As usual when traveling anywhere, I was very excited to try the "traditional", local Cuban cuisine on my visit last year.
I was humbled to find out that there wasn't much left of it because of physical shortage of food.
I was humbled to find out that there wasn't much left of it because of physical shortage of food.
What I find so refreshing about this article is Ms. Severson's clear eyed reporting. We're so used to dogmatic or romantic skews in reporting from Cuba . Ms. Severson plays it straight down the middle thoughtfully and clearly put the time in, with smarts.
3
Looking at the picture of the oil bottles, I wonder if the state-run soy oil factory uses Soviet-era glue. I remember a wine and beer shop in Cleveland years ago where the owner showed me one of the beers he had more as a curiosity than a drink - beer from the Soviet Union.
The labels were falling off of those bottles, too.
The labels were falling off of those bottles, too.
Let us not forget that Cuban society is more than the black and white picture painted by the United States, or even by articles such as these. While there is a lack of food freedom, all Cubans are offered food rations, free health care, education, basic housing and jobs. Eight dollars a month is different in Cuba than it is in the US, because Cuba operates on a subsidy-based economy, and most of the basic needs are provided. In other Latin American countries, I saw whole communities of campesinos starving under neoliberal policies, yet using their land to continue producing cash crops like coffee rather than actual food. The poor in Cuba are better off than the poor in almost every other country. I am also intrigued by how little these articles describe the economic, financial and social ramifications of the US embargo on Cuba, which devastated the Cuban economy a few years after the US backed dictatorship was upturned, and have since fined any country that has dared do trade and business with Cuba.
3
Lisa…you got it right. Don't ever forget the role the US played in protecting the Mafia in Cuba. During those regimes, Batista and before, the campesinos had NO medical services. Schools were one or two room buildings with high schoolers for teachers. The poor were treated like dirt. We, the US, supported those regimes primarily to protect rich American investors who owned or ran Cuban business, legal and illegal.
My last comment, submitted last night, disagreed with Lisa, and was not printed. The one above, which appears more recent, and agrees with her, was printed. Enough said?
I'll try one more time: "We" did not support regimes to protect American business. Battista was a product of Cuban society and displaced a previously elected democratic regime. "We" had trade links with a poor neighboring country which, whatever imperfections it had, did far more good for Cuba than what it has now, a dictatorship in which poverty and repression are legion.
The real question is, will you support free elections by Cubans? Let them decide what they want rather than presume what they have now is the best of all possible worlds, which is ridiculous.
I'll try one more time: "We" did not support regimes to protect American business. Battista was a product of Cuban society and displaced a previously elected democratic regime. "We" had trade links with a poor neighboring country which, whatever imperfections it had, did far more good for Cuba than what it has now, a dictatorship in which poverty and repression are legion.
The real question is, will you support free elections by Cubans? Let them decide what they want rather than presume what they have now is the best of all possible worlds, which is ridiculous.
2
It's incredible how it's always the average person who rises to the challenge in these oppressive societies. The ingenuity of the woman who survives on eight dollars a month is inspiring. Here, in America, a person can go into a Starbucks and drop eight bucks on two Lattes. She has to feed her family for a month on that, plus whatever rations she receives. The main concern here is as Cuba makes the slow transition from the current system, to some type of Free Market hybrid, the developers won't descend on the country like the proverbial biblical locusts, with no respect for Cuban history or culture. A certain amount of development is needed, exploitation isn't.
9
This is a remarkable piece of journalism! It teaches so much: history, economics, within a story
about real people making the best of things. And the language, so detailed and vivid: "the toes of
garlic." I read every single word, and, yes, savored it all! I hope that alert high school social science teachers will use this piece in their classes. A masterpiece! Bravissimo/bravissima!
about real people making the best of things. And the language, so detailed and vivid: "the toes of
garlic." I read every single word, and, yes, savored it all! I hope that alert high school social science teachers will use this piece in their classes. A masterpiece! Bravissimo/bravissima!
12
I wonder if there is a way that visitors to the island could bring spices to donate or barter with restaurant owners. Spices are so readily available and easy to bring in a travel bag--it seems like there should be a simple way to at least mitigate the shortages at restaurants.
9
Spices are being brought in the island all of the time from Miami. The local restaurants in Cuba are supplied by the owner's family outside of the island.
The true opening will only happen once the Castros and their minions are out of the picture. To this day they refuse to allow Cubans to contract directly with outside suppliers. This "internal embargo" is one of the most substantial cause for the Cuban economy to remain stagnant. Agriculture is the same. Prior to this socialist revolution, Cuba was able to produce 80% of the food/meat/vegetables consumed on the island. Now it imports 80%, and most is of horrible cheap quality, dirty rice, almost no meat for general consumptions. Not mentioned in the article fish. Why does such a large island surrounded by water is unable to provide fish for general consumption? Start with the nationalization of private boats and fishing fleets. Destroying the industry. The justification? The boats were being used to scape from the island.
