Julio César Contreras – Translating Cuba

If Books Are a Reflection of its Cultural Health, Cienfuegos is a Graveyard

The only things that are left in the bookshop are shelves containing repeated copies of the same book to fill up the empty space / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 13 October 2024 – Every day, numerous people come into the Dionisio San Román bookshop in Calle 54, Ciénfuegos, just at the top of the main avenue. Anyone witnessing this flow of people would think that in the city there was not only a thirst for reading material but also a lot of interesting books to acquire. In reality, these people are only going there in search of a snack in the shop’s cafeteria. If the cultural health of a city and its citizens is measured by its bookshops, then Ciénfuegos has much to be worried about.

The floor above the shop, initially planned as a conference/meeting room, has ended up sharing rented space with the independent cafeteria. Depending on the style of coffee you purchase there they can cost between 70 and 200 pesos. They’re nothing special but they still attract more attention from passers by than the “sparse and limited variety of books on offer” at the Dionisio San Román bookshop – says Jesús, to 14ymedio.

The man from Ciénfuegos has “a literary curiosity” that can very seldom be satisfied in the local state run bookshop. “Most of their books are about politics, Marxism, economics or similar themes. They also have locally written poetry, but anyone looking for quality fiction or texts which explore areas beyond the provincial will have to look elsewhere”, he explains. Even so, Jesús visits Dionisio San Román at least once a month on the off chance that some “little gem” might somehow appear. continue reading

Depending on the style of coffee you purchase there they can cost between 70 and 200 pesos. / 14ymedio

“When there is no paper you can’t publish, so logically there are no books to sell. The result: employees on minimum wage sitting around waiting the whole day for home time to arrive”, he says. According to Jesús the state bookshop never had a “golden age”, but at least, a few years ago, there were still some quality books around, and authors who were interested in publishing with Ciénfuegos publishers Mecenas and Reina del Mar.

The shop itself can’t escape the general crisis either. Inside the building the workers have to live with power cuts and suffocating heat, not being being able to switch on the air conditioning because of “company policy”. What often happens, explains Jesús, is that they have to go outside into the doorway with a table and a few sample books, to escape from the high temperatures.

Any attempts at promotion don’t guarantee sales either. With the poor level of enthusiasm shown by the sales staff, “you don’t feel the desire to buy anything”, Jesús adds. The Cienfuegero has a theory about the workers’ weariness: “because it’s an entity subsidised by the Cuban state, everyone earns the same, even when they don’t sell so much as a postcard”.

Any attempts at promotion don’t guarantee sales either. / 14ymedio

“I remember when they used to have clubs and literary get-togethers, or they put on conferences. Now the only thing left in the bookshop is metal shelving with the same repeated book copies to fill up the empty space. I don’t think they have even fifty titles on display and the majority haven’t changed since the last Book Fair. And as for the prices, they’re too high, given the low quality of the books and the low buying power of customers. In the Calle San Carlos bookshop any old book can cost up to a thousand pesos”, he says.

In that shop, administrated also by the Provincial Centre for Books and Literature in Ciénfuegos, they sell used books. However, here there is a repeat, on a smaller scale, of the same problems of the other shop. “A few days ago I was surprised to see a long queue in front of that bookshop, but then I realised they were actually queuing for the nearby Cadeca (currency exchange)”. Although some university students and local writers go into the shop, it’s usually the case that whoever goes in there comes out empty-handed.

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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Sick People Who Believe in ‘Free Health Care’ Wait Months for Treatment in Cienfuegos, Cuba

“It doesn’t matter if you make an appointment, because the doctors’ friends and family members have preference”

Patients crowd for hours at the hospital waiting to be seen. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 4 October 2024 — Cienfuegos/In the Dr. Gustavo Aldereguía Lima hospital in Cienfuegos the word “patient” has taken on a new definition. Amid corridors flooded with people and without enough healthcare workers to deal with the sick, the wait for a simple consultation can take several hours.
“My father, who helped build this place, has serious eye problems. More than a year ago he was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes and, since then, we are on a waiting list of patients who need to undergo surgery,” explains Nancy, who went to the center with the old man at 7:00 am this Friday and, four hours later, he still had not been able to enter the consultation room.

The woman knows very well why, at the Gustavo Aldereguía Hospital and at any other health center on the island, patients treated “through the proper channels” take so long to be diagnosed. “It is an open secret. It doesn’t matter if you make an appointment, because the doctors’ friends and relatives have preference,” he says.

Consultations are held on the second and third floors, where access is difficult for the disabled. / 14ymedio

“Ahead of us have entered, without being called from the list, those who can afford to give the doctors bags with all kinds of products. The ophthalmologists themselves come looking for them to attend to them quickly. But I’m not leaving here today without setting the exact date for my dad’s operation. It doesn’t matter if they tell me that the equipment is continue reading

broken or the operating room is out of order,” says Nancy with determination.

In the Cienfuegos hospital, which is a general and teaching hospital, outpatient consultations are held on the second and third floors, making access difficult for people with physical disabilities. “Since the elevator was broken, I had to ask two men to lift me, wheelchair included. The dermatologist who treats me hasn’t arrived yet so the day will be long,” says Dionisio, an elderly man who had both his legs amputated due to diabetes.

Since last June, the Cienfuegos native has been trying to get a doctor’s appointment to check a rash accompanied by skin depigmentation. “All the steps I took were in vain, including those I took through the association of the disabled to which I belong. I had no choice but to present myself without any recommendation other than my nationality, since the health system should be free and with quality for all Cubans. I hope I can have it treated before it’s too late,” he emphasizes.

Dionisio is aware that his treatment will be far from easy in the midst of the country’s crisis.

Dionisio is aware that his treatment will be far from easy in the midst of the country’s crisis. “To begin with, it will be a challenge to get good care because from me they are not going to get more than a “Thank you.” Then, there is the situation with the lack of medications. The doctor gives the prescription and you have to get the medicine however you can. Not to mention that the skin creams are not available. What are the options for those of us who have no family to send us drugs from abroad, nor do we have enough money to buy them in the informal market,” he asks.

Nancy, who has already wasted the entire morning in the waiting room, notices one of the ophthalmologists in a room attending to inpatients and hurries to question him. “Many people here saw the doctor without waiting for him to come to the consultation. This is an every-person-for-themselves situation, so necessity forces consideration for others to the side, unfortunately.” Taking her father by the arm, the woman is certain it is useless to continue in the outpatient clinic waiting for a miracle that will surely not happen, but the doctor’s answer brings her back to reality. “Madam, I consult in three hospitals and I only come here on Fridays. I have a lot of people to attend to in front of you.”

Translated by LAR

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Cuba: Cienfuegos’ Imago Shopping Center Does Not Even Have Water

Shelves are empty at the hard-currency stores managed by the military-run CIMEX corporation.

The Imago Shopping Center is yet another example of the failure of Cuba’s hard-currency stores. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 9 October 2024 — “I’m on my break now. I came here hoping to buy a beverage of some kind as a pick-me-up but the staff at Cafe Cubita told me they don’t even have drinking water,” complains Laura, an intensive care doctor at the Cienfuegos Provincial Hospital, who has had nothing to eat or drink for the last three hours of her very strenuous shift.

