The Fairy-Tale of Everyday Life in Cuba

The Fairy-Tale of Everyday Life in Cuba
May 3, 2013
Janis Hernández

HAVANA TIMES — The paltriness of Cuban salaries is the topic which is
most repeatedly discussed in all gatherings on the island, formal and not.

Hoping to finally hear that changes are coming in this direction, people
expectantly follow the ordinary and extraordinary sessions of the
National Assembly and even listen attentively to any address delivered
by the president during a commemorative ceremony.

The fact is that the raising of wages, the consolidating of the two
currencies into one and the de-regulation of Internet access are the
three main measures the Cuban State has yet to implement.

However, the salary issue is foremost in people's minds. This is because
basic articles of crucial importance continue to be prohibitively
expensive for Cubans, as becomes evident by looking at the average
income of the population.

As has been said on hundreds of different occasions, in view of their
measly salaries, Cubans face the eternal dilemma of deciding what basic
purchases to prioritize and which to postpone.

This dilemma rears its ugly head as much on payday as when a relative or
friend living abroad sends a little money as a gift, or when one wins
the local community lottery (which, though prohibited by Law, almost
everyone secretly plays). Then, Cubans start to behave like the
Cucarachita Martina ("Martina the Cockroach").

Don't laugh, allow me to explain. La Cucarahita Martina is a popular
fairy-tale that everyone knows in Cuba, no matter what generation they
belong to.

It tells the story of a cockroach that finds a coin on the ground while
sweeping the entrance to her house. Not knowing what to do with this
coin, she goes from place to place asking: "What will I buy with this
coin, what will I buy?"

The cockroach finally decides to buy a makeup kit, which she then uses
to pretty herself up and woo a mouse by the name of Pérez.

It was a friend of mine, a woman with a keen sense of humor, who made me
see this fairy-tale could be read as an allegory of everyday Cuban
reality, for Cubans, needing much but having little to buy with, always
have to ask themselves the question: "what will I buy with this (measly)
coin?"

And it's true: all of us in Cuba, at one point, behave like Martina the
Cockroach.

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