There is terrible hunger and malnutrition on the island. It is neither quaint or culturally attractive. It is a tragedy brought to you by the incompetent centralized economy of the current one family dictatorship of 57 years. From once a top economy in Latin America..to now this pathetic nation of ruin.
The true opening will only happen once the Castros and their minions are out of the picture. To this day they refuse to allow Cubans to contract directly with outside suppliers. This "internal embargo" is one of the most substantial cause for the Cuban economy to remain stagnant. Agriculture is the same. Prior to this socialist revolution, Cuba was able to produce 80% of the food/meat/vegetables consumed on the island. Now it imports 80%, and most is of horrible cheap quality, dirty rice, almost no meat for general consumptions. Not mentioned in the article fish. Why does such a large island surrounded by water is unable to provide fish for general consumption? Start with the nationalization of private boats and fishing fleets. Destroying the industry. The justification? The boats were being used to scape from the island.
There is terrible hunger and malnutrition on the island. It is neither quaint or culturally attractive. It is a tragedy brought to you by the incompetent centralized economy of the current one family dictatorship of 57 years. From once a top economy in Latin America..to now this pathetic nation of ruin.
4
Great article.
This reminds me of the ninties in Serbia: the food shops were empty, milk was nowhere to be found (exported to neibghouring countries for cash), so we had a sack of 50 kgs (cca 100 lbs) of flour which costed 10-15 USD at the time and made bread every day. The provisions of fresh food came from the country, but butter, chocolate and processed meat were smuggled from Hungary.
I was really shocked to find they live out of 8 USD monthly, but it was the same here some 20 years ago. People don't know with how little they can live until such a crisis hits. I would love to read some more international home cooking experiences from around the world. I volunteer to write one about Serbia.
This reminds me of the ninties in Serbia: the food shops were empty, milk was nowhere to be found (exported to neibghouring countries for cash), so we had a sack of 50 kgs (cca 100 lbs) of flour which costed 10-15 USD at the time and made bread every day. The provisions of fresh food came from the country, but butter, chocolate and processed meat were smuggled from Hungary.
I was really shocked to find they live out of 8 USD monthly, but it was the same here some 20 years ago. People don't know with how little they can live until such a crisis hits. I would love to read some more international home cooking experiences from around the world. I volunteer to write one about Serbia.
18
I very much appreciated this piece. It sheds much light on how every day Cubans cope with life and food. Given the scope of the article I think it might have been nice to focus even more on the idea that "food innovation is born out of desperation" (i.e. la cucina povera of Italy and most other countries) and provide a few more iconic dishes with stories and recipes.
3
I think mamey tastes more like a cross between a strawberry and a peach than a sweet potato.
11
The problem of sourcing fresh ingredients in Cuba is somewhat driven by the restaurant industry itself, which is largely state run (except for paladares). During my trip there in 2014, I did eat delicious food, both at state run and private restaurants. The state run establishments get first dibs on the best ingredients, since the money it generates goes back to the gov't. Because of trade restrictions and supply, this doesn't leave much for the home cook.
This is why it will be so important to let some level of US agriculture interests into Cuba. Think what they could do to modernize farming methods and increase yield? This won't happen though until the embargo is lifted.
If you're looking to visit Cuba, here are some trips to browse: http://www.stridetravel.com/tours/destinations/central-america-caribbean...
This is why it will be so important to let some level of US agriculture interests into Cuba. Think what they could do to modernize farming methods and increase yield? This won't happen though until the embargo is lifted.
If you're looking to visit Cuba, here are some trips to browse: http://www.stridetravel.com/tours/destinations/central-america-caribbean...
3
"This is why it will be so important to let some level of US agriculture interests into Cuba." What Monsanto and Dole and ConAgra could do in Cuba . . . ah, but they're already thinking (and lobbying) about that.
3
We had good food in Cuban restaurants two years ago but the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables was appalling. A need for infrastructure to get fresh produce from the interior is essential. This is a major problem in Cuba. It was interesting to us that most of the Cubanos that we spoke to hated the Russians and blamed many of their problems on them rather than the US embargo.
3
Perhaps it is because the Cubans know that the US "embargo" has little to do with their problems. The US embargo is not the one that nationalized their industries and agriculture, destroying productivity. They know that the US "embargo" is not the one stopping them from contracting with international suppliers. They know that it is not the US "embargo" that limits the Cubans from opening up businesses so as to respond for the needs of the citizens....FYI, the Cuban regime has an actual list of the "allowed" businesses that the Cuban people can open...and ALL are service jobs. They are then heavily taxed, and should you DARE to make "too much money", the regime repeals their license.
Cubans know who is to blame..the foreigners have yet to catch up.
