Juan Diego Rodríguez – Page 2

While Cuba Runs Out of Fuel, Four Tanker Trucks Arrive at Esther’s Gas Station Over Three Days

Paraguas has received four fuel trucks since February 1, a real prize. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 3 February 2024 — Few gas stations in Havana escape the fuel crisis that prevails in the country, stirred up by the postponement of the new rates for its purchase. Among the exceptions are Los Paraguas and Corral Falso, the two gas stations managed on Telegram by Esther Lilian Pérez Trujillo, the organizer of the line, “by decree” of the government of Guanabacoa.

Judging by Esther’s reports to the group members of both gas stations, Los Paraguas has received four tanker trucks of gasoline since February 1, a lot compared to other gas stations in the capital, like the San Rafael in Central Havana, which didn’t have any to sell this Saturday.

“One thousand five hundred eighty five gallons of premium gas and 1,849 of regular” arrived at noon. This newspaper was among the first summoned to Los Paraguas, at 1:00 in the afternoon. Few cars waited in line, close to the scheduled time, but the tension was still in the air.

“Is it coming today or not?” asked a customer. “We are on the list and have to buy but the tanker truck hasn’t arrived yet,” he explained to an employee at the gas station. The Cupet trucks, like ships loaded with water and food that are sighted by hungry castaways, were photographed along their way, and people passed on the information of their whereabouts on Facebook. continue reading

List in hand, Esther’s lieutenant sat on a plastic chair next to the starting point of the line. (14ymedio)

“One already went by, I think it was going to La Rotonda,” said the troubled driver of a Lada who was waiting in line at the Los Paraguas gas station when he saw a truck with the Cupet logo heading along the Via Blanca in the direction of the other service center. The drivers lined up on a street next to the pumps where the road was once covered with asphalt but now has only potholes, piles of stones and dust. The entrance to Los Paraguas itself is full of puddles of accumulated water, and the vehicles must bypass the holes to access the refueling area.

On a motorcycle, punctual and with camouflage pants, one of Esther’s lieutenants appeared at 1:00 in the afternoon. List in hand, she sat in a plastic chair next to the starting point of the line and finally began the sale.

The desperation to obtain fuel has been gaining strength in recent days, not only because of the political ups and downs and the fear of the implementation of a price increase, but also because of the possible deterioration of the weather that has been announced for the next few hours, which has the people of Havana running in search of supplies to cope at home until the storm passes.

The black market, where one can buy a bottle of cooking oil the same as a washing machine, hurried its transactions this Saturday but was hanging by a thread on the supply in the gas stations. “The kitchen is here, listening to the conversation, but we can’t take it away until the courier manages to fill the tank of the truck,” an informal seller with a wide assortment of appliances explained to a customer.

The drivers lined up in a street next to the pumps where asphalt once covered the road. (14ymedio)

This Saturday, in addition, the Electric Union predicted a deficit of 800 megawatts for the night, which will translate – as has been happening for several days – into long blackouts. A litany of breakdowns keeps the National Electric System in check, according to the official media, including the breakdown of unit 6 of the thermal power plant of Mariel, unit 3 of Santa Cruz and unit 2 of Felton. In addition, there is maintenance being done on three other units in Mariel, Santa Cruz and Cienfuegos.

The new rates for the purchase of fuel, which were already listed this Wednesday at the gas pumps, were removed after the announcement that “a virus from abroad” had destroyed the computer system of Cimex.

“The Cimex de Gaesa corporation was dropped from the entire management system, and they had no backup. They are doing a general inventory to be able to have some control,” said Cuban influencer Manuel Milanés at the time. This newspaper toured several gas stations to take the pulse of the incident, and the question was: “What’s wrong with these people?”

The response came this Friday, when the official press reported that they had rolled the heads of three ministers, including the one of Economy, Alejandro Gil. This unforeseen “movement of cadres” was survived, however, by two leaders who have a lot to do with the energy debacle: Vicente de la O Levy, Minister of Energy and Mines, and Eduardo Dávila, the Minister of Transport.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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European Food Aid Is Free but It Is Being Sold on the Informal Market in Cuba

On the ‘tetrapacks’ not only did it read that it was a product from Spain of the Apis brand, but that it was merchandise that had arrived in Cuba through the European Food Aid program. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 17 January 2024 — The merchandise, some 500-gram boxes of tomato sauce, “Are of good quality, each one for 300 pesos and I have five. If you buy them all I will give you a discount,” explains the informal seller, dressed in a cap and backpack, who knocked on 72-year-old Niurka’s door in the Central Havana neighborhood of San Leopoldo. A regular in the area, the merchant has built a clientele through the years, based on trust. “Neither snitches nor people who want to do business on credit” is his motto.

But today, security was more necessary than other times. It indicated on the tetrapaks not only that it was a product from Spain of the Apis brand, but that it was merchandise that had arrived in Cuba through the European Aid Fund for the Most Disadvantaged People (Fead). On the packaging, in capital letters, it warned: “Free food, sale prohibited.” Niurka extended three 100-peso bills, took the box and pretended that she had not read the sign or seen the blue flag with its little stars in a circle.

