Category: Translating Cuba

Is it perhaps that there is not a great concentration of victims in Cuba? The problem for Cubans is not the tensions of a storm, but the poverty-stricken daily life that awaits them after its passage. I was tempted to share this image with the Dominicans, but these kinds of discussions already exhaust me.

Tomorrow, when the waters return to their level, they will steal something, or buy something stolen, or – if they are fortunate enough to have a family member in exile – call them to resolve their problems. Today the sea is chest high, tomorrow it will be reality that causes the same feeling of suffocation.

That is why they can’t think of anything better to do than to sit in the water and shuffle the dominos.

“There are no cookies nor milk powder, nor are they selling candles and the bakeries have had very long lines since dawn,” Humberto López, a resident of the town whose home lost its roof during Hurricane Matthew, lamented on the phone, adding that he did not want “that monster come here.”

The Cuban economy has suffered since the beginning of the economic crisis in Venezuela. This year Raúl Castro’s government announced a cut of US $1.5 billion in imports in the first half of the year, with a direct effect on the retail market.

Despite an increase in remittances and tourism, the Cuban economy depends to a large extent on contracts signed with Caracas, which supplies some 60,000 barrels of oil a day in exchange for thousands of Cuban specialists camped out in its territory.

Cuban authorities have declared a hurricane alert for the center and east of the country, the step that precedes the hurricane alarm, just as the winds begin to beat the island. So far this century, Cuba has faced about 15 hurricanes with losses of more than 26 billion dollars, according to official figures.

In the market at 3^rd and 7^th streets, in the west of the Cuban capital, the number of customers has not yet increased significantly, but in the the stores refrigerators this Wednesday there are only chicken pieces, hotdogs and a few packets of ground meat. The most cautious are, for the most part, owners of private businesses who don’t want to run out of supplies.

“There is no toilet paper, there are only small bottles of water and milk there is nothing for days,” laments Yusnier, a young entrepreneur who helps his mother rent three rooms to tourists. “We have to guarantee the foreigners breakfast every day and this hurricane puts everything at risk.”

If Irma were to hit the island as a category 5 storm on the Saffir Simpson scale, it would enter the record books as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the largest of the Antilles; since records have been kept, starting in 1791, only three hurricanes of this intensity have reached the Cuban coast.

According to data from the Institute of Meteorology, 115 hurricanes have hit Cuba since 1791. Of these, 14 hurricanes had an intensity in the winds between 130-156 mph, corresponding to category 4 an the scale and about 16 reached category 3 (111-129 mph).

In the main agricultural markets of the capital, people’s anxiousness to store food is already apparent. A pound of black beans, which costs the official salary of a working day in places such as San Rafael Street or 19th and B in Vedado, were selling like hot cakes as of yesterday afternoon. “It’s something that does not spoil and that can withstand rain and wind,” said a customer this morning in front of a display of chickpeas.

On a tour of hotels near the coast of Havana it is not yet possible to see the warning signs. “The city has not yet been formally put on alert so we do not have the authority to allocate resources to cover the windows or take other protective actions,” an employee of the Deauville hotel, who preferred to remain anonymous, told this newspaper.

The cays located in the north of the island, one of the main tourist centers of the country, are among the most affected. At a time of increases in tourism, Irma could force the authorities to carry out mass evacuations of travelers from the areas in greatest danger and move them to other tourist centers, in a country with a hotel capacity, as of the end of 2015, of only 63,000 rooms.

The authorities have warned that the main dangers associated with Hurricane Irma are wind, rain and sea penetrations. In 2008 the penetration of the sea in Baracoa, the first city founded in Cuba, completely destroyed its malecón and the first row of houses of that city. That image was replayed with the scourge of Hurricane Matthew and could be repeated with the approaching passage of Irma.

So today’s fire adds to the mysterious tendency of “spontaneous combustion” that is becoming viral in State stores, which most suspicious Habaneros tendentiously attribute to the offensive the Comptroller General has been carrying out In different companies and that are exposing numerous pilfering, shortages and corruption, especially in centers dealing in Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) or the Cuban pesos (CUP) equivalents.

