Transcription
Being in this country is like taking a trip decades into the past. Everything looks as if we were in another era, from the cars you see driving down the street, to the architecture of the buildings. Most of the official procedures are still done with pen and paper. And getting many things done is an extremely complicated mission. There are days when we spend the whole day without electricity. In other words, there is more time when there is no light than when there is light. Exactly. I've been doing that since I was a child, I've escaped. I have been unlucky not to go to this country. Few countries had managed to surprise me as much as this one.
This is a little bit of Cuba. Friends, how are you? Or should I say: Hacere qué volá, because we are in Cuba, a country that over the decades has given a lot to talk about, making headlines all over the world because of its politics, its laws, its economy and its contrasting lifestyles. This is my first time in this territory and I am more than intrigued to see what life is really like here. Of course we are going to upload several videos of this journey, but in this first report we will focus on touring Havana and its surroundings, documenting the most beautiful and touristic, as well as the not so beautiful and realistic. Needless to say why this adventure is so very, very special to me. Say no more, the beautiful Cuban lands are waiting for us. Let's get to it.
Having already traveled several days in Cuba, I can assure you that this is a territory that manages to surprise in every sense of the word. The country is full of beautiful, warm, friendly and chatty people everywhere. Everyone on the street makes a joke, converses, tells you about life and the situation. And above all, I will emphasize that Cubans are a resilient society, because life in this country is difficult. There is no other way to say it. Everything, absolutely everything, is extremely complicated. If you think that certain things in your country are difficult, multiply them by 10. Of the many things I could name, I will tell you that resources are scarce. Getting gasoline is a mission. Electricity is very, very expensive. It's the most common thing. Even in many localities, it is more common that there is no electricity than that there is. And the quality of telephone and internet signal is not bad, it is very bad. An apology to the Cubans who are beautiful people for being so direct with my words. I know that in itself my visit to the country is causing a lot of controversy, but I am saying it as it is, as I have felt it.
The Internet issue is a bit complicated. I don't know technically why, but we do have several connection problems, slowness, for example, to play games or to upload videos. We have to upload them at dawn in order to have a good connection and everything. Yes, it is very complicated. It is one of the most complicated things here in Cuba. But there are days when, yes, we spend the whole day without electricity. In fact, the whole day? Aha. And that happens in most of the communities around here. That is, there is more time when there is no electricity than when there is electricity. Exactly. And when there is light we are nervous, because it can be taken away at any moment. Oh, no! The horse ran away. The horse got out of control. Every day action like that happens. More or less. I mean, how often would you say the power goes out in the area where you live? Six hours, every day. Every day it goes out, 6 hours. Or 4 hours, it depends. There are times when the power goes out for two hours, three hours, unless there is a national blackout, and if there is a national blackout, there are several days without power. I mean, in March there was a national one, wasn't it? Aha, a national one that everyone turned on and if you looked at the satellite images, you could see Cuba turned off.
Normally, in this area of Old Havana, it is not common at all. That is to say, since this part of the city is the one with the most tourism, normally the lights do not go out. But lately, yes, it is quite common. Now everybody is kind of used to it: Okay, at some point it will come. We're driving around Havana in a classic car and wow, touring these streets is a somewhat surreal experience. I would dare to say that it looks like a city trapped in time. Here they stayed in the 60s, in the 70s. Most of the cars you see on the street are quite old and likewise, most of the buildings have not been remodeled for decades. Hey, to get repairs for a car like that, how do you go about it? In this case, many times from other cars that are not in use or we have to send them to look for them abroad, wherever they are. And others, by our own means, here, doing mechanics, repairing with the Creole mechanics of Cuba and with our own means. In fact, the car design most often seen on the streets is this one here, produced by the Moscovitch, Lada and Was brands, the three former Soviet brands, which represent very well those times when there was a very strong link between Cuba and the Soviet Union. What can you imagine? They sent them by the truckload. As a result, decades later, we still see them circulating a lot on the streets. I would go so far as to say that this is the most popular car, the most common.
