What is daily life like for a Cuban in the midst of these blackouts, due to fuel shortages or power plant failures? You might wonder if you’re Spanish, Mexican, French, Russian, Chinese, Australian, or from anywhere in the world.
The truth is that any Cuban likes power outages, because we’re accustomed to the comforts of modern life. Like every social being who enjoys the benefits of technology created and developed to live with quality of life in the 21st century.
Without electricity, there is no modern life because we can’t work on the computer or enjoy the air conditioning, we can’t turn on the microwave or the air fryer, and the cold water, vegetables, frozen meats, and bread stored in the refrigerator can’t last as long as we’d like.
The truth is that the consequences of the economic, financial, and commercial blockade imposed by the various administrations that have governed the United States of America have led us to experience years of extreme hardship in the economic, social, and cultural spheres, but we have survived thanks to seeking intelligent solutions.
But the blame lies not only with this Washington blockade but also with the consequences of the mistakes that have been made throughout the development of the socialist economy during the 66 years of the Revolution. Which completely eliminated the private sector in its early years, when it was not truly a symbol of a capitalist economy.
This is how a barber and a carpenter became employees of the Cuban state, when from the beginning of these professions in the development of humanity, they were self-employed. Today, this policy has changed, and these professions, like hundreds of others, have returned to the private sector, and thus the Cuban state has been freed from the heavy salary burden it must pay its public employees.
Even now, if there are six members in a Cuban household and all of them need a permit to work as self-employed individuals or as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, they can do so, expanding this form of employment, something that was previously only permitted to one of those six because they lived under the same roof.
And so, the Cuban economy, little by little, has taken steps to dismantle a state that employs everyone and use those financial resources to buy more oil to operate thermoelectric plants and develop and maintain the education and healthcare systems, symbols of Cuban socialism.
But how do we Cubans cope with these blackouts that only allow us about 10 hours of electricity per day?
I can use myself as an example. At this moment, I’m writing this article, and I have my air fryer on, roasting a chicken thigh, the rice cooker is cooking yellow rice, and the electric stove is softening some yuca. And I do all of this at the same time at home, thanks to the fact that I telework from home, and I work with the current schedule from six in the morning until 12:00 pm. I cook for the rest of the day so I can only heat food in my microwave when dinnertime comes around. Thus saving on liquefied natural gas, which is scarce during these months as well.
During hurricane times, state-owned companies with generators or those favored with energy through the creation of “an island”—a small circuit with electricity—have enabled many people in need to charge cell phones, lamps, and even large batteries.
I also know of a company where a boss authorized an employee to bring in her electric pressure cooker to cook for her family, who had no other means of cooking. Faced with the shortage of liquefied natural gas. Cubans are turning to charcoal and dry firewood, or moving cooking to the early morning hours thanks to the programmable rice cookers and electric pressure cookers, as well as fully automatic washing machines.
It’s no longer unusual to see Cuban households washing at 3 a.m. or cooking at 6 a.m. Or taking advantage of the power supply to get everything done before the power goes out.
Cubans, accustomed to this invention to survive cyclical economic crises, use the batteries in their motorcycles to power the television and watch the Brazilian soap opera “Vidas ajenas,” thus disconnecting from the stress caused by the energy situation and shortages.
The fryer’s buzzer just alerted me that my chicken is roasted, and I go to the rice cooker and throw it on top of the yellow rice so it stays warm so I can eat my lunch hot.
The Cuban strategy is to fight for a good life amid the tense energy situation, and so they are equipping themselves with alternative sources of stored energy. Such as electric batteries that can be charged with electricity or solar energy.
Of course, Cubans may lack power, but not internet connection. I say this because many are addicted to smartphones, which make it easier to browse social media.
You can hear a Cuban, in the middle of a nighttime blackout, on the terrace of his house talking to his family in the US. “Hello, honey, here with the blackout until midnight, how are my girls? The Goya seasoning you sent me is delicious. In the next shipment, send me more, but with a ham flavor, which I like better.
And a little bit of bijol to cook the yellow rice your grandfather likes so much,” my neighbor Aimé can be heard saying on top of her house’s roof, looking for better 4G coverage. And they’ve built antennas to boost cell phone signals inside their homes and maintain communication even with poor cell phone coverage, the fourth member of the Cuban population.
I have 44 minutes of power left, and I have to finish this article to publish it before the blackout hits from 12 noon until 6 p.m. We’re so used to this situation that it has prepared us for the most critical situations. Existing in the midst of a war economy, but we remain standing because this life is short, but it’s beautiful and worth living.
Translated by Aliani Rojas Fernández
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