Category: Roma Díaz

‘Don’t pour in any more sugar, it won’t fit!’

Israel García, alias ’El Nene’, former worker at the old Dos Rosas sugar mill. (Roma Díaz)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Roma Díaz, Varadero, 5 September 2020 — From the age of 15 he worked as a stevedore at the Dos Rosas sugar mill, “carrying sacks on his back,” says Israel García. El Nene, as they affectionately call him, keeps his memories fresh at 87, as if he had lived them a few days ago.

Today, the settlement around the old sugar mill, together with other houses built later, is part of the Humberto Álvarez Popular Council, where Israel García lives, a few kilometers from the tourist center of Varadero.

After working as a stevedore, Israel carried out other less strenuous jobs, as a consequence of the advances implemented in the mill. For example, he took care so that the sugar didn’t overflow the boilers: “I remember there were three quadrants. When they were full, they yelled at the workers: Don’t poor in any more sugar, it won’t fit!” continue reading

To help crystallize the sugar, they added alcohol to it. This made the crystals grow larger and stronger.

The factory and the cane fields belonged to a prestigious North American firm, and it was, by the value of its properties, the most important investment of Yankee capital in Cárdenas.

Israel García’s home in the Humberto Álvarez Popular Council, which includes the old sugar mill settlement. (Roma Diaz)

With the arrival of the Revolution, the mill was renamed Humberto Álvarez Abreu, in honor of a leading worker and it operated until 2002. On that date, it was “deactivated” as a result of the Strategic Program for the Restructuring of the Sugar Agroindustry, which, as with so many plans with extensive names on the island, would end up not fulfilling its objectives.

There is a certain indignation in El Nene’s tone of voice when he evokes the reasons for the closure of the plant, because, according to him, it was the only one that did not run on oil, and the sugar was finer than almost all the mills in the country. During those years the price of sugar fell worldwide and several sugar mills closed, including Dos Rosas.

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In Varadero, Cuba, There Are More National Tourists Than Foreign

In the middle of the week, calm reigned on the beaches of Varadero, which see the presence of Cuban tourists on Saturdays and Sundays. (Roma Díaz)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Roma Díaz, Varadero, 6 July 2020 — Waiting for Matanzas province to enter the second phase of the Covid-19 de-escalation, Varadero, the main tourist destination on the Island, warms up its engines with the arrival of national travelers. According to official data, more than 1,000 Cubans were enjoying the spa this weekend.

The reopening of Havana has increased the number of visitors compared to the previous week, when the official press highlighted the tranquility of the Varadero beaches on their first weekend back to a certain normality.

“Despite the heat, there is respect for the discipline, for distancing and there is no crowding on the beach,” said the Cuban News Agency. The residents of the area, however, not only denounced what they considered a large influx; they also protested a return to everyday life, which, for them, is the return to trash and the neglect that is related to national tourists. continue reading

“The saddest thing is that during the more than 100 days of quarantine, the beach was spotless, and one day after opening, the beach is already a pigsty: beer cans, wrappings of all kinds, baby diapers, cigarette packets, scattered everywhere. It is a shame that we are such pigs. If the authorities do not take measures and fine those who leave the garbage, I do not know where we are going to go. A lack of respect for the nature and for all of us who live here,” said Manuel Rodríguez, a resident of the area.

This weekend more than 900 visitors were registered in Varadero hotels such as Villas Kawama and Tortuga, Meliá Internacional and Memories Varadero, in Gaviota, said Mario Sabines Lorenzo, governor of Matanzas.

Among some remodeling works that have been carried out during the quarantine, a new boulevard between 61st and 64th streets stands out. (Roma Díaz)
Among some of the remodeling works that have been carried out during the quarantine, a new boulevard between 61st and 64th streets stands out. (Roma Díaz)

In this quarantine season, Varadero has undertaken some remodeling works, including a new boulevard between 61st and 64th streets, the restructuring of the Plaza América Convention Center, which will host the 2020 International Tourism Fair if it is held in October, as planned, and Josone Park, which is facing its first restoration since its foundation in 1942. According to the directors of the center, the green jewel of tourism in the area, the first stage will conclude on August 31 with the opening of restaurants, while the rest of the park will open at the end of the year.

Matanzas has been without positive cases of Covid-19 for more than 20 days, but the high number of tourists it receives from Havana, where there are still cases, forces extreme measures, according to Ailuj Casanova Barreto, provincial director of health, who highlighted the importance of controlling workers and visitors. No one with respiratory symptoms is allowed and the use of masks is mandatory when not on the beach, she notes.

The president of the Defense Council in Matanzas, Liván Izquierdo Alonso, stressed the importance of increasing vigilance in view of the start of the second phase, when foreign tourists who, to date, have only been allowed to travel to Cayo Largo, Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo, Cayo Cruz and Cayo Santa María, will be permitted to return.

There is no scheduled date for the reopening of airspace under normal conditions, although it is estimated that it may be August. International tourists can only reach the northern and southern keys of the Island on charter flights and, once they arrive, they cannot leave and move around the rest of Cuba.

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.