to praise the Automotive Business Group – such as that it is “made up of 18 companies divided into four large blocks,” that the company is “one hundred percent Cuban” and that it has 16,487 workers and more than 12,000 “automotive vehicles,” which makes it “leaders within the sector in the country” – nothing at all could hide the reality.

The Villanueva terminal information board / 14ymedio

“Today we are hit with technical aspects related to vehicle stability, steering, suspensions, clutch systems and access to lubricants. All of this affects transportation levels,” lamented Aidel Ramón Linares León, director of the National Bus Company, appearing on television. The data provided are eloquent: “In 2019 the company transported 13.2 million passengers, while at the end of last year 7.1 million passengers were transported.”

On the other hand, Walter Luis Duverger, general director of the Viajero Company, said on the TV show that “one of the greatest dissatisfactions” expressed by customers was “how unscrupulous elements have manipulated the online reservation service for their own benefit.” He did not give details of what he was referring to or how the problem was going to be solved.

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Russian Warships Leave Havana After Their Five-day Stay

One of the tugboats that escorted the Russian ships, this Monday, returning to the port of Havana / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 17 June 2024 — Shortly before 12 noon, one of the tugboats that had accompanied the departure of the Russian warships anchored in Cuban waters since last Wednesday entered the bay. At that time, none of the Russian boats were visible on the horizon. The flotilla, consisting of the frigate Groshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, the oil tanker Pashin and the rescue tug Chiker, left quickly in the morning. “More than sailing, they flew,” said a resident of Central Havana who went unsuccessfully to the dock to say goodbye. The image of the capital’s port this Monday, empty, contrasted with that of Saturday, when dozens of Cubans lined up to go on board the ships, in the only visit scheduled for the public.

The port of Havana this Monday, almost empty, looked very different from Saturday / 14ymedio

According to the North Russian Fleet in a statement on Monday, “after the departure from the territorial waters of Cuba, the naval group will continue to carry out missions in accordance with the plan of its crossing.” Although Washington initially said that the Russian flotilla did not pose a threat to its national security, two days after the arrival of the Russian ships, the U.S. Southern Command reported the presence of one of its submarines in Guantanamo Bay. “We will always monitor any foreign ship operating near our waters,” the U.S. authorities said.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Hundreds of Cubans Line Up To Visit the Russian Frigate and Submarine in Havana

“I think I’m in a Soviet movie, one of those black and white ones they showed us in the 80s”

At one in the afternoon, the downpour shook the cohesion of the queue / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 15 June 2024 — This newspaper took advantage of the “only opportunity” that the Russian Navy offered Cubans to visit the hull of the frigate Gorshkov. The ship, 135 meters long, is anchored in the port of Havana next to the Kazan nuclear submarine, which was also accessible. Under the drizzle and wind, a line of hundreds of people waited their turn to climb onto the ship’s hull or to walk through the submarine’s hatches.

Both ships arrived on the island on June 12 as part of a Russian naval detachment , whose journey has caused an international stir. Umbrellas lined the port railing as the line, without the slightest hurry, moved forward. At noon, when the rain began to get worse, no one dared to walk on the Kazan anymore .

At noon, when the rain began to get worse, no one dared to walk on the ’Kazan’ / 14ymedio

There were quite a few desertions. Faced with the kilometer-long line, many abandoned the dock and sought refuge in the nearby portals. Mothers with their children, elderly people, old combatants and young people were waiting for the signal from one of the three police officers who opened and closed the path to the ship. Several plainclothes agents with lapels moved among the curious. continue reading

At one in the afternoon, the downpour shook the cohesion of the line. For many it was the end of their wait and they ran across the avenue. From afar, the severe gray and rain that seem to dominate the bay this Saturday felt much more appropriate than the tropical sun with the Russian ships.

Without being able to board the frigate, whose powerful A-192 Armat cannon was pointed at the Morro castle, an old man consoled himself with nostalgia. “I think I’m in a Soviet movie, one of those black and white ones they showed us in the 80s,” he said, pointing to the silhouette of a man alone with a stoic bearing on the imposing submarine, under the curtain of the downpour.