Now, even though most of the cars you see around are indeed old, I don't want you to get the idea that you don't see new cars here. Of course you can see modern cars, in fact, you can even see luxury cars, but to be able to buy one of these you have to have enough money, because the import taxes are too expensive. Currently, the fever of electric bicycles is arriving here and while in many countries they cost 1000 dollars or less, here you could be paying 2000 dollars or more for the same bicycle. On the subject of transportation, here you can see many old, antique buses, which used to be school buses from other countries. And you also see another very peculiar method of transportation, known colloquially as the Coco Taxi, which are round cars, very kuchi, which are used daily. And in the same way, there are other very peculiar vehicles, known as motorcycles with sidecar, or motorcycles with sidecar, which are these motorcycles with a little car to carry a passenger. Look, those are very rare to see, at least I have not seen them in many parts of the world, and here it is super common, super normal. And then there are the classic cabs, the modern cabs. When you leave the city of Havana, it is relatively common to see cabs driven by horses. I have been very interested in that, but yes, just like that, the cart with the horse and it says cab, in order to facilitate the transportation situation and that people can move around in an affordable way.
Another detail that as a foreigner calls my attention to the streets of Cuba is the amount of political signs that are seen everywhere. The image of Fidel Castro is still very present. His picture is still seen in massive billboards on main streets, phrases such as Fatherland or death, down with imperialism, and so on. All these kinds of ideas continue to spread a lot and the only thing I will comment is that in effect, as an outsider, this is something peculiar. Driving around the city, it is usual to suddenly come across buildings that are in a clear state of abandonment, but in which, evidently, people live. These are buildings that the authorities have ordered to be vacated because they are at a critical point and could be demolished at any moment. But many individuals, seeing themselves in a state of need, choose to stay or to enter without permission to live within their walls. This, undoubtedly, is a face of Cuba that shows, so to speak, the need, because I am told that many people live in this building. In fact, it is evident, you can see clothes hanging, you can see clear traces of life. Just now we asked permission to some people who live in this building to let us document a little bit of their lifestyle. They personally did not want to come out, but they let us record their voices and ask them a few questions. How often do you have electricity here? Here the electricity goes off at ten in the morning and comes on at two in the afternoon. One day, another day, it leaves at two in the afternoon and comes at seven at night. And sometimes he leaves at seven o'clock and arrives at nine, ten o'clock at night. And, for example, how do you cook? When the electricity comes, we cook with charcoal, with firewood, with wood. The only way we have to cook, because we don't have a gas stove. How long have you been living here? How did you get here? Tell me about it. I've been living here for eight months now with my two children, since I don't have a house, I came here. How do you think? I'm very sorry, really, I'm sorry. Listen, in the bathrooms I see that there is a kind of pipe. I mean, this pipe, can you go to the bathroom there? No, because the pipes are clogged. You have to relieve yourself in a small toilet, in a soap dish, and then throw it away.
Our friend here tells us that many of the people here survive by scuba diving. Scuba diving is a colloquial way of saying to dive into the garbage tanks, to look for things that can be resold, for example, glass bottles, plastic, monitors, metals, wood, really anything that can be resold and then reused, and in this way they find a livelihood, a way to survive. How long have you been here? A year. I came here to the beach and I saw people coming in and I asked and I came in because I was in a lot of need. And to survive, how do you get money? I work, thank God. I got a little job and I'm more or less making ends meet. Hey, for water, how do you do it? How do you get water here? Here, among the water, one day yes, one day no. Wow! How strong, thanks to the people who opened the doors to their homes so that we could briefly document this reality. Very shocking, a very strong sample of the reality of many.