The Imago Shopping Center, located on Fifth of September Avenue, sits in a prime location, ideal for attracting customers. Nevertheless, it suffers from a problem common to these stores: a widespread shortage of merchandise.

Initially set up to sell home appliances and electrical equipment, MLC* stores were supposed to generate income for the government in the form of hard currency, which had been flowing to Panama and Mexico along with the mules who travelled there en masse in order to buy consumer goods for resale on the island. Two years later, in the middle of the pandemic, the regime decided to broaden their scope to include groceries and cleaning supplies. The decision generated so much public outrage that, among the demands of the San Isidro Movement, was the elimination of this policy.

“The ones in charge are not interested in making money. They have to be totally incompetent to keep running things like this”

The stores are managed by CIMEX and TRD, retail conglomerates run by GAESA, a business consortium under the control of the Cuban military. According to signatories to a petition demanding their closure, the emergence of MLCs has led to segregation and exclusion due to their prohibitively high prices. The stores also require customers to pay for continue reading

merchandise with a currency to which not everyone had access. The former economics minister — the recently fired Alejandro Gil Fernández — publicly claimed that, while not desirable, the situation was necessary to solve the island’s hard-currency crisis, that it would curb inflation and that it would be temporary. As it turns out, the stores have lasted longer than Gil Fernández’ term in office, though they are no longer a solution even for those with the deepest pockets.

“It’s hard to believe they can’t even sell you a sandwich,” continues Laura. “The ones in charge are not interested in making money. They have to be totally incompetent to keep running things like this.” She notes that customer service is also bad, that the air conditioning system is not working properly — allowing the stifling hot air from the street to enter the building through the front doors — and that the cafe’s level of cleanliness leaves much to be desired.

“It’s outrageous that there’s no service at all in this place and yet they pay employees for giving customers poor service, which is all they do,” she complains. The tables and chairs at the cafe’s front door are occupied by people passing through, who sit there for a few minutes to consume items they have bought someplace else.

People sit at the center’s outdoor tables, eating food they have bought elsewhere. / 14ymedio

The cafe is not the only business in terminal condition. Inside the retail complex, which is managed by CIMEX, is a business called El Rápido. A sign on the door announces it is “open 24 hours” but, paradoxically, it is closed to the public.

“When my grandson saw a game table, he wanted to go in of course. I had to explain to him that, in reality, you can’t go in because there’s nothing to buy,” says Gustavo, a resident of Palmira who is passing through the city. “He then asked me if the workers there were liars. What was I supposed to say?” he asks.

To top it off, Gustavo says he saw one of the cafe’s employees sitting on a of a chair outside the cafe selling packs of cigarettes to an acquaintance. “Who knows how many businesses here force their workers to sell things ’under the table’ because they cannot survive on the wages they’re being paid. It’s a shame the place is so neglected, that it’s run by a company that doesn’t provide the necessary resources to keep it operating,” he says.

One of the few places that does seem to be doing well is a store that sells jams, groceries and even meats. The line of customers outside gives the impression that, finally, here is a place with things to sell when, it fact, it is the store’s small size that explains the artificially large crowd size.

“Everything is crammed into a few square meters in a very unattractive way and the prices are the same as in most stores of this type. Then there is the rudeness of the employees. They act as though they’re doing us a favor rather just doing their job,” says Diana, a nursing student.

In terms of customer service, her experience could not have been worse. “I had to leave the line several times because the woman in charge of the bag check supposedly had to step out for a moment. She took so long that a line formed, with people waiting just to pick up their things or put them away,” complains Diana. “Unfortunately, it seems mistreating customers is the common denominator in all these places, with inefficiency being the main cause of all the erratic behavior. It shows a total lack of respect for the consumer who, to add insult to injury, is paying very high prices for their merchandise.”

A line outside the only business that has things to sell gives the impression that it is doing well when, in fact, it is only an indication of the store’s small size. / 14ymedio

Furthermore, no one understands why, if this store has food and drinks to sell, the center’s food service establishments lack provisions. “Why doesn’t CIMEX guarantee them a stable supply of products to boost sales and take advantage of the influx of customers?” asks one of them.

One of the few places that seems to be doing well is a store that sells jams, groceries and even meats. The line of customers outside gives the impression that, finally, here is a place with things to sell when, in fact, it is the store’s small size that explains the artificially large crowd size.

When price controls on six essential products took effect in July, thousands of Cubans raised their voices to ask a question that as truthful as it was ironic: “Why didn’t they also cap prices at the MLC stores?” The answer was obvious, and it is not just about who owns these stores. It is because their shelves are empty.

*Translator’s note: Spanish-language abbreviation for “moneda libremente convertible,” or freely convertible currency, typically dollars and euros.

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In Cienfuegos, Cuba, They Take Advantage of the Work Day To Stand in Line

Line at a Pan-American store, in Cienfuegos / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 7 October 2024 — Surviving in Cuba is a matter of strategy, money and a lot of time to dedicate to hunting for food and basic necessities. Cienfuegos is no exception. And, if at noon there is nothing left to buy in the shops, the normal thing is that during working hours, especially in the mornings, workers run out in search of food, and State companies are left without a soul.

The counterpart of empty institutions are the crowded lines that form in the portals of stores and premises of all kinds. Bakeries, ATMs and agricultural markets have the longest ones.

“The only thing I’ve done at work today is sign the entry card. I left thinking I would solve things quickly, and here I am, waiting to see if I can pick up the bank card I ordered three months ago,” says Tamara, irritated. Although she is at the branch of the Banco Popular de Ahorro, on San Carlos Street, she already has her eye on another line at the La Princesa market to buy cookies for her children’s school snacks. “It’s impossible to do two things at the same time, and when it comes to choosing, I give priority to mine,” she says. continue reading

Tamara has managed to buy the cookies at the market, but the line at the bank is still stalled / 14ymedio

The lines do not originate just from the demand for sought-after products. It also results from the slowness of the salesclerks and officials, who take “all the time in the world” to attend to people. According to Tamara, excessive delays to serve the public are a common denominator, and it’s the same at the box office of the Terry Theater, on the waiting list of the bus terminal, or in the pizzeria of El Prado. “The place may vary. What does not change, in any case, is the terrible customer service.”

Standing in line in the city begins long before eight in the morning. Juan Carlos knows this very well; for some months, he has been saving places in the line outside the Cadeca (Currency Exchange) for those who are willing to pay the price of his time. “I take advantage of the fact that I work as a custodian near here. If I have to spend the early morning awake anyway, there’s nothing better than looking for some extra pesos by helping others,” he explains. He gets no less than 4,000 pesos every time he spends the night awake.

Juan Carlos is dedicated to saving places in the line outside the Cadeca / 14ymedio

Juan Carlos recognizes that, during the day, it is inevitable to be trapped in a purchase or procedure that seems endless. “I leave the Cadeca with a little money in my pocket, but then I arrive, for example, in the post office line to collect my mother’s retirement, or I stand in a very long line to have five or six scoops of ice cream at Coppelia, and the day goes on like that,” he says.