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With a House Full of Garbage in the Heart of the Capital, Havana Breaks Records for Unhealthiness

In Old Havana, on the corner of Aponte and Gloria, a building in ruins was the living image of the pestilence

A neighbor shouted at someone passing by: “Take a look, boy, at this plague, see how dirty everything is?” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 10 June 2024 — The stench was persistent throughout the capital this Monday. The day dawned cool and threatened rain from early on, but the air, instead of cleaning the odors, carried them and brought effluents of sewage, decomposing food and dead animals. In Old Havana, on the corner of Aponte and Gloria, a ruined building was the living picture of the pestilence. Uninhabited, roofless and with a large part of the walls collapsed, its ground floor is occupied today by heaps and heaps of garbage, wrapped in a cloud of flies and other insects.

Next to the house garbage dump, however, there is a property with residents. A neighbor shouted at someone passing by: “Take a look, boy, at this plague, see how dirty everything is?” Faced with the disgusted gesture of the young man, who was almost running to leave the place behind as soon as possible, he asked, “Give me a little help, I’m sick.”

“Oropouche, dengue and even the bubonic plague are going to take us away if this continues”

Another woman, who crossed the sidewalk in the face of the stench, murmured: “Oropouche, dengue and even the bubonic plague are going to take us away if this continues.” continue reading

The lack of fuel and the precarious Communal Services make the refuse flourish on every corner, not only in Havana, but in other places on the Island, including Matanzas, Las Tunas, Santa Clara and Manzanillo, as reported by 14ymedio.

A few days ago, the accumulation of waste in Havana Bay, to the point of preventing navigation, forced the authorities to suspend the service of the Regla ferry. This newspaper confirmed on Saturday that, although the route that connects the port of Havana with the other side of the bay was now operating, garbage was still floating in the water.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Building in the Middle of Paseo Del Prado in Havana Defies the Law of Gravity

The building, long and narrow, looks like one of the structures made with the Jenga game / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 8 June 2024 — One, two, three and four floors create a giant Jenga on Paseo del Prado, on the corner of Virtudes Street. As in the British game, time has been making pieces out of the building and now Havana is waiting for its imminent fall, in the middle of one of the busiest and most popular streets in the capital.

Next to the Andalusian Center, the house of the republican era, skeletal and with steel bars that look like bones, doesn’t cause shame to anyone, even if it is in sight of all the foreigners who walk through the city. Inside, an old man on the second floor watches the gray and rainy sky of this Saturday, so that the threadbare pieces of clothing that hang on his balcony don’t get wet.

The columns that support the building, elongated and narrow like the Island – and in the same condition of construction – seem strong, but to others, “you just have to blow on it and it will fall down,” says a passer-by sarcastically.

The republican-era house, skeletal and with steel bars that look like bones, doesn’t make anyone ashamed / 14ymedio

On the lower floors, the colors of street art have taken possession of a metal gate and moldy walls. The phrases of peace and love on the portal look like the last desperate cry of the building, which evokes Martí and some other unidentified martyr with its drawings. They ask for a ransom: “love is repaid with love.”

A star of David, the sun and the moon kissing and colorful stripes complete the fresco but are overshadowed by the rust and worm-eaten wood. For the onlooker, an image comes to mind, especially with all the building collapses: playing Jenga in Cuba is dangerous; it can fall on top of you.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“How Much Does the Apostle Cost?” The Price of a Portrait of José Martí in the Streets of Havana

The walking vendor sells one of the 42 known portraits of José Martí, made by the Organizing Committee of Cuban Patriots in Key West / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, May 30, 2024 — How much can a piece of cardboard with the portrait that Andrés Estévez made of José Martí in Key West during Christmas 1891 cost in Havana? The answer comes from a man who walks along Obispo Boulevard, without people paying much attention to him, with filthy clothes, his keys tied with a cord around his waist, a cap and a bag made of jute.