As the days of our journey here in Cuba go by, I realize that it is indeed the majority of the buildings in Havana that are in this state. At the beginning of the adventure, we entered the abandoned building and I said: Okay, these are the broken buildings where people live and so on, but the truth is that as time goes by, we analyze more and more that practically all the buildings in Havana are in this state and it is not that they are all in the process of being recommended for eviction and so on, no, I mean, people live in all these buildings, look and you can really see that there is a lot of garbage on many sides. Yes, yes, the neglect, there is no other way to say it. The tourist areas and others are kept very clean, they are kept very well cared for, but it is enough to go a little further away to find another reality. I turn there, everywhere. If you walk from where the historic center is, the tourist area, a few streets, and you go a little bit into the neighborhood, wow, everything changes a lot. Here everything feels much more alive. There are a lot of stores inside houses, but they really sell everything. I've even seen hair salons where people open their doors and you can see how they're doing their hair. Everyone is very talkative. They welcome you nicely and you don't feel insecure. In fact, I wouldn't dare to say it doesn't feel unsafe at all. You walk around, relax, people make small talk, and maybe someone will insist a lot, like, "Give me a coin for a little drink: Give me a coin for a drink, buy me this here, like suddenly very insistent, but dangerous as such, nothing. And yes, I tell you, it is a very different world here from the historic downtown area, where you see more tourists, you see such and such, here you see the authentic life of the Cubans. And I am from here, I was born here all my life. Well, all the areas of Old Havana are really dangerous. This part here a little more than another, it depends on the hour, on the days, do you know each other, there is no problem among ourselves. Actually, the problem is with other people, but we Cubans, among ourselves, we are all very friendly, we respect each other a lot, there tends to be no problems, you know what I mean? When you say dangerous, what is the worst thing that could happen to me? To be robbed or to be what? I don't know, anything that usually happens in Cuba, a knife, a bottle, problems, yes, just out of the blue. To come and find you a problem with someone troublesome like there are here. I met that nice Michael who drives a coco cab, that's what it's called. Coconut cab. One can be confident with one eye open and one eye closed. That's the way it should be here, normally, you know what I mean? But here nothing happens, here everything is quiet and everything is calm. What you know, one eye open and one eye closed. Wow, my brother, what's your artist name? Blagon Pato. Blagon Pato. Blagon Pachi. Blagon Pachi. Blagon Pachi. Blagon Pachi. Blagon Here the Blagon Pato just gave me a beatboxing demonstration. Then he contorted himself, got down there. No, what a crack, my brother, what a crack. The poor thing.
What I've been unlucky is that I didn't go to this country, because I'm stuck on the Internet, I had to get all the likes I have, a million likes on my videos and I'm on the run. I am 52 years old, I am still going to be 53, I will be worse when I get fired. Good. What I haven't told you about Cuba is that here you can hardly find the Coca-Cola brand, something that is really striking, because Coca-Cola is practically all over the world. This is directly related to the famous economic blockade and that at some point in history, of course, the factories that produced Coca-Cola here in Cuba were nationalized, so to speak, they were taken away so that they would be State property, Government property, and in those soft drink factories, now other types of brands are produced. That is why most of the soft drinks you are going to see in the stores, as well as the beers, are going to be of local brands. Here I have two, see, this one here, which is called Santa Cola. This one I am seeing is not produced in Cuba, in fact it is imported from somewhere else, it just says imported from Europe. But I would say that this is the most popular of the Ciego Montero production company, Tu Cola. This is a 100% Cuban industry and they have their own version of all flavors, whether orange, lemon, cola, their own water, etcetera. The beers, likewise, are produced quite a lot here. And in this type of stores you will mostly see these brands. And as another curious piece of information, which I just learned right now with the girl at the store, I was talking to her and she said to me: Hey, I read in the news that you are the one who does the voice of Sonic. And I said: Yes, I don't know what. He started to tell me: No, that my daughter is a Sonic fan, that she loves him, that so and so, so and so. And after that I asked: Let's see, your daughter, for example, how has she seen the Sonic movies? Here, my great ignorance told me: Are there movie theaters? Are new movies released here? And the answer, very briefly, is that no. Of course there are movie theaters, of course some movies are shown, but as such, that they have the updated movie listings, that does not happen, that does not happen here. Ada, I'm curious, these kinds of movies, well, they don't make it to the cinema as such. Cuban children generally watch movies on television recorded in memory, which is recorded by package or some have access to what is called satellite antenna, which is a connection made in the houses by antenna, which is not through a company, strictly speaking, or through the Internet, some of them. I was very intrigued by the whole issue of cinemas and so on. We came to see what one is like and indeed, the billboard has mostly Cuban films, what I did notice is that they have a billboard printed on a sheet in which they tell you that they are showing Oscar winning films and they rotate them by days. And then they have movie days for kids. And so people can see some of the international cinema. But yes, as such, so there is a lot of openness, well no, we can see that mostly local films, pre-approved films. And look, this other thing is very curious. Check it out, I want to show you. Let me introduce you to the good Emmanuel, who is in charge of, so to speak, the candy store of the movie theater. This is the candy store in the movie theater. So, before entering, here you buy from my brother-in-law, what if your popcorn, what if your cookies, what if your apple, your popsicle, you can even buy a cigarette. You can even buy a cigarette. Would you say that many people come to the movies? Once in a while, when there's a big name movie or something, they usually come, but when it's smaller events or national movies, they don't come much. I'm not, but again very interested. Next: the candy stores at movie theaters in Cuba.