For her part, Tamara has managed to buy the cookies at the market, but the line at the bank is still stalled. “Several people arrived here after me and resolved it quickly with friends who work there. Then you realize that many people sneak in front of you claiming pregnancies, physical impediments, surgeries and all kinds of excuses, and to hell with the rest of us who have been waiting for hours.” Tamara looks at her watch with concern. “My boss doesn’t know that I left, and I’ve been here for a long time,” she explains.

“You come to realize that many people sneak in front of you claiming pregnancies, physical impediments, surgeries and all kinds of excuses” / 14ymedio

When the sun beats down on people who are tired of waiting, a custodian leaves the bank with an announcement that everyone can guess. In other nearby places, the lines are also gradually dissolving, disintegrating from the pressure to return to work or because the products ran out and the shops and markets are closing. “It was to be expected that they would cut the power at any moment. I have lost three hours, and now I will have to come back another day,” says Tamara, resigned. “I should go back to my job, but there won’t be power there either. So, the best thing I can do is go home and take care of things there. Tomorrow will be another day.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Decimated by Robberies and Blackouts, There Is ‘Not a Soul’ in the Cienfuegos Library

“The place to which I dedicated most of my life is today the tomb of Cienfuegos culture”

Located between Prado and Santa Cruz streets, the building is an emblematic element of the architectural landscape of Cienfuegos / 5 de Septiembre

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 5 October 2024 — At least since the pandemic, Hilda feels that her workplace, the beautiful eclectic-style library of Cienfuegos, is a mansion that only she and her colleagues inhabit, for eight hours a day. Not only are fewer and fewer readers and students visiting, but hardly any efforts are made to make the institution part of the cultural life of the city again. “There are times when I walk through the corridors and the reading rooms and I don’t find a soul. Neither students who come to do homework nor researchers who are looking for manuscripts, and much less readers who want to borrow a book,” the cienfueguera, who after her retirement was again hired by the Roberto García Valdés library, tells 14ymedio.

Located between Prado and Santa Cruz streets, in the historic center, the building is an emblematic element of the architectural landscape of Cienfuegos. “It is a pity that this heritage jewel is being lost among the dust of old books, which in most cases no one consults due to their deterioration and obsolescence. To that must be added the continuous loss of valuable bibliographic funds,” laments the woman, who states that many volumes, considered valuable, have been lost due to theft or carelessness.

Most of her colleagues, who spend their days as bored as Hilda, have even lost interest in their work. “Many of today’s librarians don’t even know the history of the place where they work. To top it off, when a reader arrives, he usually can’t find what he wants because the librarians don’t know the catalog very well or do not pay attention to what the visitor wants,” she reflects. continue reading

Most of her colleagues spend their days as bored as Hilda / 14ymedio

Martha, a younger worker, agrees with Hilda that the work of the library is deficient but attributes the loss of public interest in part to other issues. “Nowadays Google search engines have an answer for almost anything. So the users decide not to waste their time with employees who show apathy and a noticeable ignorance of their work,” she says.

The employee believes that not only the budget but also the difficult economic situation and the frequent blackouts affect the visitors. “It is easier to access the Internet than to go to our lounges that, as if that were not enough, have few comforts. We have fallen far behind in terms of new technologies. We have not been able to offer attractive alternatives,” she says.

The discouragement of workers is also a sensitive issue. “The low salary offers little incentive, and professional motivation is scarce. Library Science is a very nice career, but to exercise it requires indispensable means. While everything in the world is digitized, we are still looking for pieces of cardboard to replace the torn files. The demotivation begins in here and has a negative impact on visitors,” says Martha, who confesses that even the working day has been reduced by half, because the library is dead in the afternoon.

“Our impact on the population is decreasing significantly. If we convene a book club or social gathering in the library, there will be only two or three attendees. We have had to organize directed visits of students, but even so, the statistics do not favor us,” adds the worker, who predicts that the disuse will accelerate the deterioration of the building, which is more than 100 years old.

The reading rooms remain empty all day / 14ymedio

Inaugurated on December 31, 1921, the building was originally the headquarters of the Society of Instruction and Recreation, Liceo de Cienfuegos. It was not until 1962 that it became the provincial library, nourished with the funds of the city’s old house of books. The building was even named a Cultural Heritage of Humanity Site.

“We never talk about the Republican stage (1902-1959), and it turns out that even the buildings where the institutions are located are works made by capitalism. It was nice to see the collection of books that existed in the early 60s. Everything was so well taken care of that it is impossible to compare it with the state in which it is today,” says Hilda, who could see in her beginnings as a librarian something of the former splendor of the Roberto García Valdés library.

“We no longer have the old book sections for Adults, Art, Music and Youth. Even Extensions, which was in charge of taking the reading material to the most diverse places, ceased to exist,” the woman recalls. “Regrettably, the place to which I dedicated most of my life is today the tomb of Cienfuegos culture.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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At the Central Post Office in Cienfuegos, a Single Employee Serves the Public

“Today it will take two hours, at least,” estimates Antonio, a retiree who comes to collect his pension

The post office on San Carlos Street in Cienfuegos is buzzing with dissatisfied customers. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 30 September 2024 — A few blocks from Cienfuegos Bay, the post office office on San Carlos Street is buzzing with dissatisfied customers. They have no place to sit, and as the sun hits the avenue, tension and annoyance increase. People come to transact business or to buy stamps, but before asking who’s the last in line*, they have to calculate if they have enough time and patience.

“Today it will be two hours, at least,” estimates Antonio, a retiree who comes to collect his pension, perceiving the long line as a field of cane that he has to cut with a machete. He has plenty of time and has acquired patience – as a remedy – over the years. Now he has his “door jamb”; that is, a space on the sidewalk where he sits with great difficulty. From there, the line advances. The sun and the discomfort too.

If the post office put its employees in more than one window, the story would be different, says Antonio. On the contrary, there are a series of “trenches” – a counter, a glass sideboard, an empty armchair – that prevent passage and regulate the movement of the line. Everyone must go “through the channel” to the only available window.

The office is gloomy. Several burned-out light bulbs hang from the ceiling, which don’t improve the appearance of the premises. The paint – a greenish gray – absorbs the light and gives the place a suffocating atmosphere. The windows of the facade are covered with tinted plastic, the well-known and not very useful measure against cyclones, and someone – it is difficult to imagine why – stole the plastic cabin of one of the public telephones. continue reading

Everyone must go “through the channel” to the only available window

In a place like this, the “coleros” [people paid by others to stand in line for them] thrive with their “little deals,” but Antonio – out of embarrassment, he says – does not get involved. “I wouldn’t have the nerve to get in line with five or six people behind me.” Not without some sadness, he says that saving a place in line is paid at 500 pesos per person. It is the price he pays for avoiding discomfort, embarrassment and not infrequently the insults of those who do suffer the wait.