Fans of Mathematics cannot avoid the temptation to relate fires directly to the offices of the comptroller, as summarized in the following axiom: “An increase in in controllers is directly proportional to an increase in state-owned businesses fires”

True or not, the causes of these strange fires have not been clarified by the authorities thus far. In fact, these fires have not even been reported in the national media, perhaps because they are attributed to an accidental and “local” character, or because – in the midst of all the material deprivation and social discontent- it is wiser not to stoke the flames.

Some residents of the buildings adjacent to the fires point out that firefighters and other specialized forces that have acted in these cases have offered them the questionable explanation that it’s possible that the buildings’ aging electrical systems have not withstood the overload caused by the “high consumption” of these establishments, which sparked the initial fire in the wires. This explanation does not convince anyone, especially taking into account that the wiring of foreign exchange stores is independent and much newer than the systems for the municipality’s residential sector and, in theory, was previously calculated on the basis of electricity usage for this type of premises.

Additionally, the plan of rigorous savings in electricity that has been applied to the foreign exchange stores for a little more than a year suggests the opposite: a decrease in consumption. For example, it is well known that all stores are required to comply with a plan of “energy indicators” which the stores cannot surpass, under penalty of losing certain bonuses. This forces store employees to turn off the air conditioning equipment according to a schedule previously established by management, and as a result employees and customers alike have to withstand the suffocating heat in the stores, which are not well ventilated, since they were designed for the constant use of air conditioning.

The chronic shortages in these businesses of late has also lightened the burden on consumption, since many freezer/refrigerators, where frozen products were once stored have been turned off and are out of service, which also tends to weaken the version of the “electrical overload “as the cause of fires.

But it happens that, in addition, there are notorious antecedents that reinforce the malicious comments at the popular level, and are feeding the rumors. No one has forgotten that a few years ago there was a big fire in the “La Puntilla” store, and it was well known in the street that the incident was initiated by a few employees who were involved in an enormous embezzlement. Setting fire to the store was the swiftest recourse they found to have the evidence for the crime disappear.

A similar case, equally silenced by the authorities, was the fire which some sources considered intentional that took place about a year ago in the basement of the popular Yumurí store (formerly known as “La Casa de los Tres Quilos” [The House of the Three Pennies] located at the corner of Reina and Belascoaín Roads, also in Centro Habana, right in the marketplace department.

One does not have to be overly surprised. Cuba’s own history shows more than one example of how the displeasure of criollos has been expressed by flames. Thus, we have episodes like the Bayamo fire by the Independence Forces, the one in the city of Cárdenas, by Narciso López, and the incendiary torch that ruined the economy of not a few property and land owners in the 19th Century, among other notorious events, fruit of the pyromaniac national tradition.

In summary, whether or not the rumors are true, the fact is that several state businesses from different parts of the capital are suffering in these days a kind of fiery epidemic. If there really were a relationship between fires, embezzlement and bad management, the whole island of Cuba would be close to burning from one end to another.

Just in case, it would be advisable that, going forward, controllers begin to consider the possibility of carrying out their rigorous controls while supported by teams of firemen, cisterns and fire trucks… to see if at least they are able to do it before the flames.

“If he manages to fix the economy of the United States, that will help us as well because there will be more money and tourism from there,” said Victor Manuel, a 28-year-old pedicab driver in the Fraternity Park area of Havana. The young man thinks that “Trump campaigning is one thing and it is something very different when he is in the White House.”

Not as nice as the Disney character with the same first name nor as addictive as the similarly named fast food chain, the magnate-become-president also incites passions on this island

In 2015, remittances to Cuba reached a record $3.35 billion, according to The Havana Consulting Group. The new relationship between the two countries has mainly favored this type of transfer. Limiting them would be a very unpopular measure among nationals.

Trumpmanía has come to the island and has many ways to express itself: if two months ago carrying an American flag could be read as a nod to Uncle Sam, today it can be a much more personal message and addressed to one man.

“That’s the guy that we needed, so he can put things in their place,” said Eduardo Mesa, who on Thursday connected on the wifi of the Latin American Stadium to inquire about the fate of two friends stranded in Colombia on their way to the United States.

Obama contributed to Trump’s popularity on the island in recent days. A few days after the White House tenant eliminated the wet foot/dry foot policy that benefits Cuban migrants reaching US territory, the popularity of the outgoing president has fallen to its lowest in eight years.