Watching videos on YouTube. I know that until a few years ago it was difficult, wasn't it? It was practically impossible to watch videos on YouTube or to have access to any social network. Nowadays it is much more normal, I imagine. Yes, even though the connection in Cuba is quite slow and the Internet doesn't really work like most countries in the world, most Cubans have access to the Internet. Which is another aspect that we haven't talked about, this thing that we were talking about with the YouTube videos. Until a few years ago, people had to buy memories, they called it a video package. So, you would go to someone who would download them over there and they would sell you the bundle of videos of youtubers. Alan for the World documented that vividly when the country was not yet more open to the internet. You should go see that Alan por el Mundo video, which is really valuable, well documented by the good Alan. And yes, until recently people watched YouTubers, not on YouTube, but on memories they bought. I never get tired of saying it, many aspects in Cuba seem very surreal to me. It's like taking a little trip back in time. Hi, I'm John, at Jan's level, and we are Himawa, and we watched Luisito Comunica, hi, I'm Germán and Rubio. All the youtubers were for the package, because here in Cuba there is no internet. We were about 15 years old, now I'm 21. That was about six, seven years ago. And then, when you saw all the videos in the memory, what? Did you save it or not? No, we already watched it and we erased it, because then we had to empty the disk to copy it again the next week. Unless we watched the video a week late. With two, a week late, usually. Joining the network of comments and memes and so on, it didn't exist, did it? No, it didn't exist. In Even when you guys say, I don't know, go watch the previous video down here, nothing was coming up. Sure, yes it is true. I leave you a link down below in the description, it didn't exist. It didn't come up, no. How surreal.
Since I arrived in Cuba, a very common scenario I have seen in the streets is to see many people lined up outside banks. At first I used to say: Well, I don't know, the bench is full, it's busy. And it turns out that it is very normal that when the power goes out, the ATMs stop working, causing many people to be unable to withdraw money. Also, as the telephone signal, the internet in general, is quite bad, it is not possible to establish a connection in the ATMs for people to withdraw this money. And likewise, another problem that causes this is that I am told that many times there is no money. There is a great shortage at the moment to be able to produce the Cuban peso. This is a problem that happens in many territories around the world and Cuba is no exception. Now, I asked if they have bank cards to be able to withdraw money, why don't you use the bank card to pay in establishments? And the simplest answer is that in many establishments you cannot pay and also the connection is bad, it is unstable, which prevents the banking terminals from working. So, people need cash to be able to pay, but they can't get it from the banks. And once you go to the ATM, after waiting in line for maybe an hour, people I talked to tell me now that sometimes up to two hours, they put a limit on how much money you can withdraw. These limits usually range from 4,000 to 15,000 pesos a day. Which is, depending on the exchange rate, from about 11 dollars to about 30 dollars, depending on the exchange rate, I repeat. And yes, that is all that people can take out a day, because it is very complicated, there is no paper to produce the money, the cash. And check it out, right in front of the bank we found something else that I want to document. These are the very famous supply warehouses, where people go to get food at a more than affordable price, using a system known as the supply book. Basically, every year, every Cuban citizen is given one of these little books, supply books, with which you can go daily to the nearest bodega. You can't just go to any bodega in any part of Cuba, it has to be the one in your locality, in your block. You show your passbook and it shows how many family members there are, how many people live in that household and according to that it is determined how much food each person gets. So, for example, there are four people living in your household. That means you are entitled to four pounds of sugar. To give an example, they write down your name, they put a little check mark there that you have already had your food, they proceed to give it to you, you pay the amount due, which is usually a symbolic amount in the words of the people I have talked to, and you proceed to leave. For example, all Cubans are entitled to one loaf of bread a day for the price of one Cuban peso. That one Cuban peso is 0.03 dollars, something like that. A pound of rice is sold very affordably, a pound of sugar too, etcetera, etcetera, and you can find different products. I am told that in times of ties with the Soviet Union, a very long time ago, these supply warehouses were really well, but well stocked. But later, when this economic support ended, things began to look more scarce. There are times when it is more stable, there are times when there is not much at all. All this in the words of people I have talked to. And yes, that is more or less how it works. Tell me, I mean, do they give you a pound of rice, do they give you such and such? Let's see, the Cuban receives more than a pound of rice, he receives a donation of rice, plus what is allocated, which can be five or six pounds of rice. Once you run out of those pounds, you have to go to the markets, where prices are a little higher. You know what I mean? This helps you, because it really helps you to be able to face the month, we could say. They have the census a daily bread, which is a modest price, and then, if you want more, you have to buy it in a market, in a place where it is much more expensive. And everybody doesn't have the possibility to buy bread every day. No, of course not. I mean, it's one loaf, but clearly one loaf is not enough, right? No, bread is not enough, because whoever has a child, for example, whoever has a child and has a child in school, has to prepare a snack for him/her. So, you take the bread away to give it to your child so that he/she can make... To be able to take it for the snack. The famous Cuban supply booklet, here we are seeing it in a little bodeguita in La Cuadra.