The walking vendor sells one of the 42 known portraits of Martí. His face, captured after an event at the Cuban Patriots Organizing Committee in Key West, is neither heroic nor inspiring. He avoids the camera’s gaze and there is a certain skepticism in his eyes. 1891 is the year of Con todos y para el bien de todos y de Versos sencillos (With All and for the Good of All and Simple Verses). According to his biographers, that December he was very ill, and the photo is the best testimony.

In the jute bag the vendor also carries notebooks that he sells at the same price as Martí, and other objects that he has found and intends to resell / 14ymedio

Nor is the man carrying the portrait in good health. The employees of Obispo’s restaurants, the riders, passers-by and even a beggar who rests his crutches on the walls of a tourist information agency look at him with some caution. In the jute bag he also carries notebooks that he sells at the same price as Martí, and other objects that he has found and intends to resell. His Via Crucis begins in the Plaza de Armas and ends, in case it gives him a little good luck, under the statue of the Apostle — as Cubans call José Martí — in Central Park. continue reading

If the writer Eduardo del Llano – father of Nicanor and staunch defender of the regime – said that “the History of Cuba is not for sale,” the quote does not matter in the least to the walker. Everything has a price, and even more so when you are poor and food is, when it exists, too expensive. It is enough for the first interested party to approach him and, to his surprise, ask him: “Partner, how much is the Apostle worth?” He will answer: “20 pesos.”

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A Blackout Once Again Causes a Crash at a Dangerous Corner in Havana

When ’14ymedio’ arrived at the scene, the almendrón, which had overturned, was a few steps from the Toyota, both empty / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 28 May 2024 — The Toyota logo was barely visible on the destroyed hood of a car belonging to the Cuban Foreign Ministry that, this Tuesday, hit an almendrón* on the corner of 17th and G, in Havana’s El Vedado. The impact mark was left on the right side of the old vehicle – whose driver was taken by ambulance to the hospital with injuries – while the modern car had activated the airbag to protect its passengers.

Not a single one of the traffic lights on the Havana corner was working. Blackouts have put traffic in the capital in check and crashes due to lack of coordination of vehicles are becoming more frequent. A police officer guarded the place.

When 14ymedio arrived at the scene, the almendrón, which had overturned, was a few steps from the Toyota, both empty. We were struck by the fact that the first one – with a more resistant body – was more damaged than the second, which had more safety measures in its favor. Because they lack interior padding and seat belts, almendrónes are less safe for passengers. Another danger of these vehicles are the windows, which are often not the original ones and which, upon impact, tend to crack, not fragment, so the risk of being stabbed by a broken glass increases. continue reading

Not a single one of the traffic lights on the Havana corner was functioning / 14ymedio

The official press put the number of crashes that occurred in Cuba in 2023 at 8,556, with 729 deaths and 5,938 people injured. According to information offered by the official newspaper Granma in January of this year, the irresponsibility of drivers and pedestrians caused 91% of these crashes. Other times it is the distraction of pedestrians, combined with disorientation due to the lack of traffic lights, that causes the crash.

17th and G is a dangerous corner. In March 2023, also in the middle of a blackout and without traffic lights, a white Volkswagen hit an orange Polski Fiat, which came to rest on its side on the street. The accident left two injured and, minutes later, the power was back on. This Tuesday history repeats itself, but the blackout continues.

*Translator’s note: An “almendrón” — named for its almond shape — is a classic American car, commonly in use as a fixed-route shared taxi.

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Cuba’s Economic Crisis Leads to Fewer Police Patrols

The tricycle served as a police “patrol car,” with its luminous turret and its white and blue colors.

A Rali brand tricycle slowly makes its way along Infanta Street in Central Havana / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 23 May 2024 — “Just one kick and you can knock them over” observe two handsome young men at a bus stop on Thursday. They are talking about a Rali brand tricycle that is slowly making its way along Infanta Street in Central Havana. What is striking in this case is that the tiny vehicle is operating as a police patrol car, outfitted with the customary blue turret-shaped lights on top.

