February 12, 2019 6

CUBAN CHRONICLES

by Walter Lippmann
February 12, 2019

Though you can buy cigarette lighters nearly everywhere, it is cheaper to refill the old ones rather than buy new ones all the time. This is one of the scores of jobs which are specifically licensed, here in Cuba, as part of the growing world of self-employment.

Originally posted to facebook February 12 at 11:51 PM

CUBAN CHRONICLES

by Walter Lippmann
February 12, 2019

In these last days of my current 2-month visit, I engage in a mad dash of running around to stores to buy books and gifts for friends and family. Yesterday I went to one of the very best Cuban bookstore is in which everything is new and for sale in moneda nacional, the prices there are a ridiculous low for a person from United States. The stack of books you’re looking at in this picture, cost me slightly over $5.00 CUC for the entire stack.

Literally 135 Cuban pesos moneda nacional. The large format book at the bottom of which I bought to contain mental exercise to help people to maintain their mental agility as they age the three light blue covered books is a relationship manual, there is a book of Puerto Rican short stories, a book on the history of psychoanalysis in Cuba, and finally, the pleasure syndrome a history of pleasure in human sexuality.

A book of essays by the British author Oscar Wilde.

I suppose it if you read this book, and if you understand this book, and if you follow its instructions, and if you find yourself in a situation where this particular practice is called for, you should be able to perform the Heimlich maneuver.

Although each and every book in the shop has a barcode, when you go to pay for them, the clerk manually writes down the title, and the price, for inventory purposes. They have no cash registers, and of course they take no credit cards, even Cuban debit cards. The only places that accept those a debit cards from Cuban banks, are large shopping places such as ones that sell domestic products, stoves, washing machines, and such.

Originally posted to facebook February 12 at 10:56 PM

CUBAN CHRONICLES

Best Copyshop in Havana

by Walter Lippmann
February 12, 2019

This is a workstation at what is probably the best copyshop I have ever found in Cuba, it is called InkPression and it is located on Jay Street between 25 and 27 and if you look right below the flat panel screen, you will see a tray with 10 USB slots. When I went in there yesterday for of those slots were filled with connection cables for external hard drives. looking carefully underneath the monitor, you will see four external hard drives all plugged into this computer.

People walk into this place which has a big catalog of bootleg movies videos TV series and so forth which you can have copied on your external hard drive for $0.25 a piece. I’m usually at this workstation because I have the shop print the portraits which I have taken, and many of which you have seen on my Facebook page. I have a habit whenever, whenever possible, of having prints made of the portraits I take of various people and I really had a lot of fun, handing these individuals their own pictures. It’s my impression that very few of them have pictures like this of their own, and so I derive a lot of pleasure as well as the recipients do. You already know how much I enjoy doing portraits.

Originally posted to facebook February 12 at 10:50 PM

CUBAN CHRONICLES

by Walter Lippmann
February 12, 2019

This is the ETECSA office at 17th and S streets in Vedado. This is the main place where I do the great bulk of my written online activity. There are 20 computers in this office of which 17 or so are usually in working, functional condition. Going online here costs only one CUC per hour. It is nicely air-conditioned and it is a quiet place most of the time. There used to be long lines for people getting into this place but in this past year, with the beginning of home base to internet through your cell phones, there are almost never a line to get into the office. The only line they have are to get into buy more internet or cell phone cards. The man with the baseball hat, looking at the camera, is, of course, yours truly. The security guard kindly agreed to my request to take my picture, showing me working. Never a day goes by when I’m not in this office.

Originally posted to facebook February 12 at 10:56 PM

CUBAN CHRONICLES

by Walter Lippmann
February 12, 2019

Small private stand outside of a big hotel at a very busy intersection, 17th Street and A in the Vedado area. She is selling various kinds of crackers, bars of guava paste, turron de mani, a deadly sweet confection made of ground peanuts and sugar. and other sugar-laden goodies (or baddies!).

Originally posted to facebook February 12 at 10:40 PM

CUBAN CHRONICLES

by Walter Lippmann
February 12, 2029

Yours truly, just coming back from one of my last dash. As you know, I like bright colored garments. Lili, my landlady, took this photograph. I really do not like having my picture taken and you can tell that by the fact that my smile here is a little bit forced. In my left hand is a little shopping bag filled with goodies from the store CLANDESTINA, a shop which was celebrating its 4th anniversary today.

They specialize in garments, shopping bags, and other items made of 2nd or 3rd generation recycled Cloth of various kinds. Interestingly, if you look on their website, they have received help, from the local Google operation here in Cuba as well as from the Norwegian Embassy. Their prices are someone out of League of ordinary Cubans, but for foreigners with disposable in incomes oh, they’re not too much and they are charming and attractive.

And so I spent a total of $63 for which I obtained a couple of shopping bags a couple of t-shirts an apron for my next door neighbor in Los Angeles, and for printed guides to the city produced by the shop. They also do a considerable online business and I will give you their web address.

Originally posted on Facebook February 12 at 10:32 PM