Another little thing about Cuba that I don't quite understand is how money works. Until five years ago in Cuba there were two types of currency, the CUP, which was the official Cuban peso, and the CUP, which was the peso, let's call it convertible. It was during the pandemic period that they decided to eliminate the latter and to keep only the CUP, the Cuban peso. So, does this mean that this is a currency that has an internationally determined value in the most transparent way? Of course it does not. In fact, it is still very confusing to use. Just as in Venezuela and Argentina, just to give a couple of examples, in Cuba there is an official and unofficial exchange rate. If you go to a state exchange house called Cadeca, they will give you a value, as of the date I am recording this video, of 110 to 120 Cuban pesos per dollar. If you go to a more clandestine exchange house, a street exchange, they will give you 300 to 350 pesos per dollar. And since it is convenient for many people to have dollars so that their money does not devaluate, they choose to go to this type of exchange, which also makes it very easy for them to get more money abroad. Look, why don't I tell you like this, we'd better do a little demonstration. Hello, how are you? Good morning. I would like, please, to change... That's it? Yes, please. How much is it today? Every day, 110, but on Sundays it goes down one weight, 109. That's funny. Okay, well, for 10 dollars it was, let's round it up to 1100 pesos. There it is, that is the official exchange rate. Now we are going to make a street exchange. Just now a cab driver came by and it happens a lot here in Cuba, you are in tourist places and the typical changes happen, dollar change, change to how much you want it, it happens in many places. So, we go with our friend to see how much they change our dollars for. 20. 20. For 3.60. Okay. 7,200. Perfect. Yeah, that's good. Six, seven. Okay, perfect, my brother. I appreciate it very much, thank you. Wow! The exchange rate was absurd, for 20 dollars I got a little more than 7000 Cuban pesos. No, the difference is absurd, it is huge. I understand why everyone who comes to visit chooses to make change on the street and so on. Tremendous difference. It couldn't be better demonstrated.
Historic center of the Cuban capital, which at the time of recording has about 2 million inhabitants. Which is another interesting topic in Cuba that we haven't touched on, the population. Really, how many people are there in Cuba? Well, it turns out that since around 1997, its population is around 11 million, but it kind of reaches it, then the number goes down, then it goes up again. And this is due to the fact that, as in many territories in the world, there is a massive migratory movement here. It is estimated that last year alone more than 300,000 people left Cuba. So no matter how many Cubans are born, no matter how high the birth rate is, many people leave. So, it is well said that the Cuban population never officially reaches 11 million people.