Where did the merchant get the tomato sauce? Did he steal it from a state warehouse or did the families who benefited from the aid give it to him to get some cash? Questions flooded into Niurka’s head as soon as she closed the door. But it could be said that, whatever the case, she was also “a vulnerable person,” with a meager pension and two grandchildren to care for. She immediately opened the box, poured the contents into the pan where she already had some sausage slices and prepared, at full speed, some spaghetti for the children who would soon arrive home from school. continue reading

The module that has recently arrived in Cuba from Spain includes rice, cooked chickpeas, canned tuna and meat, pasta, fried tomato or cookies.

Fead provides food or basic material assistance to people who need it most in nations with high rates of poverty and economic insecurity. Support consists of food, clothing, footwear and other essential products for personal use, such as soap and shampoo. But each European nation decides the type of aid it wants to provide, and how to obtain it and distribute it.

The module that has recently arrived in Cuba, coming from Spain, includes rice, cooked chickpeas, preserved tuna and meat, pasta, fried tomato, cookies, vegetable salad, soluble cocoa and oil, a composition similar to the one that has reached other Latin American countries. The intention is that it land on the table of those families who have been plunged into misery by inflation, low pensions, physical disabilities of some of their members, and old age.

However, the mechanism does not escape tricks and the rerouting of resources. There is also no way to control whether beneficiaries use these free foods to put on their own plates, or end up selling them on the black market. With the 300 Cuban pesos from selling a box of tomato sauce, someone can probably pick up some food or vegetables that will give them more value on their table.

Due to those inextricable paths that life takes, today Niurka ate thanks to European aid, although her name is not registered in any humanitarian program.

Translated by Norma Whiting

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For the Scavengers, the Building Collapses in Havana Are Good News

With rebar in hand and dodging surveillance cameras, a scavenger decides to enter the danger zone. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, January 24, 2024 — The scavengers of Havana are happy. A mass of debris, bricks, iron and garbage has extended, since Monday, in the area of the facade of the old Vía Blanca hotel at 505 Zulueta Street. It took three months since this newspaper’s last visit to the property – then converted into a nest of thugs and drunks – for the collapse to be total.

Now, iron bars surround the collapse zone and prevent passage through the streets that surround it. The residents of the neighborhood, standing on the sidewalk of the neighboring police station on Dragones Street, launch their hypotheses: “They put the fence there in place of yellow tape because people would just lift it, duck under and keep walking.” Others, such as scavengers and criminals, continue to “explore” the ruins, trying to dodge the station’s surveillance cameras.

The decline of 505 Zulueta has accelerated in recent weeks. “The building began crumbling, and a part was closed, but finally the facade fell on the structure and destroyed it,” says one of the masons who works in the buildings on the street. Now you can’t walk there, and the neighbors complain that the ruins prevent them from going through the passage.

The decline of 505 Zulueta accelerated in recent weeks. (14ymedio)

For the scavengers, however, the building collapses are good news. Dedicated to dismantling buildings in poor condition to reuse what is possible – rebar, sticks, bricks, nails and even dust for concrete – the craft has proliferated in a city that is falling apart. A door knocker from the 50s or continue reading

the Soviet era can end up in a tenement building or in a slum on the periphery of Havana.

Any corner of the city can attest to their feats. In front of a mutilated wall on Hospital Street, a neighbor describes the scavengers: “They take anything that serves them in a particular construction. They sell anything. The walls disappear as the bricks are taken away.”

He is not wrong. On Hospital Street the plaster on the wall has been scraped away and you can see the bricks – whole and in pieces. Towards the corner, the iron structure is naked and wobbles over a gigantic garbage dump. “It won’t take long to fall,” the neighbor says.

The portals of the building located on the corner of Monte and Egido were once spacious and stately. (14ymedio)

The scavengers can be recognized by a piece of rebar or wood in their hands. Not infrequently they are, in addition, beggars or dumpster divers – digging in the garbage cans to look for food. The portals of the building located on the corner of Monte and Egido were once spacious and stately. The property functioned as an office of the state-owned Medicuba company and was abandoned a few years ago. Now, its entrance is carpeted by a formidable garbage dump.

Rummaging through the garbage, a “predator of ruins” – they are also caled “pirañas” and “termites” – explains to 14ymedio the tricks of his trade. Because of the pile of garbage and a “steel fence” that the State placed there, he cannot go inside as he would like. The mammoth building, he continues, has many useful materials, but taking them out will cost work. Rebar in hand and dodging two security cameras, the scavenger decides to enter and goes through a door whose threshold is, despite the debacle, a work of art.

In the heart of Havana, the notable buildings – almost all built during the Republic – are a species in danger of extinction. The inaction of the State and the incursions of the scavengers are destroying them until, eventually, they collapse.