A woman selling cigars at a nearby covered walkway joins in, joking, “Now even the cop cars can’t get fuel. Next thing you know, they’ll be using chivichanas* to get around.”

“Have you noticed, there’s no gasoline and no electricity for anyone except the police?”

If Cubans thought the previous vehicles looked like aspirin tablets, this new version more closely resembles half a pill, or maybe just a quarter of one. A prescription to treat the growing sense insecurity locals feel on the island’s city streets.

Awhile back, local police officers were issued electric scooters, which they used to patrol the Malecón and nearby streets such as San Lázaro and Carlos III. But no one paid them any notice until these unusual tricycles suddenly appeared.

“Do you realize there’s no gasoline and no electricity for anyone except the police,”observes the same vendor.

*Translator’s note: A chivichana — a kind of skateboard — is a wooden board mounted on four wheels, with an operable front axle, used by children to slide down hilly streets.

continue reading

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A Few Lobsters and a Procession of ‘Yumas’ Come Together at Havana’s 19th and B Market

Misery is part of the tourist experience, although the travel agencies promote it as “cultural immersion,” and they are not wrong

A vendor offers, on a tray, three lobsters in the Havana market on 19th and B /14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 16 May 2024 — “Look what I brought,” says one seller to another, jokingly, this Tuesday at the Havana market at 19th and B, in El Vedado. In his hands he carries – a true extinct species from the Cuban table – three lobsters with fat tails, orange tails, like the rust of the tray that carries them.

As mythological as the lobster, whose capture this year is now prohibited until June, a group of young tourists – Canadians, Americans, English? – takes a tour of the market. Very white, blonde and with red cheeks, of that tone that the sun and the “historical proteins” put on the visitors’ faces, the kids take photos of everything they see.

Misery is part of their tourist experience, although travel agencies promote it as a “cultural immersion,” and they are not wrong. For telephones, modern and minimalist, dwarf onions, rancid chili peppers, outdated guavas and stinking meat, to which the butcher’s ancient fan does no favors, pose.

The kids look around restlessly and it seems to them that they are visiting a poor camp in Africa, a refuge after the war, an orphanage in Vietnam / 14ymedio

They also find the empty shelves, the hospital green walls, the heat of the tropics and the sweaty salespeople who approach them in search of purchases “in hard currency.” The kids look around restlessly and it continue reading

seems to them that they are visiting a poor camp in Africa, a refuge after the war, an orphanage in Vietnam. They prefer not to be touched and to everything – what they understand and what they don’t – they respond with a pitying smile.

Vendors and tourists do, however, have one thing in common. They recognize in the food market, contradictorily, the stench of hunger. Hot, they press their backpacks against their bodies and leave. For Cuban merchants, toasted and sticky, they leave only the desired and unmistakable “smell of yuma*.”

*Translator’s note: “Yuma,” previously used to refer to Americans, now applies to foreigners from any non-Spanish speaking country. ’La Yuma” refers to the United States.

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Without Russian Oil and With Less From Venezuela, the Lines Return to Cuba’s Gas Stations

At the gas station on 17th and L, the line had to be split on both sides of the street / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, May 23, 2024 — For three days, the lines have returned to the gas stations in Havana, where vehicles once again occupy more than five blocks, in an image that has not been seen for months .

This Thursday, in two of the normally busiest establishments in El Vedado, 25 and G, and 17 and L, the panorama was similar. The kilometre-long line at 25th and G was, according to the driver of an almendrón, “just like in the old days”: he went down G, turned onto 23rd and then continued on F for several more blocks. At 17th and L, the line had to be split between both sides of the street.

El Tángana, another of the usually well-stocked service centers, was also bustling with waiting customers. It was in vain, however, because there was no fuel in the morning hours.

At the Infanta and San Rafael gas stations, the cars were also divided into two lines, one for each street / 14ymedio

As for Centro Habana, at the Infanta and San Rafael gas stations, the cars were also divided into two lines: one up San Rafael that almost reached the Calixto García hospital and another along Infanta that turned onto Zanja Street. continue reading

The owner of a motorcycle, who had obtained gasoline in a plastic container and was filling his vehicle near Infanta, indicated the obvious diagnosis: “There is no fuel.”