Today we had the misfortune of having the whole area without electricity. The electricity was out everywhere. We wanted to go into a historic hotel, to see a super ancient elevator and such, but yes, the same manager told us: Brother, there is no power today, you will have to come back later. Orale, and yes, look how crazy, as there is no light in any business, there is no electricity. Yeah, you see, this is an ice cream parlor and there is no electricity, so the ice cream melts. Yes, you see, the ice creams are not ice creams anymore. And because there is no electricity right now, many businesses have decided to close down. And yes, most of them are closed. Hey, Liz, I'm intrigued. This, wow, there are no lights anywhere right now. Is this usual around here? Let's see, normally in this area of Old Havana it's not at all common, you know? I mean, since this is the part with the most tourism, normally the lights don't go out. But lately, yes, it is quite common. It happens, well, that's what... It happens, yes, it is very typical. I am always super positive, like: Well, if it is delayed, well, if it comes, great, even better, you know? Just like it is something super common here in Cuba, everybody is already like super used to it, it is typical, everybody knows what to do, it is like: Okay, at some point it will come. Well, in the area where you live, is it usual to have your electricity cut off? No, very rarely. In other provinces, further into the country, as such, they do cut off a lot of electricity every day. It is not that they remove the light, it is that they put the light on. It's not that the electricity is cut off, it's that the electricity has arrived. Indeed, they are lights, not blackouts. Listen to that noise. This is a plant that has a business here, a large establishment, because as the power goes out often, they are already used to it, they have their own generating plant and they tell me that it works with oil. In fact, it is normal to walk around and hear this same sound everywhere. That's why, it's because they are the power plants that the businesses have. Me, me, me, me! And what a shame, I was really looking forward to visiting this bar called Floridita, internationally famous, no exaggeration. And just today, when it happened that there is no electricity, of course they closed. No, I will still want to drink my famous Daiquiri, and the Floridita. What real courage, that's what happens. We went up to a little terrace to appreciate Havana from the heights and wow, yes, really, this whole area was without electricity. You can even clearly see the division of when the electricity starts to come back on. But everything here, see the houses completely dark. All around, the only buildings we can see that have electricity are the ones with the power plants. No, heat this up, how hard. I really had doubts about seeing this with my own eyes, because we see it a lot in the news, we read it a lot in social networks, that the power went out again in Cuba, so and so, so and so. But one can't help but think: Are the news programs exaggerating? And today we see that And indeed, not at all, we are seeing it, vividly. And let's see, we are really experiencing this situation as visitors, but you think about the people who live here and the domino effect that this causes. You think about it, let's see, this is the area, the historic district, whatever. But this same problem, reflected in clinics, in hospitals, reflected in the fact that the streets are dark. So, walking on dark streets, this increases insecurity. The whole series of problems that this causes, it really blows your mind. Cubans are so used to this, that even in the Havana area, there are support networks that inform citizens when the electricity is going to go out daily by zones. But as I say, this is in the city. Once you go out, it is practically random and in the words of many locals, there is more time when there is no electricity than when there is access to it. Surreal, shocking and if you analyze it, quite sad.
Cubans to fill up with gasoline is not like they can arrive at any gas station at any time to park their cars, pay for the service and proceed to fill up their tanks. Of course not, Cubans have to schedule their visit to the gas station by appointment, that is, getting a turn. How does it work? They enter a platform where they are previously registered, select the gas station that suits them best and it will tell them which days are available for them to fill up. In theory, Cubans can fill up to 40 liters of gasoline a day, but these waiting rooms can be very, very long. And I want to show you this, this is a phone of a colleague here. My friend's car we registered two days ago and in two days we are still, look at this, waiting shift number 923 of 1774. Hello, Boru. Let's see, today is Wednesday, April 16. The idea is to gas up on Saturday, April 19, but we still don't have confirmation. There are approximately 800 turns left for them to tell us: Yes, yes you can come and fill up. And surely many are wondering: What happens if you go down the street, you run out of gas? Surely there must be an emergency plan or something. The short answer is that you're in big trouble. You'll have to go to someone on the street to let you get gas out of their car, put a little bit in, so you can at least get to the corner, park it. And on top of all this, one would say: Well, at least gasoline in Cuba is very cheap, very affordable. Well, until recently it was. But today, today, 2025, when we are recording this video, the reality is that they are at the same price as in the rest of the world. Here is a table with the official prices published by the authorities. We can see that a liter of gasoline costs more than a dollar, which is the same price as in the rest of the world. The problem is that wages here are very, very low. The minimum wage is set at less than 30 dollars a month. So, you can imagine the difficulty to fill up your gas tank, not only because of the waiting time, but also because of the economic issue. Now, it is worth mentioning that there are special gas stations where you can pay in dollars with a card, which in short, are the gas stations for the privileged, for the rich. You can get there just like that, in your car, you pay in dollars, everything is fine. But, for example, in Havana there are only three of them. 99% of the population has to go to the normal gas stations which, due to fuel shortage, do not allow you to order when you want to, but rather when