In Havana, scheduled or unexpected blackouts lasting up to 12 hours have become a constant, forcing Cubans to reorganize daily routines. Families like Laura's, aged 68, prioritize cooking before interruptions to prevent food spoilage in limited refrigerators. These power failures impact work, health, and the psychological well-being of millions.
Power outages in Cuba turn everyday existence into a state of permanent emergency. At 9:00 PM in Havana, the fan stops, the television cuts off mid-soap opera, and the dim lamp fades, triggering a chorus of shouts about the blackout. Millions face 6-to-12-hour interruptions, planning lives around these volatile schedules, which frequently change and are often disregarded.
In typical homes, like Laura's, weekly menus adapt to energy cuts. 'If I know the power goes out at 2 PM, I have to cook everything before noon — that's the priority,' she explains while preparing rice and beans. Refrigerators, filled with great effort, risk spoiling children's milk and insulin. Powerless nights lead to sleeping on patios or balconies for breeze, with scarce candles lighting schoolwork. Water, reliant on electric pumps, is rationed, with families filling containers at dawn.
The workforce grinds to a halt: workshops and businesses like cafes or salons close, incurring losses from spoiled food and absent customers. Office workers arrive at dark offices, feigning productivity in the heat. Remote jobs stall, evaporating income and projects. In rural areas, irrigation fails, crops rot in chambers, and dairy production stops.
Health remains vulnerable: hospitals run at generator limits, elderly with home medical devices live in anxiety, and dark streets heighten crime and insecurity. Internet and phone access vanishes. Neighborhood networks share schedules via WhatsApp or word of mouth, fostering solidarity on candlelit porches amid complaints.
The psychological toll is profound: chronic stress, hopelessness from inability to plan, curtailed study hours, and children normalizing darkness. When power returns, a race begins to refrigerate, cook, and charge devices before the cycle repeats. These failures are not mere technical glitches but a force reshaping homes and workplaces.