It’s not often that elderly retirees with pension books pay a colero. The business deal is not economical if it has to be repeated every month, and for a meager state pension it’s not worth it. “Those who do pay want to buy stamps, so it’s normal for another person to save a place in line to collect a pension and at the same time ’resolve’ the purchase of something else. So you wait and earn a little money,” explains Antonio.

But there is no money in the world that justifies the “ordeal” of being in the post office. When there is only one worker at the window – which is usually the case – you have to start lining up at 5:00 am in order to leave, hopefully, by 10:00 or 11:00 am. It’s not worth it, the retiree insists, and he returns to his “door jamb” spot.

To Vilma – self-employed and with much less patience than Antonio when it comes to lines – what bothers her is that two blocks from the Post Office “a man” has all the stamps there have been and will be for an informal sale. “Where do you get them?” she asks. She gives the answer at the same time as those around her, pointing to the post office: “From right there.”

The office is gloomy. Several burned out light bulbs hang from the ceiling, which do not improve the appearance of the premises. / 14ymedio

The corruption is remarkable, she says, because the person selling stamps also has ways of doing business with the National Office of the Tax Administration (ONAT), according to Vilma. For years, she has preferred not to settle her accounts with ONAT through the post office. Every procedure is cumbersome, and the only stamp that the office is quick to put on its papers, she says, is “that of inefficiency.”

The post office is no longer even useful for her to receive the national newspaper at home, she points out. “I canceled my contract,” she says proudly. “In addition to putting up with the newspapers only publishing what suits them, they arrived three and four days late. When I came to complain about the bad service, they justified themselves by telling me that the workers are insufficient to meet the city’s demand.” Now I get the news through social networks.

It would take too many words to describe the deficiencies in the parcel service, Vilma continues. “Someone recently sent me a package from Spain. After three months passed and it hadn’t arrived, I made a claim. They blamed the lack of fuel, transportation and, of course, the blockade.” The matter didn’t stop there. If the package was, as she supposed, in national territory, she was told she could “motivate influence.” Once money changed hands, the package immediately appeared.

Defeating the line does not guarantee anything, since the attention at the window brings properly institutional obstacles

On San Carlos Street, it doesn’t matter if you come to collect your pension, send a letter – a practice that is increasingly disappearing – or do a national transfer: the line, warns the guard, is “only one person at a time.” The defense by blood and fire of that “unit” seems to be the real concern of the staff, says Antonio.

Defeating the line does not guarantee anything, since the attention at the window brings institutional obstacles, such as the fact of not being able to send more than 2,100 pesos in a transfer. “It’s one limit after another,” Vilma complains.

The post office on San Carlos is the “central one” in Cienfuegos. If its operation leaves much to be desired, the booths are even more alarming. Closed firmly, they have only one function: to give shade to those who, overwhelmed by the incompetence and heat of Cienfuegos, seek a moment of truce.

*Translator’s note: Cubans join lines by asking “who’s last” and then, as soon as the next person joins behind them, they can move around freely without anyone ’losing their place’.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cienfuegos, Cuba, a City that Dies at Sunset

The corners and parks, which used to be filled with children playing soccer and adults playing dominoes, remain empty. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 29 September 2024 — The monotony in the streets of Cienfuegos after three in the afternoon would have been unimaginable a few years ago. The corners and parks, which were filled with children playing soccer and adults playing dominoes, remain empty this Saturday. Procedures and purchases are carried out before noon, and later, when the city goes dark, only beggars and stray dogs remain on the streets.

“I have lived in this city for 71 years, and I’ve never seen it as dead as I do now. People speak ill of the era of capitalism in Cuba, but before, on this same street, one could eat and drink what he wanted,” says Julio, an old man who has paid 20 pesos for a small cup of coffee on the outskirts of the El Español hotel. “This cup is the size of a pea with water, but retirement doesn’t give me enough to pay for a real coffee.”

Gabriela shares the feeling that time is moving slowly and with nothing interesting to do / 14ymedio

Julio complains that, as soon as it’s noon, even the State shops close. As he explains, the variety of entertainment options in the city is zero, and if there were any, it is likely that people wouldn’t be able to afford them. Olivia accompanies the old man, whose visit to the office of the national continue reading

telecommunications company Etecsa – in the middle of working hours – was fruitless. “These people close at 4:00 in the afternoon, and on Saturdays they don’t open until 11:30 in the morning. With my work schedule it’s impossible for me to take care of any business with them,” he emphasizes.

According to Olivia, until some time ago, institutions were still open at 7:00 p.m., but the pandemic was the ideal pretext to restrict working hours and make life even more difficult for the people of Cienfuegos.

“It’s already impossible to go out at night because of the blackouts and the total lack of public transport. Added to that are the few cultural options and the very high price of any product. You can’t even go out for a walk with your family,” the woman reports.

Julio complains that, as soon as it’s noon, even the State shops close / 14ymedio

Julio knows very well what Olivia is talking about. “In my time people went to dance, shared some time at the Casa de la Música or had fun in the Tropisur cabaret. If you were bored, you took a walk around the Jagua hotel or any recreational center in Punta Gorda. Today the only thing we can do is remember that time,” he says.

Gabriela, Julio’s granddaughter, who attends university, is not interested in the activities her grandfather did in his youth. However, she shares the feeling that time moves slowly and with nothing interesting to do. “What am I going to do? Sit in El Prado until they turn on the power at dawn? Go out on a Sunday to find everything closed and the street empty? Expose myself to being assaulted and robbed in the middle of the darkness of the boardwalk? That’s why I prefer to stay home,” she says.

At the age of 21, the young woman hopes to be able to leave Cuba soon with the US Humanitarian Parole Program that her father arranged for her from the United States. “When I leave I’m going to take advantage of the time and go to the movies, which I’ve never done, and to discos and amusement parks. But while I’m here, it’s better to entertain myself on my cell phone,” she says.

Procedures and purchases are made before noon, and later, when the power goes out, only beggars and stray dogs remain on the streets / 14ymedio

Gabriela’s opinion is shared by many Cienfuegeros, who leave the streets as soon as the sun goes down. “If you go to an ATM to withdraw cash, there is no money. If you want to have a soft drink, it’s hot. There is such great negativity and incompetence that coexistence is impossible,” Gabriela complains, with the uncertainty of not knowing how she will get home, near the Tulipán neighborhood.

“Not Even Its Leaders Believe in the CDRs, and Many Now Live in the United States”

Cienfuegos is left without stew and with blackouts

Without music or celebration, the neighbors dedicated themselves this Friday to spending the blackout in the portals of their homes / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 28 September 2024 — That a resounding and long downpour would fall this Friday on Cienfuegos was the hope of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) to mask the discouragement in the neighborhoods of the city during the anniversary of the organization. However, neither luck nor hurricane Helene favored the officials; the festivities begin on the 28th, and by afternoon, the sun was shining brightly.

“We have to recognize people’s apathy when it comes to the CDRs. Most of the time we are forced to fill out reports with invented data, because on many blocks we don’t even have leaders at the base level now,” admits a CDR official who tells 14ymedio that it was impossible for them to carry out an activity even on Argüelles Street, where they have their provincial headquarters.

