Advertisement

Cienfuegos entrepreneurs hope U.S. tourists will boost scant business

 
Tourists visit Cienfuegos last month. Some merchants say a government tourism company monopolizes visitors’ time.
Tourists visit Cienfuegos last month. Some merchants say a government tourism company monopolizes visitors’ time.
Published Oct. 1, 2016

CIENFUEGOS, Cuba

Residents of this small city on Cuba's southern coast awaken every other Thursday to the Fathom Line's MV Adonia looming in the bay, but the 704-passenger cruise ship's visit is fleeting.

Even though large and enthusiastic crowds greeted the ship on its inaugural voyage from Miami to Cuba in May, the Adonia is only in Cienfuegos for the morning, and some residents say they haven't seen too many benefits trickle down when the Carnival Corp. ship calls in this city known as "The Pearl of the South."

On a recent Thursday, an elderly woman trudging through the Reina neighborhood gave a quick nod toward the ship at berth and the government's Transtur buses lined up to take the passengers on a city tour and said, "It really hasn't resolved anything."

But cab driver Eddy Perez Ojeda was a bit more optimistic. Even though the ship was due to leave at noon, he said he was happy to have it. "It's tourism. What else is there?" asked Perez.

He said he really wants the rapprochement with the United States to succeed, and he is among those hoping that American Airlines' new daily flights from Miami to Cienfuegos will change the equation. American began service aboard an Airbus 319, which seats 144 passengers, earlier this month. Silver Airways plans to begin twice-weekly flights to the city using 34-seaters from Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 21.

"What's important for me is that normalization helps communication between families," said Perez, who owns his own Lada taxi and is used to squiring around tourists from other countries. "The economic part (of rapprochement) hasn't been as important for me."

Other cuentapropistas — independent workers — would like to get a bigger piece of the economic pie now that Americans have begun to visit their city in increasing numbers.

On its website, Fathom, which recently added two new fall sailings to Cuba to complement its biweekly schedule, promises: "In Cuba, you participate in an ongoing cultural exchange program that gives you the opportunity to interact with the Cuban people, one on one."

But some cuentapropistas complain that the visitors' time seems to be monopolized by activities organized by Havanatur, a government tourism company: a quick tour of city landmarks, a stroll down El Bulevar, the pedestrian street where they get a glimpse of how Cubans shop, and then a stop at the Tomas Terry Theater for a choral performance by the Cantores de Cienfuegos.

They say the itinerary leaves scant time for interactions — both of the monetary and social kind — with everyday Cubans.

Omar Romero Diaz often parks his cart loaded with slices of cake topped with a dab of pink merengue on a side street next to the theater, which is usually cruisers' last stop in Cienfuegos before they move on to the next port of call in Santiago.

But he said he's never sold anything to the American visitors and the crucero (cruise ship) hasn't really helped him. His big customers are Cubans, especially the kids from a nearby school.

It is on the steps of the theater where cuentapropistas have their best chance of interaction. Vendors from peanut salesmen who hawk roasted nuts wrapped in little paper cones to purveyors of polvorones (shortbread cookies made with lard) approach the cruisers as they stream into the theater.

"Peanuts, peanuts," Anthony Garcia calls out in English. For him, the cruise passengers represent pretty good business. Garcia charges one Cuban convertible peso (CUC), which is just over $1, for the nuts and can earn 20 to 40 CUCs per day. His supplies, he said, cost him about 10 CUCs daily.

But the cruise passengers haven't been finding their way around the corner to Yusi's Art Alliance, a private workshop and gallery shared by 15 artists. It's located in an old colonial house across the street from Romero's cart of sweets.

Yusimi Arias, who is contracted to help the artists sell their work, said they could use a boost from the American visitors.

"But the guides don't bring them in here or to the other private workshops. They give priority to the state enterprises. It's different with the Europeans and Canadians. They can move around on their own," said Arias. "We would like it if the state and private entrepreneurs were more connected so we could all do well."

Yanzel Medina Perez, a 22-year-old artist whose hyper-realistic oil paintings are on display at the gallery, said he still hasn't had an American buyer. Most of his sales are to Germans and other Europeans.

"It's still early (in the U.S.-Cuba relationship) to talk about economic impact, but I have a lot of hope this will be beneficial for Cuban artists and the rest of the population," he said.