HAVANA TIMES – Those who live in Cabaiguán, once one of the most prosperous municipalities of Sancti Spíritus, claim that the town is divided into two. Depending on your budget and whether or not you have a relative abroad, you can live in the rich part – with “good houses,” gated and with air conditioning – or in the poor part, with palm board homes, filthy streets, and unpainted facades.
In reality, a walk through the town is enough to understand that the differences are not abysmal and that, to a greater or lesser degree, all Cabaiguan residents have a hard time. Common factors: long power outages, difficulty getting food and exorbitant prices.
Thanks to the flood of Canary Island emigrants who arrived in the town since the 19th century, many families have been able to leave Cabaiguán and settle in Spain. From there they support those who remained with remittances and food purchases, which couriers from companies such as Katapulk and Supermarket 23 distribute throughout the city.
“It is a town of people with money,” admits Jesús, a 53-year-old from Cabaiguán, “especially because of the number of people who are abroad.” Taking advantage of their Spanish nationality, and before Washington required visas for citizens of that European country, many descendants of the Canary Islands “took advantage,” he adds, and traveled to the United States.
The municipality also became rich with tobacco – it is one of the best lands in Cuba for growing the leaf for the cigar fil