In a diary entry, Veronica Vega describes a taxi ride from Alamar to Havana and her thoughts on the persistent stagnation in Cuba, evoking memories of the 1990s Special Period.
Veronica Vega, in her diary published on Havana Times on March 18, 2026, recounts deciding not to emerge from a metaphorical 'tunnel' until Cuba changes, but 'change never comes,' despite threats or promises from the Trump administration. During an expensive shared taxi ride covering 7 km from Alamar, east of Havana, to the tunnel under the bay, she thought about seeing the Paseo del Prado hotel up close, which she had only viewed from afar. This evoked 1990s memories from the Special Period: an empty lot turned improvised park at the Malecón corner, where she hitched rides feeling the sea's openness and cars from Vedado and Miramar streaming by. She envied those living facing the Malecón, overlooking then the erosion and collapses. She recalled free rides in tourists' cars, with air conditioning, perfumes, and foreign accents offering temporary escape from the widespread fuel crisis. Visitors noticed poverty not just from the US embargo, but local fears of crimes like 'harassment of tourism' or clandestine services. For her, the Special Period revealed two Cubas: a comfortable one for tourists and select locals, and a poor one. Now, before the gleaming hotel, she sees prosperous Cuba narrowed to a beam of light, while poor Cuba expands amid blackouts, nighttime pot-banging protests, and desolate streets without buses. 'It looks like a state of war,' she thinks, returning home deeply depressed, hoping for root-level change without further suffering for the ignored.