The situation could be seen coming since the release, at the beginning of the month, of the monthly Reuters report on Venezuelan oil exports.

Although the British agency does not reveal the exact amount that Caracas sends to Havana, from ship monitoring, University of Texas researcher Jorge Piñón calculates that the Island received, in three tankers, a total load of about 840,000 barrels of oil. This represents 28,000 barrels per day (bpd), a considerable drop compared to the monthly average of the previous year, when Cuba received 57,000 bpd.

The owner of a motorcycle, who had obtained gasoline in a plastic container, expressed the obvious diagnosis: “There is no fuel” / 14ymedio

According to Reuters, Venezuelan exports in April fell 38% compared to March – which had already registered a sharp decline – after Washington’s partial reestablishment of sanctions on the Nicolás Maduro regime.

For months, this newspaper has been tracking the movement of the María Cristina, the Petion and the Alicia — the three ships that also arrived in April — whose routes between the Venezuelan and Cuban port terminals are constant. Regarding another well-known ship, the Eco Fleet – which in mid-April, after spending weeks in Cuban territorial waters without unloading the 40,000 tons of diesel it brought from Tunisia, left for Jamaica – Piñón stated to 14ymedio at the beginning of May that it was back on the coast of the Island, in front of the Cuban capital.

In April, the team of researchers led by Piñón did not detect any Russian ships entering Cuban ports, which may explain the current fuel shortage. Donations from not only Venezuela and Russia, but also from Mexico, are clearly insufficient to help the Island get out of its almost permanent energy crisis.

The long line at El Tángana was in vain: there was no fuel today / 14ymedio

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‘Propaganda Artist’ Tours Havana’s Agricultural Markets

On the eve of May 1, posters fill everything from state stalls to ’MSMEs’ connected to the regime

With a black marker and leaning on a weak cardboard, the “compañero” drew slogans / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 30 April 2024 — With a cap, backpack and the gestures of an artist, a “compañero” – it is not known if sent by the Party or the municipal government – walked around the agricultural market on 17th and K, in Havana, on Tuesday morning. With a black marker and leaning on a flimsy piece of cardboard, he drew a slogan, “Long Live May 1!”, surrounded by flourishes and shading.

Without paying much attention to the “propaganda artist,” the campesinos in charge of selling took the posters and hung them in their sales stalls. The scene, which is repeated every year on the eve of May 1st — Workers’ Day — was reminiscent of the Czech politician Václav Havel’s mockery about daily life in a dictatorship: the guajiro uses the sign not because he cares about what it says, but because it is a talisman to scare away the inspectors.

Neither the fuel crisis nor the “war economy” have prevented the Government from planning a May 1st in style. The date, the parade – which will be attended by hundreds of foreign “guests” – and the barrage of propaganda are one of the trademarks of the Island’s regime, whose cameras record the event to show the world its supposed popular support. continue reading

In several MSMEs in the capital, as well as in private businesses or companies that can afford it, there are no squalid signs like those on 17th and K but rather colorful banners. Showing their adherence to the system that allows them to exist and marching in its support is also a guarantee of survival. For their part, the Propaganda offices of the Communist Party, dedicated to printing signs and flags for these dates, have orders “a flor de piel.”

Showing their adherence to the system that allows them to exist and march in its support is also a guarantee of survival / 14ymedio

The official press has made its usual display of preparations. In Havana, for example, no one will be able to park their car on any of the streets that lead to the so-called Anti-Imperialist Platform of the Plaza de la Revolución. In Sancti Spíritus, the Communist Party newspaper published maps and diagrams, so that no workplace would be missed during the “proletarian anniversary,” and promised “recreational and cultural activities” to entertain those who go to the parade.

Tomorrow, all the media repeat, the workers of Havana will “demand” two things: that the United States remove Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and that it end the blockade. Raising wages or solving the chaos of the economy can wait.

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