“Cubans Are Physically & Mentally Exhausted by Blackouts”
The music goes out at the Cuban Art Factory and the Coppelia Ice Cream Parlor closes because the ice cream is melted.
By Dario Hernandez & Juan Diego Rodriguez (14ymedio)
HAVANA TIMES – The ever-increasing blackouts are respecting fewer hours and fewer neighborhoods. Living in Havana’s most touristy areas no longer guarantees a night without power cuts. Take El Vedado, for example, which has had electricity for only a few hours a day for several days now. Not even the most famous leisure spots are spared, such as the Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC).
“The power’s been going out almost every night, and the generators only power the bar,” said a worker at the venue, located at the corner of 26th and 11th streets. Without music and under Havana’s suffocating heat, regulars spend their nights chatting, cooled only by fans, dancing only to an imaginary beat.
Many scheduled concerts must be canceled or delayed, the same employee reports. With the patio in darkness, event and exhibition rooms dimly lit, mosquitoes swarming the bar lights—and biting customers’ legs—FAC is showing its dimmest side these days. And not even the rebellious spirit it displayed nearly two years ago, when it launched the creative campaign “Bring Your Own Light!” against the energy-saving measures imposed by the Ministries of Energy and Culture, serves any purpose now.
Photo: 14ymedio
Daytime brings no better luck to the neighborhood. On Tuesday, just a few meters from the upscale Iberostar hotel at the K Tower, even the traffic lights were out. Seated on the steps of the Metropolitan Bank at 23rd and J streets, several customers waited for the electricity to return. At the busy intersection of L and 23rd, near the base of the Habana Libre hotel, a police patrol car seemed to be managing the flow of vehicles—but no, the same patrol car was simply trying to make its way through the chaos.
Across the street, the iconic Coppelia ice cream parlor had electricity—but it didn’t matter: it wasn’t serving ice cream because it had arrived melted from the factory. “It’s a disgrace,” lamented a mother who had come with her daughter from far away, only to find the place closed. “Honestly, it doesn’t even matter when you come anymore—your ice cream is always melted, and when they serve you water, it’s hot,” another woman complained. “This is more like the cathedral of melted ice cream.”
Next to a barrier blocking entry, a small stand selling snacks—cookies, candies, bottled water—was the only consolation for those who approached the ice cream shop.
Elsewhere in the capital, the blackouts give no respite. “They’re cutting the power practically all night,” said a resident of Guanabacoa. “Last night it was off from 12:20 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. and then again from 4:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. And now it’s scheduled to go out from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Not to mention we’ve been without water for four days.” She also said some friends claimed to have heard banging pots and pans “near the Amphitheater.” The situation is not much different in Cerro, where residents say protests have also taken place near the Casino Deportivo.
“I live right by an avenue, and the silence is unbelievable,” the woman from Guanabacoa added. “People are physically and mentally exhausted. They go to bed anxious, knowing the power could go out at any moment—and in this heat, I can assure you, it’s impossible to sleep.” What worries her most, however, “is that this is only the beginning. The hottest months are still ahead.”
The power deficit forecast for this Tuesday by Cuba’s Electric Union (UNE) during peak hours once again surpasses Monday’s projection. With an available capacity of 1,830 megawatts (MW) and a maximum demand of 3,550 MW, there will be a deficit of 1,720 MW and an estimated impact of 1,790 MW. The results are long massive blackouts nationwide, even worse outside the capital.
According to UNE’s report, “service was affected for 24 hours yesterday and the situation continued throughout the early morning.”
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
My friends in La Habana tell me that even the tried and true way of beating the heat in Havana is devolving. Since forever, Habaneros have gone to relax and seek privacy at the Malecon, especially on the hottest Havana nights. But these days, because the street lights are out during blackouts, it has become too dangerous to hang out there. Coupled with the increase in street crime, the darkness along the waterfront is less romantic and more sketchy. The worst part? It’s only going to get worse. Blackouts are going to increase in frequency and duration and, as the author writes above, it’s not even as hot as it’s going to be in July and August. Viva La Revolución!