In Cuba, electricity blackouts have been a constant reality since the 1970s, hardened by economic crises and normalized by the population with stoicism. A recent nationwide cut has disrupted daily life, recalling past periods of suffering. Nike's testimony in Havana Times details how these events have marked generations.
Electricity blackouts in Cuba date back to the 1970s, when they became a norm that people endured with incredible stoicism. Nike recalls how in his home they finished serving food before the cut, then sat on the front porch as his mother sang a song by Elena Burke: “La era está pariendo un corazón, no puede más, se muere de dolor”. Daily cuts, especially at night, ruined appliances like the family television and refrigerator, forcing them to ask neighbors to store rationed goods from the bodega.
In the 1970s, visiting friends meant getting stuck in total darkness, waiting for buses up to two or three hours without seeing anything. The situation eased slightly in the 1980s, with fewer cuts and some relief in basic needs. However, the collapse of the socialist bloc in the late 1980s brought the 'Special Period'—or 'infernal period', as Nike calls it—with blackouts lasting 12 to 24 hours. A neighbor would shout “down with the president” (including his full name) at the start of each cut, without anyone arresting her, though many thought her crazy. In the 1990s, people slept in the streets or on rooftops during the summer to escape the stifling heat.
By the late 1990s and early 2000s, improvements in tourism and the allowance of paladares reduced the blackouts. But in the 21st century, Cuba has faced grid collapses again. Recently, during dinner, a nationwide cut left them without light, internet, or radio, causing deep disappointment. A friend of Nike has a small generator sent by his brother abroad, easing the 'tomb-like darkness'. Despite everything, as people say on the street, Cubans 'endure and wait'.