Cuba beer in short supply

I'm glad I went to Cuba when I did, in Sept 2015. The main reason I went was because I knew that relationships between Cuba and the USA were improving and that Americans would be flocking to Cuba once the travel restrictions were lifted. And the lifting of the embargoes etc would mean that American products would be flooding in, and there would be a lot of development as well as the threat of the old cars being sold and exported from Cuba.

One thing I didn't envisage was a shortage of beer! Apparently the influx of American visitors to Cuba has led to this shortage. Also there is an increase in private restaurants and bars, which also need beer.

The state owned brewer, Cerveceria Bucanero produces two beers, Cristal and Bucanero.

I preferred the Bucanero.

Another beer I tried was Presidente, but this is imported from the Dominican Republic.

See article in City AM on 11 April 2016, "Tourist boom straining Cuban beer industry" by Francesca Washtell :

"The influx of American tourists into Cuba may have worked wonders for its travel and leisure industry, but the boom has taken a toll on the country’s main brewer.

In recent weeks beer sellers have been running out of the Caribbean island’s two favourite brands, Cristal and Bucanero.

The shortages have been fuelled by the increase in American visitors, as well as a rise in the number of private bars, reported Reuters.

Cerveceria Bucanero, the state-owned brewer which produces both brands, is a joint venture with the world’s largest brewer, Belgium’s Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Bucanero will need a new plant to keep pace the demand from tourists and private restaurants.

Cuba’s visitor numbers swelled to a record 3.5m in 2015, up 17 per cent from 2014. The number of American tourists, referred to locally as “Yanquis”, rose 77 per cent to 161,000 last year, after travel restrictions were eased in early 2015.

Small restaurants have also added strain to the country’s beer market. Their numbers have blossomed since President Raul Castro formalised changes designed to remove the Communist state from many small-scale economic activities five years ago. They have since become popular with both tourists and local residents.

In March, Starwood Hotels & Resorts announced it would become the first US-based hospitality company to enter the Cuba in nearly 60 years, after it received authorisation from the US Treasury to run three hotels - Hotel Inglaterra, Hotel Quinta Avenida and Hotel Santa Isabel - on the island.

The US embassy was reestablished in Cuba in August 2015, following an agreement between US president Barack Obama and Raul Castro to reinstate diplomatic relations between the two countries in December 2014.

Obama became the first sitting president in 88 years to visit the country last month."

Chinatown in Havana, Cuba

My friend Hong suggested I visit Chinatown when I was in Havana, Cuba. He had told me about a Cuban who sings Chinese opera, and I tried to get information once I was in Havana, but no one knew anything. There is a large opera house in Havana, though I have no idea if the Chinese operas were performed there. The Great Theatre of Havana is a grand building, and quite close to Chinatown. It is the building on the left -

I tried 'googling' for Chinese opera in Cuba and found this interesting blog. The writer mentions that most of the Chinese community has now left.

When asking for directions to Chinatown, as I told not to expect anything like Chinatowns in other countries, as the one in Havana was small with very few signs of it being Chinese. It seems that the old Chinese community has been swallowed up and integrated.

My first sign of Chinatown was the large gateway -

This led into a small area that is generally quite run down and scruffy. As I had been told, there were very few signs suggesting it is, or was once, a Chinese area. Very few shops had signs, though there were a few restaurants.
This is the first section beyond the entrance-

There are 2 main parallel streets -

Dragones Road, house with huge wooden door, and decorative grilles on the windows

A shop, El Dragon Chino, the man inside on the phone is one of the few I saw with Chinese features -

A shop selling vegetables and fruit -

These 2 buildings both have Chinese signs, belonging to Lung Kong society  -

Typical street in Chinatown -

This is the end of Chinatown -

Some shops at Barrio Chino de la Habana, oficina del historiador de la ciudad (Chinese neighbourhood of Havana, historic city office) -

© Liz Price 
No reproduction without permission

Lizards in Cuba

Whilst in Cuba I saw a variety of lizards.

I particularly liked this one, it had a curled tail and the body looked like a baby monitor lizard! I think it is Leiocephalus carinatus , also known as  Little Bahama curly-tailed lizard.

This one has it's tail out straight -

This is a gecko I zoomed in on across the room -

These lizards were on trees -

If anyone can identify any of these lizards that would be great!!!

I saw the Pope in Cuba

I was in Cuba in September 2015 and found many towns preparing for the Pope's visit.

On 20 September we drove back into Havana. In the morning the Pope had been giving a Mass in Revolution Square. This was well documented on TV -

We arrived back in Havana about 4 pm and found crowds of people gathered along the roads leading towards our hotel.

They were also lining the Prado, which is the main street outside our hotel. As soon as we arrived at the hotel we joined the people on the pavement. We had about an hour to wait but it was worth it to see the Pope and experience the atmosphere. Pope Francis -

***

UPDATE 2025

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, 21 April 2025 . He was pope from 2013 - 2025.

Pope Francis visited Cuba in 2015, making it the third papal visit to the island nation, and the first by Pope Francis. His trip coincided with the renewal of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Cuba. During the visit, Pope Francis met with Fidel Castro and urged Cubans to prioritize service to each other over ideology. He also emphasized the importance of freedom of religion and called for justice, peace, liberty, and reconciliation in Cuba.