14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 8 January 2024 — Beyond Nuevo Vedado, past the Colón cemetery and the zoo, on the border between Playa and Plaza de la Revolución, passers-by can admire a landscape that does not exist in the center of the capital. Wide, tree-lined streets, huge, well-kept houses, well-dressed people, some of them with bags full of food, modern cars. Here, on Kohly Avenue, you can´t hear shouting or arguing, and the only queue that can be seen, at the Acapulco gas station, moves forward in an orderly fashion.
It is the other face of the Cuban capital, far removed from the chaos of Central Havana or Old Havana, not to mention poorer municipalities such as Cerro, La Lisa or Diez de Octubre, where decay and dirt leave little room for beauty. Surprisingly, and as a significant indicator, there are ATMs, such as those of the Banco Metropolitano at 26 and 32, with money, without queues and working properly.
But perhaps what are most noticeable in this neighborhood are the garbage containers: spotless and emptied, without the mountains of garbage around them that can be seen in so many corners of the city, and that sometimes, give rise to dangerous fires. The Community Services people can be seen working in these streets.
Kohly illustrates the inequalities that the Revolution, far from solving, accentuated. A normal well-preserved and civilized city, inside another city, which is neglected and where the law of the jungle prevails… reserved for those who do not have a share of power on the island.
Translated by GH
____________
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.