Cubans know who is to blame..the foreigners have yet to catch up.
2
I'm so glad this article was written. I cooked in Havana at the Bienniel four years ago- (as a chef of Proyecto Paladar). Finding food to cook was challenging at best- and we had money and excellent black market conenctions. We could hire someone to drive us to the organic farm 30 minutes outsode of town and buy all we wanted. We were led to the guy who had illegally caught some fresh fish. The lack of availability of food products for the average Cuban was staggering. When I see these reports from tourists now about how great it is there I feel shame that they only see the sanitized version- and not the struggle of what it really means to put food on the table.
25
many of these comments so far seem to blame Cuba and its socialism. The blame for the food shortage is not Cuba's but the US embargo which is meant to punish the whole population in hopes that they would rebel against Castro.
However, Cubans today are all to aware of what has happened to China and Russia since the demise of communism. The poor are poorer than ever before with no healthcare, no job protection, no housing, no free education. In Cuba education is free. Healthcare is free. Housing is guaranteed.
The writer fails to mention a startling fact about Havana that I witnessed first hand last month. There are practically no homeless in the streets or beggars. Why? Because when someone buys a house in Cuba they cannot just terminate the leases of the existing tenants. The new owners have to find acceptable alternative housing!!
Cuba's agriculture problem is also an outcome of its education system. If you can become a doctor or teacher would you be working in the fields? It's very hard to attract a new generation of farmers who are educated.
However, Cubans today are all to aware of what has happened to China and Russia since the demise of communism. The poor are poorer than ever before with no healthcare, no job protection, no housing, no free education. In Cuba education is free. Healthcare is free. Housing is guaranteed.
The writer fails to mention a startling fact about Havana that I witnessed first hand last month. There are practically no homeless in the streets or beggars. Why? Because when someone buys a house in Cuba they cannot just terminate the leases of the existing tenants. The new owners have to find acceptable alternative housing!!
Cuba's agriculture problem is also an outcome of its education system. If you can become a doctor or teacher would you be working in the fields? It's very hard to attract a new generation of farmers who are educated.
15
Yes, in china and Russia the poor are poorer but many have improved their lives and some have become millionaires and even billionaires. And even the poorest have it better off then during communist times. In Cuba only those in with the Castro's have made anything and the majority remain cast down to the lowest common denominator: poverty for all but those the government exempts.
Cuba cant blame the embargo for internal failures, it has the rest of the world to buy from. And your wrong, in Cuba for much of its revolutionary history the farmers have been way better off especially food wise then any teacher or doctor. Doctors and teachers have to resort to the black market to make ends meet as well.
Homelessness and beggars exist...especially in tourist areas like old Havana. Discreetly and so as not to be caught by the tourist police. And given the crumbling housing and lack of housing period there is not so much homelessness as overcrowding, worn and tattered living spaces, lack of privacy and space.
Cuba is NOT and example of anything. Like you I've been to Cuba often anf for the last two decades. its better then during the special period but that's not saying much.
Cuba cant blame the embargo for internal failures, it has the rest of the world to buy from. And your wrong, in Cuba for much of its revolutionary history the farmers have been way better off especially food wise then any teacher or doctor. Doctors and teachers have to resort to the black market to make ends meet as well.
Homelessness and beggars exist...especially in tourist areas like old Havana. Discreetly and so as not to be caught by the tourist police. And given the crumbling housing and lack of housing period there is not so much homelessness as overcrowding, worn and tattered living spaces, lack of privacy and space.
Cuba is NOT and example of anything. Like you I've been to Cuba often anf for the last two decades. its better then during the special period but that's not saying much.
7
I returned from Havana last Sunday. There were definitely beggars, and people asleep in the street. The idea that the occupants of the crumbling buildings of Havana Vieja are 'housed' is pretty laughable, given the primitive conditions people live in. Even in Miramar, middle class homes with landscaped yards sit next to crumbling buildings and piles of garbage.
The embargo has an impact on average Cubans that seems to be vastly magnified by the Castro government's own actions; America may be a powerful country, but the ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD is allowed to trade with Cuba. Surely lots of food could come to Cuba from South America, embargo-free, if the 'socialist' government of Cuba actually worked.
The embargo has an impact on average Cubans that seems to be vastly magnified by the Castro government's own actions; America may be a powerful country, but the ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD is allowed to trade with Cuba. Surely lots of food could come to Cuba from South America, embargo-free, if the 'socialist' government of Cuba actually worked.
9
Not exactly so
If you become a doctor or a teacher why would you drive a taxi or be a mason? These are things I saw many times.
Also blaming the embargo is pale excuse. Cuba can and does trade with almost the entire world, they even buy chicken and other agricultural products from the US.
The shortage of everything is because of a political system run by people that think they are smarter than the markets and the preference of people. Every time someone in the upper hierarchy suggest a meaningful reform of any kind they lose their position.
