The Good Side to Cuba’s “Temporary Crisis”

[El Presidente]

I love a "glass half full" story. It is worth the full read.  

 

 

The Good Side to Cuba’s “Temporary Crisis”

By Ernesto Perez Castillo   (Progreso Semanal)

Photo: Anabel Candelario / Facebook

HAVANA TIMES – Guayaba jam. That’s what I was thinking about when I listened to the Cuban president explain the new temporary situation. About the large transparent glass jar with a wide rim, recently-brought from the bodega rations store on the corner and my mother putting it on the table of my childhood, for breakfast, to spread on bread, when I was 7 years old.

I was learning to read and I loved new words that would pop up everywhere. I used to read everything back then: store signs on Belascoain street, ripped posters on bus doors, billboards on the highway that were loaded with revolutionary slogans, shampoo bottles, my dad’s after-shave bottle, the guayaba jam jar.

However, the one on the jam jar is the only label I really remember, as if I still had it in my hands: printed on brown paper in a rustic and basic font, as if it hadn’t been printed but written on the machine one by one, typed up on that portable Underwood that sat in my grandparents’ entrance hall.

That’s how I remember the label of that morning-time jar, and I remember it because of one word. At the bottom, right at the end, on the left-hand side, was the word that I would never forget, that I could never forget: “provisional label”.

This “provisional label” lasted my entire childhood, reached my adolescence and only disappeared when guayaba jam disappeared, and everything else disappeared with it. That was what “provisional” was.

That’s why when I hear them talk about the new “temporary situation”, the few hairs I have left stand on end. Because if anything is true, if there’s anything I know, it’s that we have lived from one temporary situation to the next on this island, of every magnitude, color, good temporary situations, not-so-good ones, some bad ones and worse ones even, some that were light and others that were very tough, for over fifty years.

 

Continue: 

https://havanatimes.org/opinion/the-good-side-to-cubas-temporary-crisis/

 

[argrovesjd]

The "regular" Cuban people certainly do believe in helping each other out. 

[Ritch]

Mental note. Take decent jam with me to Cuba... and butter. 

[Nino]

1 hour ago, Ritch said:

Mental note. Take decent jam with me to Cuba... and butter. 

Take everything you really WANT/NEED to have - I did it last trip for the first time and was happy I did. I had what I wanted/needed and it put less strain on my Casa owners too :

After reading about the food shortages I had taken some basic food along for the first time in 15 years, olive oil, wild salmon courtesy of David from Vancouver, Iberico ham courtesy of Javier from Spain, honey, butter, marmalade and some other tins and cans, so my “Cuban” breakfast consisted basically of coffee, eggs, bread and lots and lots of fresh Mangoes. Happy to be there during the Mango season !

PS : Beautiful article, made me feel good.

[IanMcLean68]

Reading articles like this helps restore my faith in humanity. Genuinely good people remaining resolute in the face of continued hardships. Thanks for sharing El Pres.

[Habana Mike]

We always bring a suitcase full of stuff. Clothing, toiletries, foodstuffs and more.

Occasionally a TV, sub-woofer for a friend's taxi or front turn signals for a certain roller's 59 VW Bug.

If anything now, bring pickles if you want them on your Cubanos.....none to be seen on the island last couple of trips.

Truly respect how the Cuban people take care of each other regardless of whatever they are without.

[Fugu]

Always love browsing havanatimes - these folks much deserve to be given credit for their work.