14ymedio, Pedro Espinosa, 27 February 2024– Of everything that Reniel carries with him, on his miles-long bicycle trips through Havana, there is nothing more important than his violin. With the case open and the bow taut, the young man of 30 from Havana performs in all kinds of improvised settings in the capital: squares, parks, boulevards and roadways. There is only one place, however, that he resists — Old Havana, where only those with a “special permit” from the Office of the Historian can perform.
The old town, where Eusebio Leal injected multimillion-dollar sums, continues to function under the commandments of the late Historian, glossed in the city’s Master Plan, and violating those rules has consequences. “If they catch you playing without a permit in the historic center, the fine can be up to 4,000 pesos,” says Reniel, who aspires to bring joy to passersby with his music within the limits of the old wall, on Mercaderes Street or in the area around the Cathedral.
“I have tried to request that permit and I am in the process of applying for it, but first I need to have the papers from the Onat (National Tax Administration Office), present my work project and, if they accept it, then I can work there,” he explains. the musician. As he remembers, they have “talked him down” several times, but this time he hopes the response will be positive.
Meanwhile, the rest of Havana’s streets are a free map in which Reniel can play his violin and earn some money to help his mother, a job that he combines with a more stable job, such that he can only do it in his free time.
This Monday, in the portal of the old buildi