The official, on condition of anonymity, confirmed the suspicions of many Cubans: “The organization has been dying for years. We no longer have the power to call for attendance, to collect food or to ask for voluntary blood donations, which were two fundamental objectives. Not to mention the CDR guard, which disappeared years ago.” continue reading

It was enough to approach the neighborhoods to confirm that the residents did not give importance to the date

At least in Cienfuegos yesterday, it was enough to approach the neighborhoods to confirm that the residents did not give importance to the date and most preferred to stay at home. “Here the only thing we are waiting for is that they put the power back on, because we are now having five hours of blackout. So how can they convince us to have a party and contribute to a stew, when no one has anything to eat or knows what to cook?” Arelis asked, sitting on the sidewalk in front of her house.

“The president of the CDR this year did not dare ask for anything to make the stew, because it is very clear that no one is going to donate the little they have to celebrate the hunger and misery that exists,” the woman explains. After renouncing the militancy of the Communist Party, Arelis explains that she has disassociated herself from everything related to the work of the CDR, because “people cannot be convinced to commit to something that only demands sacrifice without anything in return.”

“A few years ago I still was going into the street every time they announced a meeting. One day my daughter asked me why I was doing it, and I told her that it was for her, that she was at university and I didn’t want her to have a bad mark on her record. That day she told me that she was sick of being watched at school and that we didn’t have to play along with the snitches. Since then I’m not going to any call for anything,” she says.

While years ago on the eve of September 28 the streets were filled with Cuban flags hanging from windows and large cauldrons arranged for the collective stew, today the silence and reluctance highlight the discredit of the organization. “Not even the leaders believe in the CDRs, and they are paid to keep them going,” says Marcos, who claims to be one of the many harmed by the “surveillance disguised as concern” that is typical of the committees.

The calm mood of the neighborhood showed the organization’s lack of power to get people to the meeting / 14ymedio

The comecandela [assholes] who made my life miserable now live in the United States, and I’m still here, in my little house on Reina Street. The CDRs have done a lot of damage. All kinds of scoundrels disguised as revolutionaries belonged to their ranks. Now that the ship is sinking no one wants to be connected to them, but at the time they organized acts of repudiation and were consecrated activists,” he asserts.

The 65th anniversary of the CDRs does not seem to interest the people of Cienfuegos, who, before even considering attending a party, must ensure their daily survival. In neighborhoods with houses in poor condition, destroyed streets and people plunged into poverty, there is no reason to celebrate. “Until recently, on the anniversary you could hear music from Villuendas Park to Martí Park. You could smell stew from the Tulipán neighborhood to the Malecón. Many things have changed,” regrets Arelis, who for years was president of the CDR on her block.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘The Farmers We Treated at the Hospital Are Now Our Suppliers’

Fernando and Odalis gave up medicine to open a restaurant in Cienfuegos

The couple invested the money they earned from serving on “medical missions” abroad in a restaurant. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 22 September 2024 – Odalis, a 55-year-old from Cienfuegos, has not worked as a surgeon for eight years. Instead, she started a restaurant with her husband, Fernando, also a doctor. “When I returned from my mission in Africa, I knew very well that I had to invest the money in some way. That’s when we opened a cafeteria, and now it also offers lunches and dinners at an affordable price,” this veteran doctor tells 14ymedio. Many, she says, called them crazy, including bank officials, who were reluctant to grant them a loan.

Like them, there are many Cienfuegos residents who, tired of the salary conditions in the service of the State, try their luck in the private sector, mainly in establishments dedicated to commerce and gastronomy, such as those that proliferate around the Prado or the Bulevar.

Odalis explains how she left the healthcare center where she worked. “Initially, I stayed at the hospital, while we were running the cafeteria, with great effort. When the business was thriving, my own co-workers made war on me, to the point that I asked for leave.” The doctor asserts, “It was not worth sacrificing myself for a miserable salary while also having envious glances turned on me.” continue reading

While speaking to this newspaper in her restaurant, she pauses to take an order from a customer who comes in. “This man comes every day from Pastorita to get his evening meal,” she says, boasting about the quality of the food they serve.

“It is a huge challenge to keep this place well stocked”

Her husband Fernando has just arrived with some groceries and joins the conversation. “It is a huge challenge to keep this place well stocked,” he says as he sits down. He has gone through most of the private shops in the city looking for “meats” with great difficulty. “With this situation of price caps, many are closed waiting for the tide to go out,” he explains, referring to the price controls for basic products established by the Government in July.

Another problem that worries him is finding a place that accepts payment by bank transfer. “The owners of the SMSEs say that they can only receive cash, because it is the only form of payment that is accepted in Havana when they go shopping,” he argues. “There is a contradiction between what the Government imposes and what is established by reality.”

Among the few small and medium-sized businesses that accept electronic payments in Cienfuegos are El Eslabón, on 35th Street, and Camposososmani, between Prado and Cristina. “But sometimes you go and you don’t find the products you need,” says Fernando. “Everything becomes an obstacle to any goal you set yourself.” On the other hand, the doctor turned businessman says that the state stores selling in freely convertible currency (MLC) don’t solve anything for them: “They are half empty, but also, if we buy at those prices, we would have losses.”

In the absence of wholesalers who can guarantee them the necessary products, Odalis and Fernando have turned to old friends who provide them with first-hand goods. “Many of the farmers we treated at the hospital are now our suppliers,” says Odalis. “They sell us the goods in very good condition and at a fair price. That way, we can do the same with our customers, leaving everyone satisfied.”

The string of complications faced by private companies has been joined by the tightening of controls. / 14ymedio

The string of complications faced by private companies has now been joined by stricter controls. The couple complain that the inspectors are not always looking for “illegalities” but rather “personal benefits.” “They have been asking us for all kinds of invoices and receipts. You get tired of explaining to them that most vendors don’t provide any paperwork. Then, the inspector tells you that the Article expresses such and such provision and to shut him up, you have to give him a little gift. That is inevitable,” confesses Fernando.

What began eight years ago as a humble venture is today an establishment recognized by the people of Cienfuegos. “An additional advantage is that we have the business in our own home, so we save on paying for rental space. “All the furniture and tableware we use is simple, but even the smallest detail is thought out so that the customer is satisfied, including home delivery if desired,” says Odalis proudly.

For this professional couple, living in a central neighborhood of the city, returning to the field of medicine is not an option. “My wife and I felt a calling for the career we studied and also for teaching. However, they never valued our experience and the results we obtained in the practice of public health. In addition to being poorly paid, we were mistreated,” laments Fernando, who went on no fewer than three international missions. In 2019, he requested leave from active medical service to devote himself entirely to developing the family business.

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The Basic Ration Basket is Reduced and Arrives Late in Cienfuegos Stores

The provincial government claims there is enough food to go around but the ration stores beg to differ

A Cienfuegos bodega selling rationed products /14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 18 September 2024 – The flies circulating around the counter of the Calle Gloria bodega — the ration store — are witnesses to the fact that the regulated family ration basket has not yet arrived. September is nearly over and although the province’s interior commerce authorities give assurances that there are enough stocks to ensure distribution, in the actual ration shops themselves it’s the opposite that is obviously the case.