A formidable pile of garbage carpets the portals of the building located at Monte and Egido. (14ymedio)

The damage is irreversible in most cases. It was denounced on Tuesday by the documentary filmmaker Jorge Dalton, when he learned of the collapse of 505 Zulueta. “The painful and unhappy landscape of that area is just a small sample of the 65 years of a model more defeated than an old and patched spring mattress, useless and rusty, where everything is laziness, hopelessness, destruction and desolation,” alleged the creator, who lived for many years in Havana and now lives in El Salvador.

In 1995, Havana Historian Eusebio Leal promised the neighbors of 505 Zulueta a transfer to better houses in Alamar and Habana del Este. It took 25 years for the nine families who lived there – including children – to be relocated in 2020, in the face of the imminent collapse.

When this newspaper visited the area, in September last year, the neighbors considered it as a kind of sanctuary for criminals. Not even the police from the Dragones station dared to cross the scaffolding barrier to look for the thieves who used the ruins as a hiding place.

However, the Way of the Cross of 505 Zulueta – and of multiple buildings in Havana – has many stations left, “loose stones” that collapse on the people and garbage that now has to be collected with the help of several trucks. But in the no man’s land that Havana has become, the scavenger is king.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Despite the Poor Quality of the Rice, Cubans Are Distressed by Its Uneven Distribution in the Ration Stores

Authorities have said that the rice will be delivered to the ration stores in a staggered manner. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 22 January 2024 — At this point in January, when it is not long before the end of the month, the two pounds of rice per person that remain to be delivered to the ration stores have not yet arrived. “Only a few peas, cooking oil and kitchen detergent.”

“People are desperately asking about the rice, and the storekeeper says that it should arrive today or tomorrow,” Sandra tells 14ymedio. “They gave us a pound when the year began and then four, but I wouldn’t be surprised if what was missing doesn’t arrive.”

The coffee has not appeared either, nor the new ration book, delayed due to lack of paper, which the authorities have promised before March 30. “The chicken that arrived a few days ago is the one they owed from last year,” says a friend of Sandra’s, who reiterates: “No rice; you know, it’s at the North Pole.” continue reading

“Neither rice nor oil has arrived yet; even the cat is waiting,” a customer says sarcastically, nine days before the end of the month.

In the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, the scene is similar: “At the beginning of the month they gave us a pound of rice and two pounds of sugar per person, and two days ago they sold us the rest of those products but nothing else,” a resident tells this newspaper.

The customers of the ration store located at Hospital and Jesús Peregrino, in Central Havana, are luckier, since their rice allocation is complete, but that is not the case in other nearby establishments, such as the one on Reina Street. “Neither rice nor oil has arrived yet; even the cat is waiting,” a customer says sarcastically, nine days before the end of the month.

In Nuevo Vedado, the rice arrived at some ration stores last Friday along with “some chicken,” while for others it didn’t arrive until late Saturday night.

In short, they are distributing the products of the basic family basket to the neighborhoods and municipalities of the capital in an irregular manner. “They do it in a staggered way, as they say, and “staggered” means, for example, that the rice didn’t arrive until Friday,” explains a resident of the Luyanó neighborhood.

In the provinces it’s not much different. In San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa, of the seven pounds of rice that correspond to the basic basket, so far five have been given. In Holguín, they gave six pounds, and the other one is missing.

On the Ministry of Internal Commerce’s website, where the delivery of chicken destined for the “normal family basket and social consumption” of Santiago de Cuba is reported, users take the opportunity to complain about the shortage of the moment: “It’s January 20, almost the end of the month, without even a pound in the ration store, and we have to pay 170 pesos a pound [in a private store] with such low wages. Please think of this town and leave off with the speeches. I am not an opponent or anything like that, but really this situation is unbearable,” explains a reader.

While consumers complain about the quantity, the quality of the rice is terrible

While consumers complain about the quantity, the quality of the rice is terrible. “Here the only rice that can be eaten is sold in the private stores, but that costs between 160 and 220 pesos a pound, and not everyone can afford it,” says Sandra, who fears having no choice but to spend the money.

Last Thursday, the Ministry itself warned of the “problems in the fulfillment of the distribution cycles” of the rationed food, especially rice. The official explanation: “financial restrictions and operational problems, which have caused delays in the arrival of imports, production and transportation,” without giving further details.

The guaranteed “deliveries” of oil and peas correspond to January and February, “because inventories are available.” As for sugar, which is also being distributed “in a fractional way,” it will be completed “in correspondence with the advances of the crop, and the four pounds per capita will be insured.”

Other products that are delayed are salt and coffee, according to the official report. The same goes for milk, which is also distributed “fractionally, in correspondence with the arrivals and fulfillment of the collections of fresh milk.” The ministry reports that this month Cuba will distribute a donation from the UN World Food Program, “with free delivery in some territories.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuban Worker: ‘For That Salary I Prefer to Clean Windshields at a Traffic Light’

In addition to several administrative positions, teacher vacancies are offered at the job fair. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Madrid, January 20, 2024 — Desperate to recruit candidates for their many vacant positions, on Saturday morning managers and teachers from several schools in Havana were anxiously awaiting potential workers to fill positions in the educational sector. The “job fair,” however, barely attracted any interested parties, as confirmed by 14ymedio in a tour of these educational centers.

