The Clothing Market for Ordinary Cubans

By Lien Estrada

HAVANA TIMES – Clothing, like almost everything, and I am talking about the most basic needs, has been a challenge in the midst of daily life here in Cuba. Clothes in stores that operated with a type of currency (CUC) theoretically equal to the dollar were very expensive. The CUC is no longer in circulation, but it was the currency in which some workers were paid in a few selected workplaces. It is true that there were other stores where dresses, skirts, blouses, pants, and shorts were offered as donations from other countries. These could be found in both currencies: the CUC and Cuban pesos, with very affordable prices.

Still, there were always those whose finances didn’t allow for it. And there were also people who avoided shopping in those places, saying the clothes came from deceased people. Others didn’t care and stocked up on really good pieces. This even led to more business opportunities with secondhand clothing.

Today, it’s very easy to find establishments, private houses, and spots anywhere selling clothes. Some are bought “abroad” and brought in by the so-called “mules.” This is the name given to men and women who travel exclusively to buy goods in other countries and bring them back to be sold here. Other clothes sold in these places are used, coming from families who no longer plan to wear them or from people who have left the country.

In any case, these are not the times like the start of the Special Period (the 1990s crisis) when you couldn’t find anything at all or when it was forbidden to sell anything outside state-regulated spaces. Back then, selling goods in private spaces was unthinkable.

Today, when I walk the streets and come across clothing vendors on every corner, in many doorways, and even right on the street, I feel happy. Very happy. It’s a different Cuba, with the same problems —though for many, the issues are even more severe now— but a new energy is awakening. And I can’t help but feel joy. Yes, change is inevitable. The circumstances speak for themselves. And there’s no reason to assume the worst.

Read more from the diary of Lien Estrada here.