Alfredo, retired, 68, asks if anything has arrived yet, knowing full well in advance what the shop’s answer will be. “I don’t know what these people are thinking. It’s not enough for them that they remove some of the products from the baskets, but then they only distribute them when and if they can be bothered. Obviously, none of those bosses need a ration book to survive”, he says. But his experience is very different because he only gets 1,800 pesos in his pension each month.

There’s room in the shop to store what has been announced – for each person 7 pounds of rice, 2 pounds of sugar, 10 ounces of peas, 4 boxes of cigars and tobacco – none of which anyone believes can be maintained in the months to come. “Especially for those of us at the bottom who have to put up with hunger. When I finally actually see the two tins of sardines that they promised us over-65’s, then I’ll believe it”, Alfredo adds.

“The basic basket hardly lasts a week, so what happens then?”

The pensioner refers to the new free food batch which the government has promised for the vulnerable – the elderly, pregnant women, under-weight people – who, apart from receiving sardines will get rice and peas. “They’re laughing in our faces, because actually most of the population are ’vulnerable’. The basic ration hardly lasts you a week, so what happens then?”, he says. In his opinion, these freebies only go to turn the distributors, warehouses, and others charged with delivery, automatically into retailers, making money on the back of everyone’s current misery. continue reading

The empty shelves are confirmation that any “glory” only exists in the actual name of the street – Calle Gloria – in which the shop sits, because the place itself is practically in ruins. “The shelving is full of termites and the roof leaks whenever it rains, but no one in power seems to care anything about the decline that’s happening everywhere”, says Xiomara, who hears that her son’s yoghurt will arrive after 2pm.

“The other problem is that there’s no guarantee about the quality or the stability of the foodstuffs. We’re still waiting for the July, August and September salt supplies. They tell us that they won’t remove that like they did with the cooking oil, eggs and coffee. The administration of this nation has no respect for its people, but tells us we live in a socialist country. And the worst thing is that as they keep crushing us with shortages of every possible kind we keep on playing their game of keeping our mouths shut”, the Cienfuegera adds.

On the store’s counter, sits a filthy box with a QR code, the only evidence of banking activity in the place. “They can’t provide a petty cash service, because, as there are no products to sell, they don’t actually have any cash. And until recently, there were difficulties with the automated system so they didn’t accept payment by bank transfer either”, says Xiomara.

“It won’t be long before the ration books disappear. We shan’t miss them too much because they’re already impractical”, says Alfredo, expressing a fear that is becoming more and more common in Cuba.

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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Lunch or Dinner, the Daily Dilemma for Cubans in the Face of High Prices and Shortages

“Our diet is terrible, we eat whatever we can get hold of and not what our bodies need”

People searching the streets of Cienfuegos for some affordable food / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 15 September 2024 – When the midday sun heats up the streets of the city, dozens of Cienfuegueros go in search of something light to eat, for the lowest possible cost, to help them “endure” the rest of the day until their evening meal. Others don’t even have this possibility, because of the restrictions of their meagre income. And some even have to resort to begging in order to feed themselves. Still others hardly even manage to get a soft drink or a little water at lunchtime in order to hydrate themselves in the intense heat.

“Until last year, you could get a pizza in that place for 60 pesos. But a private owner took over and now the cheapest one costs 150 pesos”, says Arelis, 54, who has just walked past the pizzeria on Calle 37 in the city centre Prado district. “How many of them can I eat in a month if I earn 2,800 pesos? And in the bar next door a croquette roll costs 80 pesos and no one is buying”, she says.

The woman says she’s tired of having to eat pizza all her life. “The average Cuban’s diet is terrible. We eat whatever we can get hold of and not what our bodies need. At home we spend the whole month stretching out a bit of rice, or beans, or chickpeas, or whatever turns up”, she says. Like her, the majority of Cienfuegueros who spoke to us told us that they always have to make a choice between lunch or dinner, whether it’s because they can’t afford both or because the food isn’t available.

Some people are even seen to have to resort to begging in order to feed themselves

Until recently, Arelis’s mother sorted out her lunch in a social security canteen but the establishment shut some months ago for repairs and there’s no date given for its reopening. “I live very near to the ring road and work in the centre near Martí Park, which means that although I would like to, I can’t go home for lunch”, Arelis explains. “So I have to eat whatever I can find, as long as it’s not beyond what I can afford”.

Several people pass down Calle 54, hoping to find something affordable to eat. “The only thing I had this morning, before I left the house, was a sip of coffee. I have two children and what little there is has to go to them, including their snacks now that school has started”, says Nora, a well known university professor who, nonetheless, confesses to 14ymedio that she has to go hungry and forego all kinds of necessities. Her salary isn’t enough, but she’s not allowed to teach private lessons.

At lunchtime some people only have a soft drink or some water, to at least hydrate themselves in the intense heat / 14ymedio

“I come every day from Lajas to work. I leave at five in the morning, most of the time without breakfast. Throughout the day all I’ll have is some bread with some kind of filling, or an ice cream cone. By seven in the evening I’m exhausted”, says Jorge, who’s about to retire. “I never thought that after sacrificing so much I’d be seeing myself in this situation. And what’s worse is that they keep on asking me for more sacrifice. How long can this go on?”

Many Cienfuegueros go to work in the mornings most of the time without breakfast

“Until a few years ago I could go out to eat with my family. Sometimes we used to go to La Covadonga, over there in La Punta, and we had a lovely time. All that’s gone now”, says the man. And he adds that on an average salary he can only afford to buy the basics for a week or two at most. “And what then? Where will the meat and veg come from, as well as the other basic things? No one can survive like this”.

In any given cafeteria, whether it be on Calle San Carlos, Calle Santa Clara or on Calle Industria, a sandwich can cost at least 150 pesos and it doesn’t matter the type of place that sells it, or the quality of the product. “I feel sorry for my kids because they arrive home from school desperate to eat something and I have to throw something together from the manky bread that we get with the rations and add some filling to last them until dinner time with at least something in their stomachs”, Nora explains.

She and her family have been forced to stop using dairy milk because they can’t pay the price charged at the independent shops. “It’s criminal what we’re going through. I feel like we’re slowly dying”, says the professor as she watches a group of foreign tourists having lunch in Hotel La Unión, part of the Spanish Meliá chain. “At this time my kids have to have just a small yogurt and some yellow rice left over from last night. I think there are no words that can express this”, she says.

The food crisis in Cienfuegos doesn’t discriminate among people, says Arelis: “Hunger doesn’t care about the colour of your skin here, nor about the level of your intellect. You’ll see well dressed people that haven’t had a bite to eat all day”. In Cienfuegos it’s common to see independent restaurants open at all hours with doormen who wait in vain for consumers to walk in. Whilst the menus display attractive dishes with eye-watering prices, people pass by at a distance wondering what they might be able to concoct for their dinner.

