14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana — A ‘snort’ runs through the neighborhood. They have just cut off the electricity service and life is paralyzed until the power returns. The elevator does not work, the elderly residents of the upper floors wait on the ground floor of the building because arthritis and fatigue do not allow them to climb the stairs. The cafeteria on the corner closes to the public since the oven is electric and its main offering is pizzas. The pipes remain dry because the water pump could not complete the rise to the tank and, furthermore, “for two days there has been a break in the Palatino pipeline,” says a neighbor.
There is nothing romantic, beautiful or creative about blackouts. They are not, as official media assures, the opportunity to prepare a candlelit dinner for a couple, to get away from the mobile screen or read a book. Not having power is something much more mundane, irritating and limiting. Bedridden patients are flooded with sweat because the fans no longer work; the little milk that the family saves for the baby spoils due to the lack of refrigeration; the poor young man who earns his living as a bicycle messenger loses his little income. because the shipping application stops working after the telecommunications towers are turned off.
Now, they claim that darkness can return us to a calmer and more natural life, when in reality it makes our existence more distressing
With the blackout, people become more aggressive and in the silence left by the engines and devices, domestic fights, swearing and insults emerge more strongly. With the power outage, private businesses are sinking, the dangers of accidents with disconnected traffic lights multiply, night outings are reduced even more, plans are postponed and the idea of packing suitcases gains strength. Weddings are also postponed, schools further reduce the quality of their teaching and bureaucratic procedures become much more complicated.
Romanticizing a blackout, alluding to the fact that the great classics of universal literature were written by candlelight surpasses cynicism and becomes an offense. Just like when, during the Special Period, some leaders of the Communist Party praised the flavor that cooking with firewood left in food, due to the absence of gas. But, while they evoked the charcoal that leaves a smoky touch on food, we burned our grandparents’ furniture so we could eat. Now, they claim that darkness can return us to a calmer and more natural life, when in reality it makes our existence more distressing.
No, there is nothing beautiful about a blackout, especially when you have suffered them for a good part of your life and you cannot see, in the short or medium term, that they will stop breaking into our daily lives.
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