“He deceived us, he came and behaved like one of us to end up hurting us,” says Román, 27, a resident of Guanajay, who had his raft ready to launch into the sea to try to reach the American shores.

“I had the hydration salts, the engine, the canned food and a GPS bought clandestinely” to start the trip, but the departure date was scheduled for January 14, two days after the immigration benefits were suspended.

Lucia Pereira, a retired teacher and resident of Havana’s Lawton neighborhood, believes that Cubans will always remember Obama as “the American president who helped both countries reconnect and leave behind so many useless hatreds.” After the thaw, her son living in Miami has visited twice.

Norma is among those disappointed with the outgoing president. The 76-year-old woman has come to the parish of Calle Reina to buy a new bible because she gave the previous one to her daughter, who is on a medical mission in Venezuela. “She did not want to benefit from the [American] Parole program for doctors, but a very close friend yes,” they should do it, she says. The elimination of the program that benefited Cuban doctors who applied for residency in the United States was, in her opinion, “an Obama prank before saying goodbye.”

The elimination of the program that benefited Cuban doctors who applied for residency in the United States was, in her opinion, “an Obama prank before saying goodbye.”

Outside a church, Manolo, who asks for alms with a small image of San Lazaro, doubts that his luck will change with the new tenant of the White House. “Here poor people will remain poor, because it has nothing to do with what the US president does,” he told 14ymedio.

Dressed in a gray uniform and attentive to all who climb the steps of the University of Havana, a custodian, who prefers not to give his name for fear of reprisals, seems uninterested in the details of the government of the northern neighbor. “It does not matter, Obama or Trump is the same,” he says reluctantly. Nevertheless, he thinks that that difficult times are coming for Cuba because he doesn’t see any progress. “Trump can be good or bad, but what we need most is for the ones here to loosen their hands and take a breather, because we are drowning,” he concludes.

“Here poor people will remain poor, because it has nothing to do with what the US president does”

The island’s businessmen and merchants are feeling concern about the decisions of the new White House tenant.

At the market at Infanta and Manglar Streets the new president generates some expectations. “Last year we had many problems with the supply of products,” says an employee, “but if this man is as entrepreneurial as they say, he will improve business with Cuba and more products will arrive.” Among the “made in the USA” goods customers there prefer are “the frozen chicken, corn, beans, vegetables, tomato sauces and oats,” she details.

At the exit of El Presidente private restaurant, in the centrally located G street in the Vedado district, Christian was waiting on Thursday afternoon for a friend to eat together. “Havana is full of tourists thanks to Obama, but with Trump that can come to an end,” the German traveler visiting the island for the first time fears.

But there are those who cannot avoid looking at the internal key and turning their eyes into the Island. Yunior, 41 and unemployed, reflects: “The only thing I know is that since I was born I have seen eight American presidents and only two Cubans. Why is that?”

Yoani Sanchez: What were the main emotional supports you had in your days of confinement?

Karina Gálvez: I confess I had moments when I felt emotionally broken. I had never slept in a cell before. The anguish of being unaware of what was happening outside, of being cut off, was quite strong.

At one point I asked God to give me a sign that he was there with me and a few minutes later Major Odalys came in and brought me a bible that my sister had brought me. I was very shocked by that moment.

It has been one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced, although I felt sure of solidarity

It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever experienced, although I felt sure of solidarity. I knew a lot of people were watching over me and that my family was not alone.

Yoani Sanchez: And on leaving did you confirm that impression?

Karina Gálvez: I fell a little short in my calculations… last night when I left I found out that the solidarity had been immense. Support has gone beyond friends. I have to thank all those who supported me and tell them that all the energy of knowing that people were with me helped me a lot in there.

Yoani Sanchez: What were the conditions of the place where you were detained?

Karina Gálvez: I can not complain about my treatment, because it was – within the injustice that I was there – respectful and without offense. But the material conditions were difficult. Especially the bathrooms, water and food, which are difficult anywhere in Cuba. On the other hand, in an situation of anguish I found it difficult to eat. Although I was willing to so as not to get sick and to preserve my health.