Using China and Russia as alternative example is a bad excuse to justify dictatorship, any north European country is more adequate example.
Yes the Cuban revolution had the best intentions and some great achievements. But since it's Soviet patron stopped the subsidies, the corruption, nepotism, waste and inefficiencies are too much to bear.
If you become a doctor or a teacher why would you drive a taxi or be a mason? These are things I saw many times.
Also blaming the embargo is pale excuse. Cuba can and does trade with almost the entire world, they even buy chicken and other agricultural products from the US.
The shortage of everything is because of a political system run by people that think they are smarter than the markets and the preference of people. Every time someone in the upper hierarchy suggest a meaningful reform of any kind they lose their position.
Using China and Russia as alternative example is a bad excuse to justify dictatorship, any north European country is more adequate example.
Yes the Cuban revolution had the best intentions and some great achievements. But since it's Soviet patron stopped the subsidies, the corruption, nepotism, waste and inefficiencies are too much to bear.
5
Yep,
just like it was in 1972 when we left. My only word to describe the my birth place is MISERY- glad the Americans are going there and able to see, first hand, how the Cuban folk live and see their daily struggles. Cuba is not as idyllic and intriguing as many think it is and crave to visit.
just like it was in 1972 when we left. My only word to describe the my birth place is MISERY- glad the Americans are going there and able to see, first hand, how the Cuban folk live and see their daily struggles. Cuba is not as idyllic and intriguing as many think it is and crave to visit.
14
It's hard to call a country "Misery" when there is free healthcare, free education and guaranteed housing. Cuba is a poor country indeed - thanks to the American embargo. However, the poorest 20% of Cuba live far better than the poorest 20% in the USA when you consider the plight of America's poor with horrible public education, unaffordable healthcare and cheap high-caloric food that only adds to their misery.
14
Cuba has free health care with a caveat: free basic subpar healthcare where you need to bring your sheets and food to the hospital. Forget about complicated operations or care ( even for diabetics who are not given glucometers) because if you need anything special or complicated procedure your best bet is to be a foreigner and pay I dollars.
Education is government controlled and you still cant study what you want but rather what you are told. And the free housing is a myth, the law specifies that you can not be thrown out of a home if you have no where to go. This includes any home and has caused more family and mental problems then you can count when you must keep an unwanted relative in your home or risk going to jail. Its vey hard to move in Cuba even today not to mention the deplorable status of housing where few have any vested interest to maintain or update the dwelling not to mention the materials or money.
Be care full of what you ask for because you just may get it.
Education is government controlled and you still cant study what you want but rather what you are told. And the free housing is a myth, the law specifies that you can not be thrown out of a home if you have no where to go. This includes any home and has caused more family and mental problems then you can count when you must keep an unwanted relative in your home or risk going to jail. Its vey hard to move in Cuba even today not to mention the deplorable status of housing where few have any vested interest to maintain or update the dwelling not to mention the materials or money.
Be care full of what you ask for because you just may get it.
11
Your comment is very far from reality. As a Cuban-american I feel offended every time I hear similar comments.
Please do not keep repeating Education and Health Care is free in Cuba. When e Doctor gets a "free" degree has to spend the rest of his life in that Misery earning $20 a month . If that is not a "pay back" then what is it?
Misery is a very kind word.
Please do not keep repeating Education and Health Care is free in Cuba. When e Doctor gets a "free" degree has to spend the rest of his life in that Misery earning $20 a month . If that is not a "pay back" then what is it?
Misery is a very kind word.
3
For their homes, their cars, their food and even non-state employment, "innovation" is a Cuban's daily mantra. Great story! For the average tourist, Cuba is a lot like Dorothy when she first meets the wizard. You don't really know what you're seeing until you pull back the screen. This article is an means to that end.
14
This is so sad. After living in Tampa where there is wonderful Cuban food made with abundant fresh ingredients, it is heartbreaking to read how native Cubans have to jury-rig a simple meal. Also sad is that evidently seed is in short supply. Anyone can grow cilantro - that is, if they have seed. There was no mention of the wonderful sour orange used in most dishes; I guess Castro eliminated the sour orange trees too.
6
No, not Castro, he's responsible for their 100% literacy and free medical care and absence of homeless folk. For food shortages, please be fair and blame the American Embargo!
11
Workers' paradise. Paging Bernie Sanders.
11
It's a novella! We used to say that in Miami.
6
"With the American embargo firmly in place, a drop in the price of sugar and the loss of $5 billion a year in Soviet cash and goods, the country plunged into extreme poverty".
The first part of this statement is nonsense. The embargo had nothing to do with Cuban penury. If the country was capitalist it could buy decent supplies from many parts of the world. In my opinion, this is a liberal reflex-statement to suggest some kind of American role in the Cuban debacle, when there is none.