Reinaldo’s cell phone rings: someone is stuck in the elevator of our building during the power cut this Thursday.
HAVANA TIMES – There is a sudden silence. It is daytime, so the signs of the blackout do not appear through a lack of lighting but through the absence of sound. A deep emptiness that we all know what it means: the power has gone out. Reinaldo’s cell phone rings. Someone is stuck in the elevator with the power cut this Thursday. I see him walking down the hall, with his 77 years on his back, and his enthusiasm of a 20-year-old.
On the Facebook account of the Cuban Electric Union, messages are posted in a cascade. People complain that they cannot sleep because of the heat and the mosquitoes, they tell of towns plunged into darkness and faces with large dark circles under their eyes who can barely perform at work. Along with these complaints, another is repeated: Havana is privileged and does not suffer from the same power cuts as the rest of the country. Regional hatred is stoked, and divisions are emerging, even though the person responsible for our disaster is the same one.
The comments suggest that the residents of the Cuban capital are enjoying the darkness of others, while we enjoy our own illu