Yoani Sanchez: The arrest took place a few days before the second part of a meeting of the Coexistence Studies Center, this time in Miami. Will you be able to participate?

Karina Gálvez: No, because I have a pending case I cannot leave the country.

Yoani Sanchez: Have you been unable to access your home from where you were arrested?

Karina Gálvez: The house is still “occupied,” with a seal placed on the door and almost all things that are inside are also “occupied.”

The success of Tinder, created in 2012 in the United States by Sean Rad, Justin Mateen, Jonathan Badeen and Ramón Denia, is due in large measure to that it has simplified the act of making contact

The success of Tinder, created in 2012 in the United States by Sean Rad, Justin Mateen, Jonathan Badeen and Ramón Denia, is largely due to the fact that it has simplified the act of making contact. Unlike other dating tools such as OkCupid, Match, Meetic and eDarling, this tool avoids long questionnaires and algorithms that seek affinity between one user and another.

In its interface, translated into 24 languages ​​and available in 196 countries, you only need to take a quick look to select or remove a candidate. Tinder was chosen as 2014 App of the Year at the Enter.Co Awards. At that time it was estimated it already had more than 50 million users.

Tito’s routine includes reviewing photos and small biographies of network users around him. When he sees a profile he likes, he touches the image with a finger and swipes right to ‘like’ it. If the woman does the same with his photo, then they can begin to interact. With a swipe to the left, profiles that are not of interest are discarded.

Mobile dating apps and erotic chat rooms are gaining ground among Cubans. At first people connected through Facebook Messenger, sent hot photos through Zapya, or chatted in matchmaking forums, but increasingly they use services created specifically “for these purposes,” says José Ramón, an engineer who graduated from the University of Information Sciences (UCI).

Ramón says that “there have been several attempts to make a national application to connect couples, but in the end those that have an international reach haven’t taken hold, because many Cubans want contact with foreigners and with people who have emigrated.”

On several national classified ad sites there are ads for “boy seeks girl” with all the possible variations of gender and number, but José Ramón believes that the Tinder experience is totally different, since it gets the adrenaline flowing because you can the users who are connected nearby and who are looking for a partner.

“From the beginning of the exchange of messages to the first kiss, it can be less than half an hour”

“That means that from the beginning of the exchange of messages to the first kiss, it can be less than half an hour,” he says. “No need to go slowly because everyone who has set up an account on this service is looking to find someone as quickly as possible. Even the timid ‘start off running’.” he jokes.

With the diplomatic thaw between Cuba and the United States, many Internet services have included the island in their services. Now tourists can book accommodation through the popular website Airbnb, and Cubans on the island can download utilities from Google Play while local applications have also flourished.

Country maps, private restaurant recommendations, guides for rental houses and tools for buying and selling products abound among the creations of national developers. But Tinder offers something different: an intuitive and fun platform to flirt, date and get into bed with someone who an hour before was a perfect stranger.

Prior to having Tinder, Tito used to hookup the old fashioned way. “I would stand outside the clubs or on the wall of the Malecon until I would see some woman alone.” But he confesses that getting out the first word embarrassed him and it was difficult to break the ice. Now he seems decided while he right swipes the profile of a nurse, age 23. “This is like choosing a flavor of ice cream: sometimes you are surprised by a good chocolate and other times you have to make do with vanilla.”

Alberto and Andrea Orlandini, authors of the Dictionary of Love, published by Editorial Oriente, believe that when relationships are sought through the network or other digital tools “deception is common” but “it is not unusual to find cases of genuine love which can end in a good marriage.”

“I can only count to 15,” a recently arrived tourist confessed in his Tinder account. It was an ingenious way of saying that he was missing a hand. His sincerity, on a network where exaggerations about physical attributes abound and photos are commonly retouched, earned him several right swipes among a group of young people connected near the Cuba Pavilion.

“Sometimes, when you meet the person, they don’t look like the profile picture,” complains Ana Laura, 19. “It has happened to me several times that the guy was older, fatter or uglier in person.” In her account, the girl shows herself with wet hair, her lips painted a deep red and with the gesture of giving a kiss. She says she is looking for someone to “have a good time with without worries.”

