u/thecubantutorX

That's the reality for many state employees in Cuba.

A state salary is nowhere near enough to cover even the most basic necessities. Food, medicine, hygiene products, transportation, and clothing consume far more than an average monthly paycheck. Living on a state salary alone is simply impossible.

As a result, millions depend on the help from relatives abroad, side hustles, or the informal economy just to survive. A full-time job never guarantees a decent standard of living nor that you'll make it through the month.

That's why every single Cuban "steals" from the government as much as they can: they "steal" food, medicine and different products to then resell them in the black market.

This is one of the clearest examples of the economic failure of Cuba's centrally planned system: after decades of promises of equality and prosperity, even steady employment is no longer enough to provide a dignified life.

Could you survive on $12-15 a month? (Of course not, but just for introspection)

Chess has long been one of Cuba's most beloved games, and much of that popularity can be traced back to José Raúl Capablanca.

Known as one of the greatest chess players in history, Capablanca became World Chess Champion in 1921 and was famous for his seemingly effortless style of play. His success inspired generations of Cubans, and chess became deeply rooted in the country's culture, eventually being taught in every school and played in parks and public spaces across the island. I remember I hated the game as a kid. Teachers wouldn't let you play and simply fall in love with it, instead, they wanted you to memorize the files and the columms' nomenclature on a NOTEBOOK. School being as lame as it has always been, I guess.

Of course, communism has found the way to extinguish the last sparks of pasion and interest for almost everything in the island, chess inlcuded, and now fewer and fewer people can be seen playing like they used to.

But what do you think about Cuban chess and it's current situation?

One of the biggest musical influences of salsa was Cuban "son"!

Long before the term "salsa" existed, "son" had already developed many of the rhythms, instruments, and song structures that later became central to the genre. As Cuban music reached New York, it blended with Puerto Rican traditions, jazz, mambo, and other Afro-Caribbean styles, eventually evolving into what we now know as salsa.

Rather than being the product of a single country, salsa emerged from the meeting of many musical traditions. Still, it's hard to ignore the foundational role that Cuban son played in that evolution.

Cuba was the first country in Latin America to introduce color television. In 1958, just a few years after the technology began gaining popularity in the United States, Havana was already broadcasting in color. At the time, Cuba had one of the most advanced television industries in the region, with multiple private TV networks, locally produced programming, advertising, and an infrastructure comparable to that of much wealthier countries. This reflected the island's high level of technological and economic development before the 1959 Revolution. The contrast today could not be more striking.

Cuba went from being one of the most modern countries in Latin America to a nation where rolling blackouts are part of everyday life, infrastructure is crumbling, and technological innovation has all but disappeared. The communist model imposed by the regime is the primary cause of this decline, destroying the incentives to produce, invest, and innovate, and replacing them with a centrally planned economy that, after decades of suffocation, has failed to deliver either prosperity or even the most basic public services. A country that once led the region in technological progress now struggles to keep the lights on.

Cuba has one of the richest musical traditions in the world. Son, bolero, rumba, danzón, trova, salsa, timba... these genres shaped not only Cuban identity but also influenced music across Latin America.

The rise of reggaeton has done much harm to the Cuban musical culture. Instead of building on that legacy, it has pushed many traditional genres into the background and normalized repetitive lyrics, simplistic musical structures, and a much lower artistic standard in mainstream music.

I'm not saying people shouldn't listen to whatever they enjoy. But I do think Cuba has lost something valuable as reggaeton has become increasingly dominant. Which reflects the current intellectually poor and detrimental status of Cuba and the world.

Reinaldo Arenas was a Cuban writer who grew up in the countryside. At first, like many people of his generation, he believed in the Cuban Revolution. But over time, he became disappointed because he felt people weren't free to express their opinions. His first novel was very successful, but it was later banned in Cuba, so he started secretly sending his manuscripts abroad to be published.

On top of that, because he was gay and openly criticized the government, he faced a lot of persecution. He was constantly watched, ended up in prison, in the Cuban labor camps (UMAC) and eventually left Cuba during the Mariel boatlift. After settling in the United States, he wrote some of his most famous books, including his autobiography, "Before night falls" (Antes que anochezca,) where he tells the story of everything he went through. He continued speaking out against the Cuban government until the end of his life, and today many people remember him as a symbol of free expression.

Sadly, this is the reality of pretty much every single even remotely successful Cuban writer in the island after 1959.

I remember the first time I heard the word "jitomate" when I was living in México. I was totally confused, in Cuba there is only one type of tomato, so we didn't need the prefix to specify that those were the red ones. I was like... WHAT?

Time to learn the Cuban word "alumbrón" (singular) / "alumbrones" (plural). If you visit Cuba or talk to Cubans often enough, it won't take you long to hear the popular phrase:

"Cuba no tiene apagones, tiene alumbrones".

"Apagón" means blackout, this means you lost the access to power in the city. But, because Cubans have spent the last 6 years bearing 20+hours or even days without power, they created the term "Alumbrón".

Which would refer to the rare event of having electricity flowing, since not having any has become the normality .

Most foreigners learn that pinga literally means "penis" in Cuban Spanish. While that's technically true, it barely scratches the surface of how the word is actually used.

Pinga can be: An insult, a compliment, an expression of frustration, an intensifier, a place holder for "thing" or a way to describe quantity, and many more. I'll give you some examples:

"Con pinga" --- "Many/Much/Extremely"

Hace calor con pinga: It's hot as hell

Estás grande con pinga: You're extremely big.

"De pinga" --- "Extremely good / Extremely Bad" (Depends on the context)

La fiesta estuvo DE PINGAAAA! (while laughing a lot): The party was AWESOME!

La reunión estuvo de pinga, qué aburrimiento: The meeting was horrible, so boring.

"Come pinga" --- Insult ("dick eater")

No le hagas caso, es tremendo comepinga: Don't listen to him, he is a huge "dick eater".

"Congris"

"Salsa"

"Música"

"Pintura"

"Dominó"

"Sonrisas"

All things disappearing in modern Cuba.

Culture is not something that can be preserved in a museum or through government propaganda. It is a living process that evolves through millions of individual decisions, projects, traditions, and interactions. When the state monopolizes nearly every aspect of society, culture stops developing naturally.

The consequences are visible everywhere: Artistic expression became subject to political control and generations of writers, musicians, academics, entrepreneurs, and creators were forced into exile.

Historic architecture has been left to decay. Local traditions have disappeared. Regional identities have weakened. Entire generations have grown up with fewer opportunities to create, preserve, and transmit cultural practices. Meanwhile, millions of Cubans have left the country, taking with them knowledge, traditions, values, and cultural capital that once enriched the island.

What remains of Cuban culture today survives only through the efforts of ordinary Cubans, both on and off the island. It survives because people continue to pass down traditions despite the system that has spent decades undermining them: d existing. It is that its natural development was interrupted. Cuba was prevented from evolving culturally in the same way that other societies evolve: through freedom, experimentation, entrepreneurship, competition, and independent community life.

The result is a culture that has been fragmented, impoverished, and increasingly disconnected from its own roots.