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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In José Martí Park in Cienfuegos Boys Bet Money and Girls Look for a Foreigner

“Business” starts after four in the afternoon, when school lets out and the teenagers arrive at the park / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 14 September 2024 — It is difficult to guess that behind a quiet soccer game or a conversation between friends sitting on a bench in José Martí Park, in Cienfuegos, there are various ways to “earn a living” among children who are barely 15 years old. The “business” begins after four in the afternoon, when the teenagers arrive at the park, still wearing their school uniforms and making sure that no stranger interferes or invades their territory.

“Here we form a big group and play at anything we can think of. Most of the time we bet money, because it’s very boring to play without winning anything. A very clear rule between us is that losers have to pay. That’s how things are settled,” says Marlon, who at just 14 participates in the bets that are being arranged in the park.

Although it doesn’t seem like it at first glance, Marlon and many of his friends come from families in a bad financial situation, and they have learned to “resolve” things any way they can. “We collect empty soda and beer cans to sell them; we bet on cockfights in clandestine cockpits; we make money with the first thing that appears. We do it or we go hungry,” the teenager tells 14ymedio. continue reading

Playing soccer is one of the ways that young people prefer to earn “a few pesos” / 14ymedio

Playing soccer is one of the ways that young people prefer to earn “a few pesos,” and with bets, Marlon has incorporated other habits into his routine that his friends copy. When someone wants to stop the game for some reason, several players go to the rusty metal chairs in the park. Then, the smoke that the cigars give off can be seen from the roundabout or the small Arc de Triomphe. “I learned to smoke here, and from time to time, we consume anything else we can get. This is becoming a man: sharing with friends, without being afraid of anything,” Felix explains, putting his foot on top of a punctured soccer ball.

The activity of young people in José Martí Park is not limited to betting. The frequent passing by of some tourists has not been overlooked by the boys, who rush to ask them for money as soon as they have the opportunity. “A while ago a lot of yumas [Americans] came here. I ran away from school at noon and always ended the day with at least 10 dollars, but this has gotten so bad that not even the pigeons come anymore,” laments the tenth grader, with his uniform’s blue shirt tied to his waist.

At the other end of the park, in front of the city’s cathedral, some girls dressed in the basic high school uniform talk about the best way to quickly sell clothes and shoes. According to Laura, one of the teenagers, she has to leave soon, because her mother is sick.

Experience in “business” has made “clear” to her and her friend their future plans. “What you have to do is look for a foreigner to get out of this country. In the meantime, we sell on Revolico the things that my cousin brings from outside,” she says. Among the girls the possibility of continuing studies after finishing the ninth grade is excluded, because, as they conclude, in Cuba “people are condemned to die in poverty.”

At the other end of the park some girls talk about the best way to quickly sell clothes and shoes / 14ymedio

A similar disenchantment is experienced by Marlon, who as a child liked to act and interpret characters in school events. “I wanted to make my own puppets and act, but neither of my parents could support me to study that career, nor do I have anyone to help me get into an art school,” he says.

With night approaching, the soccer game stops, and the girls, still dressed in their mustard uniforms, decide that it’s time to leave. They will go home for just a few minutes to bathe, eat something and return to the street again. Felix passes in front of the students, proposing to see them later on the Malecón. “Sure, but you have to buy us something. We know that you have money,” says Laura with a mischievous smile on her lips.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Cienfuegos’ Pueblo Griffo Neighborhood, Water Comes Only Once a Month

Despite the announced investments, in Cienfuegos the lack of water extends from the center to the periphery

Outside a tenement on 35th Street, a water truck supplies water to residents. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 9 September 2024 — Three weeks have passed since the official press celebrated that water is flowing with less difficulty in Cienfuegos, thanks to the “execution of significant investments,” but the residents of the Pearl of the South do not perceive any change in a problem that extends from the center to the periphery, forcing them to seek solutions by their own means.

Outside a tenement on 35th Street, a truck supplies water to residents. “We had spent more than 15 days without being able to clean our houses. We could barely do the minimum things related to hygiene and consumption. With a lot of effort, we all managed to gather twenty thousand pesos so that this truck could bring us a few liters of water here,” explains Mercedes, a 49-year-old from Cienfuegos, who says she is living the worst time of her life, in this regard.

“I don’t know what they do with the money from the famous investment plans that supposedly would renew the water and sewerage network. As soon as they tell you that there are resources they tell you that there aren’t. It’s all a lie and the people are the ones who pay the price, in this case, the lack of water,” she complains. Mercedes adds that there is not even easy to access plastic or metal tanks to guarantee storage, since prices on the informal market are continually rising, in an uncontrolled manner. continue reading

Some people have to sweep the area between the curb and the street. Otherwise, the water builds up and the stench becomes unbearable

In contrast to the lack of water for human consumption, new leaks appear scattered throughout the city, which end up becoming small puddles or noticeably putrid lagoons. Mercedes explains how her sister, a resident of 54th Street, one block from Martí Park, has to sweep between the edge of the sidewalk and the public road. Otherwise, the water accumulates and the stench becomes unbearable.

Other, more fortunate Cienfuegos residents have hired “water thieves” to fill the tanks on the roofs of their houses. “In this neighborhood there was always water, but recently we only received it once every 15 days, approximately. I had no choice but to buy two prefabricated tanks. I had to spend forty thousand pesos to have that peace of mind,” says Amaury, a resident of Pastorita.

“There is no alternative but to resolve the problem at all costs. A friend of mine had to sell carpentry tools to buy a turbine. Now he can get the water up to the third floor. His situation is worse, because where he lives, in Pueblo Griffo, the water comes in only once a month,” he concludes. Several Cienfuegos residents speaking to 14ymedio said that, in certain places, such as La Juanita, people have taken to the streets to protest, complaints that are calmed by the government sending a tanker truck to pacify tempers, without giving a definitive solution to the matter.

As in other places where water has been arriving with difficulty, such as in Havana, quality is an added problem. “No one drinks the water that comes in from the aqueduct. The level of impurity is so high that it is not enough to filter it. You have to boil it to be able to consume it,” Damaris says without fear of being wrong. She lives on San Carlos Street and generally has to take a break from work to fill the tanks, since the water comes into her home for a short time, only at midday.

“The water that comes in from the aqueduct is undrinkable. The level of impurity is so high that it is not enough to filter it. It has to be boiled to be able to consume it.”

“I am a cleaning assistant at a state institution. I spend my life collecting water to keep my workplace and my house clean,” says Damaris, who moved to a central street thinking that she would not have problems with water resources there. However, at certain times of the month she has received drinking water only three times a week. “Those of us who cannot afford to buy a large tank or a turbine are at constant risk. We have to save that too,” she laments.

Authorities acknowledged on Tuesday that more than 600,000 people in the country are suffering from problems with their water supply. According to a note published in the state newspaper Granma, the number of people who lack adequate access to water in Cuba has been increasing to reach 7%. In November of last year, the regime acknowledged that there were 450,000 people affected throughout the country and by April the number was already around 500,000. Last April , the official press explained that, with data from the end of 2022, 5,689,476 Cubans did not have “decent access to water,” that is, half the population.

