Luis Felipe Rojas, Translator: Raul G.
"The New Fever for Gold", an article written by Luis Felipe Rojas and
published on "Diario de Cuba" November 3rd, 2011.
They had planned for a coffee and ended up with a few empty beer cans on
the table. September was advancing with a wicked heat. They had
arrived in twos, without fear, and very open, but they asked me not to
record them.
Just as they showed up, they always come in pairs. They walk throughout
the Cuban East from Manati to Yateras, they go inside the luxurious
Versalles neighborhood in Santiago de Cuba and the next day they return
home to Banes, Holguin ready to dig.
They seek gold, silver, precious stones, or any other antiquity which
comes up along the way.
"10 k Gold, in scrap, has risen from 7 CUC per gram. In original
jewelry, I sell it for 15, and the one being alloyed with other metals I
sell for 12.5 CUC", says Wilbert, a corpulent tanned man who has been in
the business of buying and selling precious metals for 2 years.
Just like the others, Daniel travels accompanied by a relative of his.
He plays the role of announcer, screaming at the top of his lungs, "I
buy gold watch cases, and broken or defective golden or silver jewels. I
accept propositions." He pulls out a golden necklace, nearly 15
centimeters in length, from a small bag. "It was a woman's necklace.
Pounded gold, it's dirty, but it's 18 k, 5 grams. With it, I can
recover the investment I made last week," he happily affirms.
There are still some people who saved some of their jewels and keep them
as luxuries or relics, but there are those who keep them as a source of
money in case of an emergency. "The best I've bought has been an 18 k
wedding ring. It weighed 8 ounces. A man who wanted his son to become
a Spanish citizen brought it to me. I still have it kept away, even
though I'm not a fan of jewelry", assures Wilbert.
They claim that, in their travels, one week they go to rural areas and
the other they go to the cities. According to Daniel, "in the city we
find better trophies" and he displays content in the fact that people
cannot differentiate well between "old white gold made with Mexican
silver, which pays better".
They have buyers in bulk in Havana, Matanzas, and Holguin, but they
claim that now sales are stuck. That is why they are buying less in the
neighborhoods. "They say that a few weeks ago they scared a couple of
guys smuggling some gold in the airport of the capital. The big buyers
do not want to do business until they see what will happen", states
Wilbert's business partner, without having any of the others trying to
refute him.
"Now, we do not only face the danger of the police but also of common
criminals", points out Daniel, and assures that "you also risk your life
with this".
The danger, the dangers
In their travels they have found themselves submerged in the blackmail
of the local police. In the worst of cases they have been fined 1,500
pesos, have had their materials confiscated, and have been warned to not
return to certain neighborhoods.
In the report of Authorized Self- Employment Activities, section 109
includes jewelry repairmen, but they are specified to remain in their
homes or some other accepted location.
"There is no legal protection for buying and selling precious metals,
that is a luxury reserved solely for the government", signals Daniel,
continuing, "there are people who, when they try to sell you something
valuable, they bring up the fact that it is a jewel which was saved from
the fury of the 80′s, when Fidel Castro gathered up all the gold and
exchanged it for soap, imported shirts, or athletic shoes".
According to what these new fortune-chasers are saying, in just one good
day of selling precious metals one can make up to 60 CUC- as an average-
but then you must take lots of it in cash, which is a danger in the
event that they bump into someone who is armed. A young man from
Holguin, from the municipality of San German, died last year from
several stab wounds in a nightclub in the center of the capital. Also,
a well known buyer-seller found himself in an ugly situation and was not
able to get away unharmed when he traveled through a heavily populated
neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba.
Among the negotiators which have once again risen like a plague, there
are those who "buy jewels for themselves, to make a living, and those
who invest their money on properties or put it into circulation to try
and see it grow faster", assures one of those present.
They are all nearly too young and have not done anything but to repeat
what their parents, and the government, have already done. For a few
bucks in hard currency they take forgotten or defective jewels from
houses. "Very few people wait around with empty stomachs while wearing
a ring with an aqua jewel in the center" says one while holding a silver
buckle between his fingers. Meanwhile, another one who wraps up the
conversation assures that "in the end, we are thanking the Soviets for
dressing up the Poljot and Raketa watches of those times with gold".
Translated by Raul G.
4 November 2011
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