“Everyone who opens an account does it because they want to get something, because they are looking to have a good time, so you don’t have to try too many times”

Official statistics show that Cubans are increasingly thinking less of alliances in the style of “until death do us part.” In recent years there has been a decline in legal unions. Between 2014 and 2015, marriages dropped from 63,954 to 61,902 nationwide, while divorces increased from 32,934 to 33,174, according to figures published in the 2015 Statistical Yearbook.

Tinder has helped solve the problems of shyness. The application makes the first encounter easier and gives the dates a certain ease. “Everyone who opens an account does it because they want to get something, because they are looking to have a good time, so you don’t have to try too many times,” says Tito, who has introduced several friends to the application which, until a few months ago, was practically unknown in Cuba.

“The more people open a better account, the more the rumor gets out and the more cuties sign up on the network,” he speculates in a macho tone. Having solved the problems of his shyness thanks to the app, Tito already looks like a conqueror and expresses his desire that by the middle of next year, “Tinder will be the talk of Havana.”

Mary, a fictitious name, is Peruvian and this December she came to Cuba for the second time in less than a year. A few months ago she had an intense relationship with a young woman from Matanzas living in Havana and has since made many friendships in the city’s LGBTI community. “The days I spend here I go to many parties and I drink a lot of rum,” she says. But her great goal is “to find sex, all I can, in the shortest possible time.”

This Tuesday, Mary had breakfast in the cafeteria of the hotel Habana Libre while connecting with her tablet to the La Rampa wifi. “I go into my Tinder account and look for women who are closest, it’s a question of waiting.” Her preference is “thin mulattos,” but a few days ago she met “an impressive blonde,” she says.

So far no one has asked for money directly, but the Peruvian has given them all “good gifts and paid for dinner”

Swipe right to accept. Swipe left to discard. “Then I read more details about their biography and see if there is something I especially like.” So far no one has asked her for money directly, but the Peruvian has given them all “nice gifts, and paid for dinner.”

Mary has just discovered the profile of a 20-year-old girl who is studying medicine and presents herself as “very affectionate and ready for everything.” The Cuban has also swiped right on the visitor’s profile and they begin to exchange messages through the application. They make an appointment to meet at the corner of 23 and M half an hour later.

“It’s very good news that this is taking hold here, because it helps a lot to people who come for the first time and want to meet others who have the same interests,” said Mary. Tuesday is her sixth date in less than a week since she arrived on the island. “I have to get the most out of it every day, because I’m leaving on Sunday,” she explains.

Jessica, 28, had to spend more than six months freeing herself from a pimp, who had taken control. The woman has been engaged in prostitution for more than five years and had always done it on her own, but a boyfriend offered her protection and ended up extorting her. Fortunately for her, the man was picked up in a drug raid and is now in prison.

Jessica, has signed up on Tinder so that she can find “another kind of client, a higher level.” Her profile on the social network does not explicity state that she is a “sex worker,” but in the photo she is wearing very sexy clothes, and her description promises “fun without commitment” and adds that she likes “mathematics” as a way of suggesting a monetary transaction. She has already gotten two dates through the application.

While many digital sites with critical content on the government are censored, dating services operate without restrictions

“I do not have to worry so much about the police, I just sit around and connect to the wifi,” she explains. “I then go with the person to some place, not on the street, and the operation is much safer,” she says. She has several friends who are also in the business and recommended the tool. “This is a gain for us because it allows us to sell the merchandise faster and better.”

Authorities have not reacted to Tinder’s progress among young Cubans. While digital sites critical of the Government are censored, dating services operate without restrictions in wireless connection areas, within the Youth Clubs, and one the public terminals installed by the Cuban Telecommunications Company (Etecsa).

At the moment, the application is mostly used by young people between 16 and 30, with a more relaxed attitude towards love relationships. “Not for anything in the world would I put myself on one of those services,” says Monica, age 42 and divorced. Her biggest fear is that they would find out at her work that she is “looking for a husband on the internet.”

A fear that doesn’t even enter Tito’s head, as he has already selected six possible candidates for his next date. “This is incredible, before I had to spend a tremendous amount of saliva and wear out the soles of my shoes to sleep with someone, and now I just need to be here at La Rampa, looking at the screen of my mobile.”