The catalog for the vent included event included a wide range of positions ranging from maintenance workers, through administrators to teachers. But the salaries, which at their peak barely exceeded 5,000 pesos*, failed to attract potential candidates and the outlook at the fair was bleak.

“One or two people have come but we are going to remain open until 11 in the morning in case someone arrives at the last minute,” acknowledged an employee outside the Felipe Poey Aloy Unified School on Zapata Street. “A girl and a retired man are the only ones who have come. She said that she was inquiring about a friend from the province who was coming to live in Havana.” continue reading

This Saturday at the entrance of the Felipe Poey Aloy Unified School, on Zapata Street in Havana. (14ymedio)

The information offered by directors and teachers was completely oral. “There is no paper to take with you with the information, no brochure that later allows you to calmly read all the offers. You have to ask about what interests you and they tell you the positions and salaries, so no one can remember anything,” lamented a young man, a Computer Science graduate, who approached to inquire about a position as a teacher in his subject.

At the entrance to the Rubén Martínez Villena high school, next to the Habana Libre hotel, a receptionist waited impatiently for the arrival of someone interested in knowing the list of available places. “We have everything and, furthermore, there is soon going to be a salary reform in Education and salaries are going to rise quite a bit,” she snapped at a young woman who approached to inquire.

Once inside the educational center, with numerous current workers participating in the fair but very few people interested in the positions, the woman turned to the Director. “We have several positions, from qualification courses and also places in day care centers, in primary schools, basic secondary schools and, if the person has a degree, we quickly place them.”

“The current salary for a teacher is 5,600* pesos more or less, but a salary reform is coming. They are finalizing the resolution, although we do not have details yet, we only know that seniority will be counted for the raises,” said an employee of the school. “All the years you have worked in Education must be uninterrupted or they will not be counted towards the raise.”

“We have several positions, from qualification courses and also places in day care centers, in primary schools, basic secondary schools and, if the person has a degree, we quickly place them”

In the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución, where the Rubén Martínez Villena secondary school is located, there are “three technological positions, one related to mechanics and automotive, another in computer science and a third in commerce and gastronomy that need teachers as soon as possible because there are many empty places” explained the center worker. “We write it down and the person starts working next week, we can’t wait.”

The long-awaited reform that the sector has been waiting for, after the recent salary increase for Public Health workers, should be a hook to attract new employees. However, the rampant inflation suffered by Cubans means that what until a few years ago seemed like high salaries have now become pennies in the face of the skyrocketing prices of basic products.

Liuba, 29, one of the few interested people who made it to the secondary school located on Línea and 4 streets in El Vedado, told 14ymedio ,”A carton of eggs, a bottle of oil and two pounds of beans,” that is what she would work for with a whole month in front of a classroom. “I came because my parents told me about the Fair, but I prefer to clean windshields at a traffic light.”

In another nearby school, a group of smiling employees took a photo for social networks. “We have to publish how the fair is going, we have to keep our Facebook account alive,” one preached. For the snapshot, they captured a young woman passing by, oblivious to the salaries in Education and the extensive drama of classrooms without teachers.

*Translator’s note: At current prices, a carton of 30 eggs sells for roughly 3,000 pesos.

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Strange White Circles in the Sky above Havana Were Not Extraterrestrial

The phenomenon left a group of Luyanó residents stunned and groping for answers. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, 19 January 2024 — Some unusual formations in the sky early Friday morning led to a mixture of surprise, excitement and fear among Havana residents. At first glance, they looked like an airplane’s contrails but what made them suspicious was their shape. The string-like cloud, high in the troposphere, looped around three times before trailing off in a straight line towards the horizon.

“What a strange pattern. And it’s so big.” The phenomenon left a group of Luyanó residents stunned and groping for answers. “E.T. is here!” one of them said jokingly. “Aliens or Americans. It can’t be anything else,” answered another. “Girl, what do you mean aliens or Americans? It’s some Russian or Chinese plane that they’re testing here,” a third replied. A fourth feared the apocalypse was at hand while a fifth responded, “Take me now.”

The trail was clearly visible from all points in Havana, including from 14ymedio’s editorial office in Nuevo Vedado. Residents here looked for a more rational explanation. “It must be a natural phenomenon caused by humidity or some temperature differential in the upper atmosphere,” said a young man from Tulipán Street. “I think it’s an optical illusion,” said the friend accompanying him. continue reading

A pilot provided a straight answer: “It’s from a plane circling around because it can’t land, no question.” José Martí International Airport was closed at that time of day due to meteorological conditions. An employee, who asked to remain anonymous, explained that it was caused by a Wingo passenger jet en route from Bogotá that ultimately had to be diverted to

New Batches of Uniformed ‘Smurfs’ Arrive in Havana From the East

This Thursday, the sidewalks of the Havana Capitol were guarded by agents whose faces the residents had not seen before. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 18 January 2024 — Many agents of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) are called Palestinians because they are usually transferred from Cuba’s Eastern provinces – Granma, Guantánamo, Holguín, Las Tunas, Santiago de Cuba – to other places, especially Havana, in the cunning strategy that the dictatorship always carried out to fuel hatred between the repressors and the repressed.