there is a shift, because they have to go dosing. A big problem, I repeat, very, very complicated. And for someone visiting from abroad, it is ironic how these appointments must be scheduled using the Internet, when the truth is that there is very little signal. From the moment one arrives, one must contract Cubacel, which is the only telephone company in the country, of course, owned by the state, like about 80% of Cuban industry. Practically everything here belongs to the government. And while today many have wifi technology in their homes, daily, as I said, the electricity goes out. And the question we all ask ourselves is: Why? Why does this happen? Why are there so many shortages? Why is absolutely everything so difficult? The answer that most Cubans will give you is that this is due to the famous economic blockade. The economic blockade is the consequence of the huge economic problems that Cuba and the United States have had over the decades. Many affirm that since there have been such strong ties between Cuba and the Soviet Union for a very long period of history, the United States has blocked any commercial relationship with the island. It is even said that any country that intends to help the Cuban economic process is threatened and punished. This type of signs that one finds on the streets every day, exemplifies very well what I am telling you about the feelings of the Cubans with the economic blockade and so on. It is a caricature, a satire, and this type of signs and messages of the blockade's tomb are quite common. And yes, if you ask them in the words of Cubans, the whole issue of the blockade affects even the fact of having toilet paper. I have seen how in some homes people, instead of using toilet paper, use newspaper. I don't know how else to say it. Literally, newsprint, you see thrown in the trash garbage can, balled up. And I ignore the reason as such a broad reason, but what people answer you here is because many times that paper has to pass through the United States. And yes, it is a huge issue, it is a never-ending issue. And let's see, I want to clarify that all this about the economic blockade and so on is a position, it is one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is that many people say that what is happening in Cuba is a dictatorship. They have had the same government for decades, it is said that there is very little freedom of expression and many Cubans say that all this talk about the economic blockade and so on, is more of an excuse to keep people with little, to keep people with little communication. Yes, we have to see the two positions, the two sides of the coin. So, look, I do not know, but I expose you the two biggest points of view there are. I know that by the simple fact of touching on this subject, the comments are going to catch fire, but I have to expose both points that I have learned and let it be clear that I am not giving my opinion, I am simply communicating what I have been told. And let me see, obviously not everything is the fault of this trade blockade. Much of it is also the fault of internal policies, of the fact that all the companies belong to the State, of many decisions of the law, etcetera. There are many reasons, but it is what is most commented on daily here in the streets, being here in this territory. I repeat, please, go and inform yourselves and generate your own criteria. I do not want it to seem that I am biasing you, but this reason for the economic blockade is something that Cubans talk about openly and it is something that does not stop and that to this day continues to have consequences. For example, in the modern world, in the digital world, today, with mobile applications, in Cuba, to give a few examples, TikTok does not work legally, ChatGPT does not work legally and not even an iPhone works legally. No matter how much you click on the App Store, I want to download a game, I want to update my Facebook, I want to download a bank application, you can't do it. You get a legend that says: geographic region blocked, No, my friend, try the next time, it won't work. That's why most Cubans have an Android phone, which I don't quite understand, because Google is also gringo. Do you use Apple or Android, what do you use? I use iPhone. And do you use iPhone? Yes. Let's see, but I have noticed that it is very difficult to download applications, it doesn't let you. How do you do it? I got an iCloud account in the cell phone workshops. You buy iCloud accounts, which are made by people who make them from outside and then here they give you the password and you use that account, you can't create it yourself. You use that account and you can download the applications and everything. Most Cubans have Android, because it is easier to use it. With Android there is no problem. Here there is no problem with Android. So, with Android to download apps, you don't need VPN, nothing. No, there is no problem. With TikTok you do, even if you use Android or iPhone. Vpn. Vpn. So, let's say, you don't have to use a VPN to download applications with Android? No, with Android you don't have to do that. There is something about Apple's system that does not work, to the point that those Cubans who wish to have an iPhone system must go to workshops that are scattered in various parts of the city so that they can unblock them, so that they can install special VPNs, because they keep changing them, so that they can download the applications to a Windows computer and then transfer it with a cable to the iPhone. I tell you, to many this particular topic will seem very silly and banal, but it is a sign that everything, and I repeat, absolutely everything, is very complicated in Cuba. I met here the good Leo, who is in charge of the iPhone Addicts business here. I loved it, Adictos, right? Adictos, that's the name of the business. Operating system. And what we specialize in is iPhone, iPad, Mac, everything that has to do with the Apple ecosystem. Our reason for being is to help the community, because here in Cuba we have many limitations to access applications. Sometimes, our internet is also a bit unstable to do certain services. We have the Apple store, but we don't have access to download the applications. We can create your own Apple account or we can advise you on how to create your account and install a VPN so that you can then access the services and download and get your applications to give you the proper functioning that an iPhone has. With the applications, the device becomes 100% functional.
