Ihosvanny Cordoves returned to Cuba after three years and found a worsened situation with blackouts, high prices, and a chikungunya epidemic. At Santiago de Cuba airport, he faced disorder and delays, while a bus trip was complicated by a breakdown. His experience highlights everyday struggles on the island between fatigue and hope.
Ihosvanny Cordoves, who lives outside Cuba, visited the island for the first time in three years, where his parents, brother, nephews, and nieces reside, along with memories from his childhood and youth. On his previous trip, a subtle sadness was already noticeable, but this time the difficulties intensified like hurricane-force winds. Blackouts have become part of daily life, and soaring prices challenge the survival of wage workers and pensioners with limited resources.
Streets suffer from unsanitary conditions, turned into garbage dumps, worsened by the recent chikungunya virus epidemic that affected nearly everyone, leaving many with swollen feet and hands. In a country with empty pharmacies, emigrants return loaded with medicines and food for their families, relying on home remedies to ease the pain.
Upon arriving at Santiago de Cuba airport, Cordoves encountered total chaos: passengers crowded at immigration booths, where officials performed their duties at a slow pace, contrasting with the throng's urgency. Later, one of the two X-ray machines for carry-on luggage failed, merging lines into an odyssey of unsuccessful negotiations among men, women, and children, amid mixed odors of sweat, perfumes, and mosquito repellent.
A woman behind him remarked: “Don’t get your hopes up,” warning about baggage claim, where a previous power outage had delayed departure by three hours. Fortunately, electricity was available that time, and Cordoves invoked the Virgin of Charity to hasten his exit. He needed to catch a Viazul bus to Las Tunas within an hour, or face major complications.
He reached the parking lot before the bus arrived, noting an unusually pleasant temperature in this hot, humid region. With no benches, he sat on the curb, surrounded by anxious relatives, taxi drivers, and opportunists targeting tourists. The bus arrived after an hour; he boarded quickly, but half an hour later, at the Santiago terminal, a water hose burst, stranding the vehicle. Drivers attempted repairs without success, forcing a wait for another bus as night fell.
This delay symbolized for Cordoves a journey not merely physical, but through the visible and invisible cracks of a country enduring between fatigue and hope. Each postponement and breakdown represents returning as confronting ongoing pain, while still cherishing what remains.