There is nothing better for this than to take advantage of the xenophobia that is assumed – whether true or not – among the residents of the capital and inhabitants of the center of the Island in relation to eastern Cubans, and vice versa. They are also called smurfs, because of the color of their uniforms, although it is certainly darker than that of the Belgian cartoons that give them their name.

Not only do their physiques and origins generate derision. The lack of knowledge of the city they patrol causes them to fall into countless tragicomic situations. Like those eastern police officers who, according to popular legends, asked for reinforcements for “Callello” street after reading the sign for “110th Street” [Calle110] on a corner marker. continue reading

Today, short of officers, and with its young members having been born smaller due to chronic malnutrition, not even the PNR is free from the traces of exodus and misery in Cuba

Unaware of the capital’s geography, crammed into shelters and with a poor diet of claria and rice, the dream of many of them is to “meet a Havana woman,” get married and so be able to qualify for the necessary residency permit to be able to stay and live in the big city. Others quickly learn to ask for bribes and turn a blind eye if they are slipped a bill. Many do not even continue wearing the uniform a few years after their arrival.

This Thursday, the sidewalks of the Havana Capitol were guarded by uniformed men whose faces the neighbors had not seen before. “Looks like a new batch of smurfs arrived,” a woman commented sarcastically after passing them. “But they bring these Palestinians, weaker and weaker,“ answered an old man sitting on a bench in Fraternity Park.

Today, short of officers, and with its young members having been born smaller due to chronic malnutrition, not even the PNR is free from the traces of exodus and misery in Cuba.

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Castro’s Broth, Symbol of Cuba’s Decline

The lady drank everything in one long drink and crossed the street, avoiding the puddle of sewage right in front of the improvised food service point. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, January 12, 2024 — The woman quickened her pace until she reached the corner of Reina and Manrique streets, in Centro Habana. In front of a table with flimsy legs with a pot on top, she ordered “a broth for 30 pesos.” The vendor served her a pale liquid in which small pieces of something floated. The lady drank everything in one long drink and crossed the street, avoiding the puddle of sewage water right in front of the improvised food service point.

The ethnologist and jurist Fernando Ortiz defined Cuban culture as an ajiaco — a rich chicken stew made with three types of potatoes — because it mixed African, Spanish and indigenous, plus countless customs of those who migrated to the Island from different latitudes. Dense and made from rich meats and vegetables, this Creole dish could “raise a dead man,” as described by the elders, but its preparation is very difficult today, with its ingredients missing from the market platforms or extremely expensive.

There are levels and levels of broth. (14ymedio)

Instead, it is more common to find its poor cousin: broth. A lot of water, no corn and, instead of cassava or malanga, they barely add bananas or a few portions of sweet potato, which are cheaper and easier to find. The main menu of the official celebrations every September 27, the eve of the continue reading

anniversary of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, this is identified with the bungling and crisis that characterize the Cuban system, which is why it has become the signature recipe of Castroism.

However, there are levels and levels of broth. The one that was sold this Thursday in a doorway on Reina Street, just outside a small agricultural market, had gone down a few more steps in quality and respect for the consumer. Without any aroma coming out of the pot, with the stench of sewage accumulated a few centimeters away and made from very few components, the recipe had degenerated until it looked like warm water with shells.

Today’s Cuba is more like a broth than an ajiaco. Gripped by the exodus, the lack of culinary references and the economic disaster, its formula has become as impoverished as the reality. Better to swallow it quickly and holding your breath, so that it fills the stomach but does not harm the palate, as did the woman who today, in Central Havana, asked for the smallest serving because she did not dare to take the largest glass, at a price of 80 pesos.

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The Wealthy Districts of the Cuban Capital Enjoy VIP-Level Cleaning Services

Perhaps what stands out most in this neighborhood are the garbage containers: spotless and emptied, without the mountains of garbage around them that can be seen in so many corners of the city (14ymedio).

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 8 January 2024 — Beyond Nuevo Vedado, past the Colón cemetery and the zoo, on the border between Playa and Plaza de la Revolución, passers-by can admire a landscape that does not exist in the center of the capital. Wide, tree-lined streets, huge, well-kept houses, well-dressed people, some of them with bags full of food, modern cars. Here, on Kohly Avenue, you can´t hear shouting or arguing, and the only queue that can be seen, at the Acapulco gas station, moves forward in an orderly fashion.

It is the other face of the Cuban capital, far removed from the chaos of Central Havana or Old Havana, not to mention poorer municipalities such as Cerro, La Lisa or Diez de Octubre, where decay and dirt leave little room for beauty. Surprisingly, and as a significant indicator, there are ATMs, such as those of the Banco Metropolitano at 26 and 32, with money, without queues and working properly.

