Problems have been growing, especially in the basement, where food items are sold.
Havana, Natalia López Moya, July 12, 2024 — A crude sign sits on top of a shopping basket that blocks the entrance to the Roseland store on the corner of Neptuno and Águila streets in Central Havana. The makeshift message warns customers wanting to enter that it is “closed due to leaks.” The situation has been going on for several days despite the fact that the store only accepts freely convertible foreign currency (MLC) as payment and does several thousands of dollars worth of business a day.
“It seems like a joke that this is happening here. It would be understandable in a store that accepted Cuban pesos but this is supposed to be a place with high-end products for consumers who can afford to pay a lot,” complained one woman from the outskirts of Havana with a baby in her arms on Friday. She had come to the store hoping to buy some canned fruit. “It’s the third time I’ve seen this same sign. It’s as if no one cares that Roseland is losing money because it’s closed to the public.”
Located in one of the most iconic buildings in this area of Havana, the store sells grocery items, toiletries and a wide variety of home appliances. It is owned and operated by Cimex, a corporation run by the Cuban military. In spite of its high prices, however, little has been spent on repairs or improvements since the store opened. The problems have been growing, especially in the basement, where food products are sold.
“It would be understandable in a store that accepted Cuban pesos but this is supposed to be a place with high-end products for consumers who can afford to pay a lot”
“It’s a problem that’s has been going on for years. If it had been handled sooner, it wouldn’t have been as expensive to fix as now,” explains one resident of this downtown building, which also houses spacious apartments with terraces overlooking the city skyline. “It gives a very bad impression to get here and see the ground floor like this. People get worried when they see that sign.” Suspicion is not a trivial matter in a property where residents rent out rooms to tourists.
Currently, there are several apartments for sale in the building, with prices approaching 50,000 dollars. Their owners are concerned that a potential buyer might get to the well-known corner and notice the leak warning. “The first thing anyone would think is that the structure of the building might be affected,” says the resident. “We all lose. The store isn’t making money and it’s harder for us to attract buyers.”
In an online real estate ad for one the apartments, there is a photograph of a sunset taken from one of the wide balconies. Another shows a table full of fruit that foreign tourists can enjoy while looking out over one of the most centrally located areas of the Cuban capital. In none of the images are there any damp spots or walls through which water is seeping. The glamorous, comfortable building is good at hiding its feet of clay.
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