In an opinion piece, Cuban chronicler Eduardo N. Cordovi Hernández compares current living conditions in Cuba to the Stone Age, highlighting the absence of modern amenities. He describes a neighborhood where people feel it's the end of the world and cites UN data on isolated populations. A friend jokes that in some parts of Cuba, people dream of being rediscovered by civilization.
Eduardo N. Cordovi Hernández, in his diary published in Havana Times on October 26, 2025, uses the term 'Stone Age' informally to illustrate everyday hardships in Cuba, acknowledging that in academic circles it has been superseded by historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists. He explains that in that prehistoric era, people slept in caves if lucky, hunted for meat, covered themselves with animal hides in winter, and lacked stores, electric lights, running water, gas for cooking, public transportation, or hospitals; instead, they relied on herbal teas, rubs, and divine help.
'To keep the story short—and with a little imagination—it was much like life today in Cuba,' writes Hernández. In his neighborhood, many think this must be the end of the world, though for some it already has been, but he stresses it's part of the beginning and that lasting changes are slow. No one will change things for them, he warns, and urges not to wait or force them, as fruit doesn't ripen by being beaten with a stick.
According to official UN figures, between 100,000 and 150,000 people live in similar conditions worldwide, scattered in groups in places like the Brazilian Amazon or New Guinea. Hernández compares that population to cities like Reims in France, Salamanca in Spain, Escondido in California, or Miramar in Florida. In a chat with friends about isolated communities—some hostile, others reluctant to integrate—one said half-joking, half-serious: 'There are already places in Cuba where many people dream of civilization rediscovering us.' This reflection captures a widespread sentiment of isolation and longing for progress.