Wide, tree-lined streets, huge, well-kept houses, well-dressed people, some of them with bags full of food, modern cars (14ymedio).

But perhaps what are most noticeable in this neighborhood are the garbage containers: spotless and emptied, without the mountains of garbage around them that can be seen in so many corners of the city, and that sometimes, give rise to dangerous fires. The Community Services people can be seen working in these streets.

n Kohly Avenue, you can´t hear shouting or arguing, and the only queue to be seen is at the Acapulco gas station, moving forward in an orderly fashion.

Kohly illustrates the inequalities that the Revolution, far from solving, accentuated. A normal well-preserved and civilized city, inside another city, which is neglected and where the law of the jungle prevails… reserved for those who do not have a share of power on the island.

Translated by GH

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Three Kings Day in Cuba Accompanied by High Inflation

Stuffed dolls at an open-air market in Havana go for 6,000 pesos apiece.

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, January 6, 2024 — “I didn’t suddenly wake up this morning flush with cash so my children are only getting cookies and soft drinks this year.” This is how one woman summed up her financial situation on Saturday. She and a friend were at the open-air market on Central Havana’s Galiano Street, looking for something to give her children on Three Kings Day. Surrounded by dolls, tiny fire trucks and stuffed animals with Minnie Mouse faces, the two friends perused the items for sale.

“Everywhere you look it’s 3,000, 4,000 or 7,000,” lamented the woman after inquiring about the price of several products. “That Barbie over there costs 6,000 pesos. That’s two months’ pay for me,” she added after asking about a box that also included a couple of changes of clothes and shoes for the lanky plastic body crowned with platinum blonde hair. “For that amount of money she ought to be able talk.”

The vendors brush off the criticisms and refuse to lower their prices. “Expensive?Everything is expensive here in Cuba. Just coming here cost me money in transportation and investment costs,” replied one young man to a father who criticized him for charging 3,000 pesos for a stuffed Pokemon doll. Not far away a brightly colored plastic telephone, with keys that light up and beep when they are pressed, costs 5,000 pesos. “I came here without my daughter because she would be upset if she saw this.”

Although Cuban officials downplayed Three Kings Day celebrations for decades — the most ideological hardliners describe them as evidence of the “capitalist fever of consumerism” — many families have tried to revive the tradition in recent years. Though state-owned stores currently sell few toys, and certainly not expensive ones geared towards this holiday, sales of children’s items have been growing on the informal market and at small, privately owned businesses more recently.

While some parents buy presents weeks in advance, others wait until January 6, hoping to find something at a close-out sale or because they had not been able save up enough money until then to buy a baseball and bat, a water pistol or a small kitchen with cups and pots. But the rise in the cost of living is also having an impact on children’s entertainment. This year, the Three Magi rode into town atop runaway inflation faster than any camel, which makes any gift that a child ultimately receives smaller and more ephemeral.

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A New Slogan for the Cuban Revolution on Its 65th Anniversary: Get By on Less

“Then it will be here tomorrow,” says an elderly woman sarcastically, as she walks past the place. “The 65th anniversary is off to a good start.” Text of sign: “Today there is no yogurt nor milk nor eggs nor cheese.”(14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, 5 January 2024 — State-run media has been flooding pages and screens for days with the faces of Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl and other bearded “heroes” on the occasion of the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Cuban revolution. In the official rhetoric, there is only room for triumph and volunteerism, not for the impoverished reality that the Cuban people are experiencing.

It is Friday and nothing in Havana suggests that this is the eve of a Catholic holiday: Three King’s Day. Deserted streets, uncollected garbage, houses for sale. All are part of the backdrop that a stroll through the capital provides.

The only thing the establishment has to offer are cans of sugary soda, the kind of universal food that remains available even in the midst of misery

There is nothing special to buy in the shops either, especially in the most depressed neighborhoods such as Lawton and Tenth of October. At a small, privately owned store on the corner of Porvenir and Pocito streets, a discouraging sign is propped up on the counter: “No yogurt, no milk, no eggs, no cheese today.”

“Then it will be tomorrow,” says an elderly woman sarcastically as she walks past the place. “The 65th anniversary is off to a good start.”

The only thing the establishment has to offer are cans of sugary soda, the kind of universal food that remains available even in the midst of misery. The store provides a corner from which to observe the true portrait of the revolution: one of shortages and hopelessness.

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A Picture of Fidel Castro on Display, the Requirement for Cuban End-of-Year Sales

Authorities instructed the merchants that they should place some slogan, flag or photo of the leaders. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana | 23 December 2023 — This Saturday morning, a portrait of Fidel Castro waited for the curious people who approached one of the kiosks at the New Year’s Eve fair on Zanja Street in Central Havana. Next to the image, a pair of tennis shoes, a poor copy of the Nike brand, cost 16,000 Cuban pesos, four months’ salary for a professional. Authorities instructed the merchants to place some slogan, flag or photo of the leaders of the Communist Party in each stall.

