Food

I had a request to post about the food here so here goes. Basically the main staples in the Cuban diet are rice and some type of bean. There are numerous dishes which are basically rice and beans with maybe a little flavoring for example cristianos y morros (white rice and black beans). Rice and beans are eaten at every meal, unlike in the states there is not a large difference between breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods. Our residence cooks us eggs for breakfast and toast which is great but I get the feeling that most Cubans tend to eat whatever they have left over for breakfast. Lunches here are usually found at small stands on the side of the street. There are basically two options for food if you don’t want to spend a lot of money pizza or a sandwich both will run you less than a dollar (about 20 pesos on average). I wouldn’t say that they are the best pizzas or sandwiches that I have ever had but they work. Besides rice and beans there is meat in basically everything. Usually some type of pork. However there is still chicken, fish and beef, but they are not as common. Cubans don’t really seem to understand the concept of vegetarians. I think that our meals at the residence basically mirror what most Cubans probably eat.

Each month Cubans are given a ration card which allows them to ‘buy’ a certain amount of some items. They are allotted 10 lbs of rice, 11 lbs of grains (ie beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc…), some sugar, and coffee. If there are children in the family they receive a liter of milk every two days for each child. For other things like meat and eggs they need to pay for. Chicken costs 2.75 pesos/kg, Pork is 2 pesos/kg, and fish is 1 peso/kg. The Cuban salary is 295 pesos a month (about $12 USD a month). All fruits and vegetables are bought using their salary and are cheap (I think it is about 6 peso for a few tomatoes and the price of fruit is similar). The Cuban salary basically meets ones needs but there is usually not a lot left for entertainments or excess items. With people only able to meet their basic needs it is no wonder that so many people rely on the $100USD that families can send a month from abroad, or tourism. A simple job in the tourism industry, a waiter or maid will earn you more money due to tips by foreigners. A small tip of 1 CUC for a meal goes a long way for most Cubans.

With the access that some Cubans have to money from the rest of the world, through tips or through remittances it raises the question of is socialism really working? There is a definite difference in some Cubans lifestyles and others. Are the growing inequalities between people causing more dissent amongst the people? So far I haven’t seen much sign of it but perhaps it is lying just below the surface.