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Closed for Months, the Coppelia in Cienfuegos Is Now Open a Few Hours a Day, Until the Ice Cream Runs Out

“They limit you to one flavor option and the portion sizes keep getting smaller”

The quality of service at the state-owned ice cream parlor as well as the quality of the ice cream itself leave much to be desired / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 31 August 2024 — Cuba’s Coppelia ice cream parlors are a stark reminder of country’s current economic crisis. Created shortly after Revolution to provide a sense of prosperity and abundance, the outlets, which can be found in many provincial capitals, used to be sources of entertainment for locals. In the midst of today’s financial difficulties, however, when there is no guarantee that even basic foodstuffs will be available, ice cream has become a luxury. Coppelia’s branches now open only intermittently and, when they are open, offer few options. The Cienfuegos location is no exception.

For months, Coppelia’s metal chairs lay in disarray and its tables sat empty. At the beginning of the year, city officials promised that it would reopen by summer. But June and July came and went without a single scoop being sold. Many lost hope of ever again enjoying a “copa Lolita” (flan with two scoops of ice cream) or an “ice cream salad” (an ice cream sundae).

This week, to the surprise of many, Coppelia reopened its doors. But customers who had hoped service would be as it had been in the past were visibly disappointed. At noon on Saturday, the line of customers waiting to get inside included dozens of people who sought shade in the adjacent covered walkways.

“I’ve been waiting for months to have have chocolate ice cream. We’ll see if that happens. Someone just came out and said the supply is getting low,” reports a tired and hot Yaíma, who is carrying her two-year-old son in her continue reading

arms. She has spent more than an hour in line. Frustrated with the slow service and with people cutting in line, she has several times considered giving up on the idea of a enjoying a cold dessert.

From outside, Yaíma keeps an eye on the waiters, who move from one side of the establishment to the other carrying glasses and bowls of ice cream in their hands. This provides the young mother with valuable information such as which flavors are still on the menu, which have already run out and how agile the waiters are. “They limit you to one flavor option and the portion sizes keep getting smaller,” she observes. “It’s true that each scoop only costs 12 pesos but that doesn’t mean it should be no bigger than a tablespoon.”

When asked about the scoop size, one of the employees replies bluntly, “Each tub generates a minimum of 500 pesos. The more you stretch it, the more money you make.” Ice cream, like so many other products from state-owned establishments, also generates income for the workers. “That man who just left with two plastic buckets is my neighbor. If I can’t buy ice cream for my child here, I’m going to have to pay him 60 pesos for a cone big enough to satisfy our craving,” Yaíma says.

Every day since Coppelia reopened, people pass by my house selling five-liter containers of ice cream for 1,300 pesos,” reports Yuri, a Cienfuegos resident who does not believe this is a coincidence. “Besides the price, which is unaffordable for someone with an average salary, it’s obvious that the resellers and pushcart vendors are getting their ice cream from here.”

[[“The private vendors are doing this now because they know that at any moment the factory could have another breakdown]]

“The private vendors are doing this now because they know that at any moment the factory could have another breakdown or it run out of raw materials,” he explains. While ice cream can be purchased around town in bites, scoops or bulk, it is only being enjoyed by those who can afford it. “Both sellers and customers know that it will run out sooner or later so every one tries to take advantage of the situation in his or her own way,” says Yuri.

According to its schedule, Coppelia is supposed to be open from Tuesday to Sunday. “I passed by at 10:00 AM on Wednesday and it was as quiet as a convent,” he notes. “It all depends on how much ice cream they have on any given day. If they don’t have any, they don’t open.”

By 2:00 PM, Coppelia’s employees announce they have run out of stock. Yaíma and her son were among the last customers to be served but had to settle for one of the less popular flavors. Some of the waiters begin to leave, carrying cases and bags bulging with what they were able to “scrape together” from the bottom of the tubs.

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Cienfuegos, Cuba, No Longer Deserves To Be Called the Pearl of the South

In Cienfuegos, waste is abundant in the streets and the sewers are clogged / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 1 September 2024 — Never before had the Pearl of the South – once called that for its beauty – been at such risk of losing this appellation as now. In Cienfuegos, founded by 47 French settlers in 1819 and declared a World Heritage Site, today there is plenty of trash in the streets and the sewers are clogged. You do not have to move to peripheral areas to see the prevailing dirt. It is enough to go through a few central blocks to realize that the work of the Communal Services Company leaves much to be desired.

“The hygiene here is not even a shadow of what it was,” says Antonia, a neighbor of the emblematic Roma hotel, currently reduced to a dilapidated facade. “People are throwing garbage in the corners in disposable straw baskets, bags or whatever they find. All that remains on the sidewalks for days, without anyone worrying about picking up even the waste that accumulates in the sewer,” the woman complains.

According to the 58-year-old Cienfueguera, her nephew, who works as a driver on one of the garbage trucks of Comunales, has told her that “their working conditions are very bad. Many times they are forced to carry out trash collections with their bare hands, because they don’t even have gloves.” Trucks also do not pass with a frequency that allows the city to remain clean, because the “fuel allocated to their business, together with the lack of vehicles, causes cleaning cycles to be missed.”

You do not have to move to peripheral areas to verify the prevailing dirt

In this situation, it is normal that paper, nylon and cans block the city’s sewer system, which barely fulfills its function. The blocked-up sewers can be seen in Martí Park, as well as on Santa Clara Street and the Malecón, says the woman. “It only takes a small downpour for the water to stagnate,” she says.

Garbage workers are forced to carry out trash collections bare-handed / 14ymedio]

Yosvany, another victim of the city’s precarious drainage system, tells this newspaper that a few days ago his house was flooded after a storm. The young Cienfueguero has raised the issue – he says – in all accountability meetings, but no solution has been found for the floods, which occur especially in the lowlands.

“It is very sad to see how trash piles are forming on the shores of the sea with the most unimaginable waste. But even sadder is to realize that the authorities do not seem to care that the people are living in such unhealthy conditions,” he laments. Yosvani is concerned that this unhealthiness will end in an epidemiological crisis that is difficult to contain.

“The People’s Power delegate can only say that he has raised the issue several times with the Government, but for those of us who live in certain places, such as Junco Sur or La Juanita, the garbage is literally in every corner,” he says with concern. “I myself have gone to complain to all possible authorities,” he says.

The neighbors are worried that this unhealthiness will end in an epidemiological crisis that is difficult to contain

“I don’t know if this can be fixed by putting garbage collectors in the neighborhoods or hiring individuals with horse-drawn carts to pick up the waste. It’s intolerable that a province recognized in Cuba for its beauty is today going through this great abandonment,” criticizes Antonia, who returns to the attack against Comunales. In the Pearl of the South you hardly see garbage bins or street sweepers. Beyond the historic center, the city is lost in a tangible filth.

The accumulated waste, the holes in the middle of the sidewalks and the broken roads that coincide in any corner of the city have become an everyday sight. Meanwhile, Antonia says that the smell of the trash piles that surround her home seeps through the door of her house, without asking permission.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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