“A lot of propaganda but everything is very expensive,” complained a young man who came to the fair to buy a new wallet. “Mine was stolen yesterday and now I’m doing the paperwork for a new identity card”, he lamented. Traditionally, during the end of the year, thefts spike “because everyone is desperate for money”, the man considers. “I’m going to have to add what I am going to spend here to what I lost because of the thief”.

“A lot of propaganda but everything is very expensive,” complained a young man who came to the fair to buy a new wallet. (14ymedio)

Others came to the fair searching for food for the Christmas celebrations. The Cuban capital’s authorities had announced the sale of agricultural products as a “salute to the upcoming 65th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution”, but at the Zanja Street Fair the supply of food, vegetables and meat was very scant. Some withered lettuce and some dirty beets made up the assortment to put on the plate. The rest were caps, clothing, footwear and personal hygiene products. continue reading

“At what price are they going to sell the broth?” an old man asked two men who were stirring a steaming pot behind a sign announcing “our challenges and our victories”. “It’s going to take a while, grandpa, because we’re starting now and when we get it out it will be 50 pesos a glass”, one of the improvised cooks responded. Under a photo of Raúl Castro, women’s handbags were displayed at prices between 1,500 and 3,000 pesos, depending on the size and the material.

Guarded by an image of Ernesto Guevara, cigar in mouth, a set of clothing for girls combined pink tones with the faces of Disney characters. Later, next to a July 26 flag, beach flip-flops were offered, also imitations of well-known brands, such as Adidas and Tommy Hilfiger. A few meters away, a Mipyme kiosk sold soft drinks and frozen chicken, all imported.

This Saturday, a few meters from the fair, the end of year summed up what Cubans are experiencing, trapped between inflation and the excesses of political propaganda.

The fair represents Cubans, trapped between inflation and the excesses of political propaganda. (14ymedio)

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A Well-Stocked, Privately Owned Small Business and an Almost Empty State-Run Store under the Same Havana Roof

Items for sale at Zona K’liente stand in stark contrast to the products customers can buy with their ration books. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 12 December 2023 — “Retail Company No. 037.” The austere, colorless sign above an old public telephone and the pale, peeling two-colored wall are clear indications that this is one of Havana’s state-run stores. Specifically, the one alongside a market on 19th and B streets in Vedado.

Inside, however, the establishment has been “diversified.” On one side, an office area with Tuesday’s delivery — eggs, rice and coffee — to be sold to customers with ration books. On the other side, a privately owned business known as Zona K’liente that offers its customers home delivery.

The austere, colorless sign above an old pay phone on a pale, peeling two-colored wall is a clear indication that this is one of Havana’s state-run stores. (14ymedio)

The stark contrast between this new enterprise and its neighbor, the Soviet-style store whose shelves have been virtually bare for years, are no doubt a shock to customers walking in with their ration cards. Decorative cloth shopping bags hang from a wall, soft drinks and cookies are on display, and all manner of fresh and cured meats sit in its refrigerator. Of particular note is one of the store’s name brands: Cuervo, as in Alejandro Cuervo, the actor and company founder. And also the Spanish word for “crow.” continue reading

Initially, Zona K’liente carried housewares — items such as towels, sheets, bags and glassware — but has been gradually shifting to groceries at a time when the island is suffering from an extreme food shortage.

“These prices are like crows; they’ll poke your eyes out.” (14ymedio)

“I got only as far as the eggs when I realized I couldn’t afford anything,” laments an elderly woman carrying the few items she has acquired from the state-run store while taking note of Zona K’liente’s exorbitant prices. Paraphrasing an old Spanish proverb, she observes, “These prices are like crows; they’ll poke your eyes out.”

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The Most Expensive Ice Cream Shop in Havana Opens Its Store for Christmas

Bright and well stocked, the ice cream shop replaces the old BimBom at the gates of the Malecón. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, December 14, 2023 — Christmas has brought a gift in advance for those who can afford it, like everything today, in the frustrated revolutionary utopia. Bueníssimo Soderia Gourmet, the new ice cream-sweet shop that succeeds the old BimBom in the Havana neighborhood of El Vedado opened its doors this Wednesday, two months after beginning sales from a cart in front of the premises, on Infanta and 23, then under construction.

“They have made it very beautiful, very beautiful,” said Rachel, a customer attracted by the Christmas atmosphere and the dedicated workers, dressed in reindeer hats, and Santa Claus himself, who approached the door to stop the curious from pushing. “It’s already open, you can now come in,” they were kindly urged from the street.

