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The Blackout Lunatics of Havana, Cuba

Amid banging pots and pans, plumes of smoke, and outages, the Cuban electricity crisis seems to have turned madness into a widespread state.

By Yoani Sanchez (14ymedio)

HAVANA TIMES – The day after a power outage, everything moves much more slowly. This Tuesday, I spent long minutes trying to flag down an electric tricycle on Calzada del Cerro to take me to Fraternidad Park, but yesterday, with the total collapse of the National Power System, most drivers couldn’t recharge their vehicles’ batteries. So I had to walk. I was also walking at half speed because of lack of sleep, dragging my feet with the weariness of a nearly sleepless night.

From inside some homes and businesses along the avenue, a stench rises from the humidity and spoiled food. This Monday, when many were waiting for the end of the blackout that had kept them sweating all night, the dreaded total disconnection of Cuba’s dilapidated electrical grid arrived. Those who had put away a piece of chicken, hoping the refrigerator would hum again, saw their hopes turn into a foul-smelling drip escaping from the freezer.

A neighbor says they’ve authorized banging pots and pans. She tells me this with such conviction that, for a moment, I think I’ve missed some important official announcement. But no. The woman claims that Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that we have to bang our pots and pans for our neighbors to the north, who are the ones causing this blackout. The conclusion was immediate: “Well, we’ll........

© Havana Times