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| Commemorative events are being held around the country for the anniversary [AFP] |
It is a quiet afternoon in Havana. December 31, and there are no sounds of fireworks, no extra police on the streets.
The shops are closed. A group of children play baseball at a park in the old part of Havana, while dozens of people stand by waiting for the bus to take them home.
It doesn't seem as if Cuba's revolution - now 50-years old - has many Cubans excited.
A few metres away from the legendary Hotel Nacional, a street food fair has been set up next to the famous Havana Malecon, the boardwalk that faces, hundreds of kilometres away, the US's Florida coast.
It is part of the commemorations around the country. The government is subsidising these food fairs, with outdoor kitchens, for Cubans to meet, eat and dance - although none will be completely free.
'Glory for Cuba'
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Some small reforms have taken place since
Raul Castro took power [AFP] |
Since Raul Castro took power, not much has changed in Cuba, although last year Cubans were allowed to buy mobile phones, book themselves into hotels previously reserved for tourists and buy computers.
As one man who asked not to be named observed: "If you make $10 a month, how can you pay for a cell phone, a computer or go to a hotel?"
But Israel Cintra Lopez, who has been grilling chicken with orange sauce and onions for some hours, says January 1 is a great day for Cuba.
"The Cuban revolution is one of the greatest things that has happened to us," he says.
"These 50 years have been years of glory for us and the world because Cuba has been exemplary. We've helped Latin America and other places around the world with our education and health systems."
Pride in accomplishments
Health and education are indeed the most prominent accomplishments most Cubans say they take pride in.
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"I know there is a world economic crisis but for us it's been already 50 years with a crisis - it is sad and hard"
Manuel Alejandro, cook
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In an Old Havana street, a group of women are working on the pavement, giving manicures and pedicures to neighbours.
One of them, Caridad Baro, says she is alive because of the revolution.
"I was born ill, with a heart problem, and I am alive because this government took care of me and I got all the attention I needed," she says.
Meanwhile, on a bench next to Israel's outdoor kitchen, Manuel Alejandro is talking business with his partner and friend, Ricardo.
Manuel says that the two have been the great successes of the Cuban revolution.
"Education in this country has been wonderful," he says.
"If one is illiterate here, it is only because he wants to be, because education is free and so is the health care, which is fundamental in our lives."
Still, Manuel is not satisfied with his life. He studied gastronomy but cannot make a living as a cook. So he chose to work as a craftsman to support his family.
"I know there is a world economic crisis but for us it's been already 50 years with a crisis. It is sad and hard", he says.
However, Israel Cintra says he cannot complain because he studied to be a cook and works as one at a Havana restaurant, making less than $20 each month.
"Like everywhere, Cuba has its pros and cons, but we will overcome the problems that we face, just like the blockade," he says.
Surviving the embargo
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Fidel Castro has survived 10 US presidents
and scores of assassinations attempts [AFP] |
Surviving the blockade, as Cubans call the US economic embargo, is considered by "Fidelistas" or Fidel's sympathisers, as one of his great successes in almost five decades in power.
Manuel Alejandro thinks there are many positive aspects about the Cuban revolution.
"I would like the revolution to continue in a way that it can exist without the blockade," he says.
"The revolution has been imposed on us, we have gotten used to it. I would like a huge change for this country, but the condition is that us Cubans will continue to lead this country."
Fidel Castro remained defiant towards the US. He has survived 10 US presidents, the Cold War, hundreds of assassination attempts, and the fall of the Soviet Union.
When hard times, known as the "Special Period", hit the island after the fall of the Soviet Union, Fidel Castro forced the country to persevere.
But Manuel Alejandro says this revolution has gone on for too long.
"The negative part of it is that we've already gone through 50 years waiting for a change, we want change, and we want to get along with the United States," he says.
And although he says he remains proud of Fidel, describing him as "one of the most important people of last century," he seems wary of Cuba's future.
"The Soviet Union had 84 years of revolution and it fell like a sandcastle."
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