The refrigerators with rotating sweets caught everyone’s attention, until they saw the prices. (14ymedio)

Decorated in black and white, the glass refrigerators stood out with spinning cakes and desserts, all very bright and well air-conditioned. “You can see that they use a lot of quality ingredients,” Rachel said. “Everything looks good and tastes good, too!” She exclaimed, highlighting how delicious the ice cream was. Her bill: 955 pesos for a glass dish with three scoops, served in an oval shape with a little syrup and a vanilla cupcake (panqué). continue reading

Attractiveness and novelty played a part in the premiere of the Bueníssimo Soderia Gourmet, which has adopted as its motto Esto Está Bueníssimo (This is really good), which shines on its facade. Inside you could see quite a few customers, and many were shocked to see the price range. One scoop of ice cream, which in October sold in a paper cone on the ground level for 195 pesos, rises now, inside the premises, to 220 pesos, and this is the most economical item. Most of the sweets, some tiny, exceed 200 pesos, and others cost 700, like the tocinillo del cielo, a pudding made with egg yolk and syrup.

“Well, nowadays everything is like this, prices through the stratosphere,” said a customer who was waiting for his turn to order. “I can imagine the investment that those people have made here. They have made it very nice; to be honest, they can’t charge cheaper than that, I guess,” he said with resignation. The experience, he explained later, was worth it, because the quality is higher than its closest competitor on the street, Monte Freddo.

The ice cream, he explained to 14ymedio, is somewhat cheaper there, 400 pesos for two scoops, but not as good in terms of originality and taste. “The desserts here are different; I haven’t seen them anywhere else. The ice cream is the Italian type, with flavors that are not tropical.” Stracciatella and amareto alternate with traditional chocolate and strawberry, either in a cone or in a glass dish.

The workers, in Christmas outfits, go out to invite the curious to stop by. (14ymedio)

“Look, I’m sick,” Mario, a client on a medical diet after a recent illness explained to the saleswoman. “I can’t eat anything that has cream, custard, none of those things. The sweet has to be as simple as possible, without additives, without any filling,” he explained. “The employee was quite kind and recommended everything to me,” he told 14ymedio after finishing his sweet, a small caprice after several days in a hospital.

Accustomed to the shortages of state shops and the laziness of their employees, the people were thankful for the new place, revived under private management in an environment that took wings in the 90s, when young people and the LGBTI group began to frequent this area between the Malecón and 23rd Street, making it a meeting point of the capital.

The BimBom, which occupied the premises until the pandemic and the Ordering Task* finished off the city’s idleness, has found a successor that is made to the new measure of Havana: for the newly rich and tourists.

*Translator’s note The Ordering Task is 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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Rice from Uruguay for Santiago de Cuba, Rice of Unknown Origin for Havana

Hunger and sadness were palpable in the lost looks of people waiting in line to buy rice on Perez Street in Havana’s Luyanó district. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, 11 December 2023 — It’s Monday and, on the streets of Havana, no one is talking about anything but rice. An article in Cubadebate, a digital state-run news platform, announced that 25,000 tons (more than half a million fifty-kilogram bags) had been offloaded at the Guillermón Moncada port in Santiago de Cuba. The news was met with predictable eagerness despite the fact that Cubadebate reported the rice will not be available in stores for another two weeks.

Cuban broadcaster Canal Caribe also provided images of the delivery. It reported that distribution of the cargo, which will first be shipped to the five eastern provinces, “is also guaranteed for the rest of the country.” The label printed on the bags indicates the rice originated in Uruguay, from where the Eco Bushfire — a cargo ship registered in the Marshall Islands — set sail as 14ymedio was able to confirm through maritime geolocation logs.

With nearly half the month of December gone, many of the country’s bodegas (ration stores) have yet to receive their regular deliveries of rice, a basic staple of the Cuban diet.

Some of those that did manage to get it, like establishments in Havana’s Nuevo Vedado district, were open for business on Sunday, an indication of the level of consumer desperation. Of the list of rationed goods to which Cubans are theoretically entitled, rice is the most in-demand product. Delivery delays have been especially hard on families who cannot afford to pay free-market prices — more than 170 pesos in some places — for a pound of rice. continue reading

The label printed on the bags indicates the rice originated in Uruguay, from where the Eco Bushfire — a cargo ship registered in the Marshall Islands — set sail, as 14ymedio has confirmed. (Screen capture)

Customers at the ration store on Perez Street in Havana’s Luyanó district were in luck; the much sought-after staple had been delivered. Hunger and sadness were palpable in the lost looks of people waiting in line. However, many of them changed their minds once they saw the poor quality of this rice of unknown origin was, a far cry from the rice that Santiago de Cuba got. “It’s the kind they call ‘Indian’. It’s steamed, yellowish and doesn’t taste good,” complained a forty-something woman who was also upset because she was allowed to buy only three pounds per person instead of the usual seven pounds.

Those who cannot afford to buy unrationed goods find themselves in a critical situation in spite of the government’s efforts to calm the public mood. Last month, for example, the deputy minister of Domestic Commerce, Yosvani Pupo, appeared on national television to reassure viewers that end-of-year basic staples would, in fact, be available. At that point, it was already past November 15 and, like this month, rice deliveries were delayed.

Domestic production, as some provincial news outlets have indicated, is not and will not be enough to meet consumer demand anytime soon. With hopes pinned on exports, Cubans salivate at the sight of every cargo ship, like the one that arrived on Sunday.

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