Historically, the two most famous industries in Cuba are tobacco and sugar cane, which eventually becomes rum, how tasty Cuban rum is, a good Cuba libre, a good piña colada. And I just came to see some tobacco crops to learn more about it. I am putting together a complete report on this, because I have found it a fascinating industry with very interesting processes, but without a doubt what has impressed me the most about this industry is learning that the farmers have to sell 90% of their production to the State. So, for example, if you produce 50 kilos of tobacco, you have to sell 45 kilos to the government. And with the remaining 10%, what can you do? Can you have your own brand, I don't know, Humberto's tobacco, no. I mean, why don't you have your own brand, I don't know, Humberto's tobacco? No. I mean, why not? Only the government can make brands. It is the government. The State practically governs the tobacco industry and they are the ones who set the prices. And the fact that, as I was telling you at the beginning, about 80% of the Cuban industry belongs to the State is very surprising to outsiders. This does not mean that there are no private companies, of course there are, but the rule is that if you have more than 100 workers, your company automatically becomes part of the State. So, of course there are small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, but as you say, large ones, but not at all. And this, unfortunately, throughout history, has discouraged many entrepreneurs and businessmen. As I see it, and this is a personal opinion, you can formulate your own, it is like the authority lets you dream, but not so big. They let you say: Look how nice, yes, sure, you can earn your money, you can be an entrepreneur, you can follow your dreams, but don't grow so much, because we will take care of that. Possibly the most famous example worldwide of an entrepreneur who did not want to follow these rules is that of Facundo Bacardi, of the famous Bacardi Rum brand. It is said that when they began to nationalize all industries, Don Bacardi said: No, wait, I have grown this industry, this has been my own work, so and so, so and so. They got into big fights to the point that he had to move his entire operation to Puerto Rico. So, even though it was a company founded in Cuba, today it is no longer a Cuban company. Another little thing I think it is important to mention about this is that the big Cuban companies that export worldwide, such as Coiva Tobacco or Havana Club Rum, have to partner with other international companies. To give an example, Havana Club, in order to be able to distribute to the many countries it reaches, has had to partner with Pernod Ricard, the very well-known company of French origin. So, I don't know. I will leave it to you to decide, to form your own criteria. But to what extent is not allowing the population to undertake and break it up with a private company a good thing? What I will say is that as a foreigner and someone who is an entrepreneur, who has companies outside and so on, I am surprised, I am shocked by the simple fact of thinking that, I do not know, tomorrow I will have my restaurants and my brands and so on, and someone will come and tell me: Well, thank you very much. See you later, we'll take care of it from here. Very hard, very strong, very contrasting. And please, you form your own criteria, I would love to read it in the comments.
For some time now, import stores have been springing up in Cuba that handle all their prices entirely in dollars to avoid the massive devaluation. Because yes, in fact, in the stores accepting payments in Cuban pesos, it is as if you receive money now, the next day it is worth less, the next day it is worth much less. So, these stores take care of their economy by charging everything in dollars. And you find everything, international brands, Nutella, I have never seen that anywhere else, if not here, soft drinks, beers, household items, etc. What you don't find is Coca-Cola. That's right, nothing. And this particular store we came to visit is an Italian company. It is very interesting that people are so excited to see what they can find that there are tremendous lines to get in. Here, likewise, they already accept card payments, international cards, I mean, Visa, Russian cards, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, as long as they are not U.S. cards. If it is from a U.S. account, they will not accept your payment, you will not be able to. If you bring American Express, you can dream, my brother, but you will not be able to. It is also important to clarify that these types of stores, of course, are designed for people who can afford it. We can't say that they are for everyone, but there are, there are. And it is very interesting to see this type of response from the population to combat the shortage, charging in dollars, a much more stable currency. So there you have a little of my first impressions traveling through Cuba, a beautiful country in which I emphasize the immense warmth of its people, how beautifully we have been received and above all, as I said before, its resilience. In few places had I seen so much the affection that people have for their land and the strength they have to endure the immense adversities. I know that my visit here has caused and will continue to cause a lot of controversy. And I want to clarify that, of course, no one is paying me to do this. There is speculation that you were paid by the government, you were paid by the opposition, you were paid by non-governmental organizations. Of course not, I have come here by my own means, driven by my passion and my love for documenting around the world. Stay tuned to the channel, we are still coming up with great videos that we managed to record here, covering more aspects of Cuban culture. Thank you very much for joining me in one more adventure. See you, as always, as you know, in a few days with a new video. Good bye.