Cuba and the World’s Oldest Business
Nonardo Perea
HAVANA TIMES — On Sunday, October 12, I was invited to the birthday party of a close friend. A cousin of his had offered her apartment for the party. The apartment is close to Old Havana’s well-known Parque de la Fraternidad.
The owner has been legally renting out the two bedrooms in the apartment for two months. The day of the party, I wasn’t in the mood for drinking. During my stay, I only tried the occasional snack and enjoyed the company of my friends, who do drink and usually have a very good time under the influence of beer and rum.
The observant type, I saw that, in less than three hours, more than five girls and their partners (some young, others not-so-young), had gone in and out of the bedrooms. A group of four shared a room for half an hour (personally, I feel that half an hour is not much time for a foursome. You’re supposed to enjoy those kinds of things, right?)
Other girls would arrive and be told that the rooms were occupied. They would decide to sit and wait for their turn patiently, then go up into the bedroom to give their best and, most importantly, make a little cash with the sweat of their…brows.
A girl that caught my eye was a 20-year-old with a happy little face whom people called La Flaca (“Skin-and-Bones”). She was a regular customer, judging from the familiarity between her and the owners. “In a single day, she’s brought as many as ten different men here, of all skin-colors and ages,” my friend’s cousin said to me after she’d had a few drinks too many. Many of the girls who use the bedrooms come and go non-stop and, according to the owners, don’t ever rest, not in the morning or at night.
The price of room rental is relatively cheap: 1 CUC for half an hour. They sell beer at 1.50 CUC.
Right now, the owners of this business want to improve the conditions of the bedrooms, which aren’t bad (but, if they improve them a bit, they can charge a little more).
An excellent and very prosperous business, don’t you think?
Your data is incorrect. Most Americans have more than $20 disposable income after necessary expenses per month.
The US student load debt default rate dropped to 13.7% in 2014.
Cubans do pay for education & healthcare. The government pays a salary of about $20 per month. That is equivalent to a 95% tax rate off the top, before they even see their pay check.
Subsidized food rations are only sufficient to cover 2 weeks per month. The balance of the food must be obtained with hard currency, which is hard to come by if you don’t have a job in tourism, driving a taxi or in the new self-employed sector. Many Cubans are forced to resort to pilfering goods from work for sale on the black market, or prostitution, or some other under-the-table arrangement. This fact of daily life in Cuba is humiliating to most Cubans.
Finally, the Cuban people never chose socialism. The Castro regime forced their corrupt socialist system onto Cuba, never allowing a free and fair election in 56 years.
$20 or less per minute month. You are correct on that point, but your analysis falls apart for several other reasons, to wit, the average American has about $20 of disposable income after all reasonable and necessary expenses per month. That’s not even taking into account the student loan debt crisis wherein everyone seems to be defaulting. Cubans don’t pay for education, healthcare, and other necessities are greatly subsidized. In sum, their basic needs -and more- are met. Cuba is no Haiti nor Dominican Republic. Those are fair comparisons by the way. Poor countries have a choice, to share or not to share. Let’s not beat them up for choosing socialism.
True. 100% true.
Opportunities? In Cuba, a college education does not lead to a well paying job. The average salary of $20 per month is not enough to get by on, and most Cubans have to resort to some other means to make ends meet. That’s why in Cuba there are teachers, engineers and other well educated women and men working as taxi drivers, waiters and prostitutes.
Prostitution has been around for a long, long time in Cuba. Some aspects have changed, but some things remain the same. Although the Revolution did shut down the brothels, it did not end prostitution, but merely drove it underground. In recent years, prostitutes have returned openly to the streets.
A particular aspect to prostitution in Cuba today is the fact that a growing number of Cuban women who work as teachers, engineers, or factory workers now turn to turning tricks part-time, to help pay the bills every month. Their salaries are not enough to put food on their table or clothes on their kids. Prostitution is now a way for ordinary Cubans to get by.
Get updated on this site about what prostitution in Cuba is today:
http://prostitucionencuba.impela.net/
I have a better knowledge of what is happening in Cuba than you.
If you aren’t ignorant then it is you that is disingenuous.
Read ” A History of Havana” by Dick Cluster and Rafael Hernandez to see what prostitution historically was in Cuba. You obviously have no idea, or you are disingenuous, or more likely , both..
An interesting book on the topic: “From Cuba with Love: Sex and Money in the Twenty-First Century”
“…deals with love, sexuality, and politics in contemporary Cuba. In this beautiful narrative, Megan Daigle explores the role of women in Cuban political culture by examining the rise of economies of sex, romance, and money since the early 1990s. Daigle draws attention to the violence experienced by young women suspected of involvement with foreigners at the hands of a moralistic state, an opportunistic police force, and even their own families and partners.”
Prostitution has never really changed, no matter how you try to sugar coat it, in the sordid exchange of sex for money, physical control, exploitation and violence is never far.
False: the Cuban regime does less to combat prostitution in Cuba. Cuba is a known sex holiday destination. It is also a child sex tourist destination.
Cuba has “massage parlors” and organized child prostitution.
???????? Prostitution has been around B.C…. If you are of age and you enjoy what you do then who am I to Judge you. Money is made in many different ways only that in my country it is more of a Moral aspect than anything else. Cuba has free health services and if you know how to protect yourself then you do what you enjoy, and do well. So, tell me why does prostitution always seems to bring to mind a dirty or sad way of life for women, and a poll dancer is not much different. I guess my next Business in Cuba will be a “Booty Trap”with exotic dancers and lots of rum.
It is all about the MONEY – Si !!!
The Cuban government does more to combat prostitution than any other government in the hemisphere including the USA. Cuba has no massage parlors, strip clubs or casinos. Prostitution is rampant in Las Vegas and most large cities. It is a shame that young girls take the easy path when there are educational opportunities in Cuba.
I like the fact that you have treated this subject with a little humour. Prostitution, though, can be a terrible line of work if you do not have good healthcare, or have an evil pimp or evil clients. I would applaud any government which ensures sex workers are cared for, mentally and physically, instead of making it such a severe crime, it is controlled in darkness, by dark people.