Ivett de las Mercedes

Talking about racism here is like opening Pandora’s box. Antonio Morales (45 years old), economist at a budget office, believes that in Cuba there are many racist displays, like in any other country, some of which are covered up in subtlety while others are completely stark. Levels of culture and education influence this, just like they do in everything.

Talking about adoption isn’t very common in Cuba, there are very few children who meet the requirements for this process, and it has been a real torture for 32-year-old Lourdes Casas Gomez, who is still waiting after many years.

Poor customer service in Havana’s services, trade and food establishments has become an everyday experience. Juana Gonzalez, the owner of a cafe that sells pizzas, spaghetti and creole food, in the Cerro neighborhood, talks to us a little bit about this issue.

In Havana, a densely populated city, finding a public restroom is an odyssey. There aren’t enough for the constant stream of people who are either wandering about, going to or coming home from work. I met Rita Carmona Solis, 54, one day that she was desperately looking a place to empty her bladder.

Located on San Nicolas Street in Central Havana, San Judas Tadeo church is suffering social and state indolence, like many other institutions are. As I write, a garbage dump is growing on one of its corners. Dalia Echemendia, one of the neighbors, tells us about the sad situation.

Reaching 64 years with a good quality of life, in the company of someone you love, with new projects, isn’t very common. The elderly in Cuba get by with a thousand things they need to “resolve” every day, and plus they are victims of prejudice from people who question their utility in society, their understanding and even their sexuality.

In Cuba, physical therapy cannot be limited to a series of procedures and techniques. Yeney Guevara Garrido, 34, works at a rehabilitation center belonging to the Havana municipality of Cotorro. She studied this degree thanks to a call for students who had graduated high school. She is currently getting ready to pick up studying again.

Esmeralda Rojas Soto, 65, belongs to a cooperative in the Artemisa Municipality. She has been rearing cattle for 40 years now and she sells them to the National Meat Company. Like many other farmers, she has experienced discrepancies with the manager of the slaughterhouse when it comes to the weight of her cattle.

Ernesto Jose Reyes Morales is 45 years old and he was in a prison in Quivican, located in Mayabeque province, in 2001. He was charged with misappropriation of funds and he had to serve this unfair sentence. State resources, in the area that he was responsible for, disappeared.