Following Criticism from Cuban Officials, the Sign for San Pepper’s Burger in Holguin is Removed

On Friday morning, nearby residents noticed the colorful letters and the cute image of a hamburger with wings were missing. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 13 October 2023 — The sign on the facade of San Pepper’s Burger, a private establishment which was about to open in the city of Holguín, lasted less than a week. On Friday morning, nearby residents noticed the colorful letters and the cute image of a hamburger with wings were missing. “We saw it coming,” said a resident of the zone, alluding to the attack on the business last Tuesday on the state-run site Cubadebate, where they reproached the establishment for selling “a culture that is not ours.”

On Thursday, 14ymedio published an article which included testimonies of people from Holguín who offered their opinions on the diner, its name and the impact its opening could have on the depressed food service scene in the city. “No one knows what happened because it’s been closed all day, but rumor on the strees is that the owner got scared,” said an old lady who lives in the area near Parque de las Flores located right in front of the private business.

With what that sign must have cost and the effort they went through to put it up, no one believes that they now removed it for anything other than pressure by the extremists.

“With what that sign must have cost and the effort they went through to put it up, no one believes that they now removed it for anything other than pressure by the extremists,” said the woman. The renovated facade, painted yellow with its blue colonial doors, seemed to be missing something today after the establishment’s name disappeared. “People used to come all the way over here to take pictures and the kids were taking selfies with the wings in the background, as if they were coming out of their head,” added Paco, a frequent visitor to the park.

As of yet, the local press has not mentioned the matter and the question that Cubadebate’s writer posed in her article has already been answered. Faced with the question of “what happened with fighting the culture war” the facade is now bare and one sign no longer lights up the night in Holguín.

“People used to come all the way over here to take pictures and the kids were taking selfies with the wings in the background, as if they were coming out of their head,” added Paco, a frequent visitor to the park. (14ymedio)

Translated by: Silvia Suárez

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