Who Are the New Rich?

Who Are the New Rich? / Rebeca Monzo
Posted on July 20, 2013

As I was reading a newspaper article in today's Granma written by a
journalist named de la Hoz, I could not help but smile at the apparent
cynicism.

This journalist identified symbols of what he described as "the new
rich" such as the use, and in some cases perhaps ostentatious display,
of things that in other societies would be considered perfectly normal.
These include taking a ham sandwich and cola to school for the afternoon
snack, or perhaps wearing a pair of brand-name shoes like those for sale
for hard currency in many of the city's stores. These shoes are
undoubtedly of better quality and more durable than most which are for
sale also in CUC at much lower prices but which are of much poorer
quality. I can understand how a parent who can make the sacrifice will
try to buy the most durable items, the ones whose labels are not simply
decorative but presumably indicate a certain level of quality.

This reporter seems to have forgotten that just a few years ago the only
students taking nice snacks to school were driven there by chauffeurs
and sported backpacks and clothes with foreign labels. They were the
children of high-ranking officials, the ones people called "los hijitos
de papá" or Daddy's kids. I live in Nuevo Vedado, a neighborhood where I
have always been surrounded by these children since they attended the
same school as my sons, who enjoyed none of their privileges — a
situation I always found myself having to explain to them but which they
were never able to understand.

I still remember the look of astonishment on the face of my older son
when, as an adolescent, he came home from school with stories he heard
about a birthday party for the fifteen-year-old daughter of a comandante
who had closed off their street, brought in a mechanical organ and
filled the swimming pool at their house with flowers. There was also an
enormous buffet shared with kids in military service who served as
waiters. This happened during the worst of the Special Period. It was
just one of any number of examples of similar neighborhood parties,
which coincidentally all took place in the homes of high-ranking
officials. These were the same officials who would later move to Miramar
and Siboney* so they could be more discreet.
But getting back to the previous subject of school snacks, they are
almost non-existent, so meager and of such poor quality that it is
inconceivable that they could take the place of lunch, as has been
proposed. It is for this reason that many parents — a majority, in fact
— make sacrifices and jump through hoops to see to it that their
children have a "decent" snack consisting of a ham and cheese sandwich
and a soft drink. I do not understand why the journalist in question
claims this is a privilege that only parents who own private businesses
can afford, especially since entire families are engaged in these
enterprises.
If we are witnessing improper and indiscriminate displays of so-called
symbols of power, it is due precisely to the bad examples to which
average citizens have served as onlookers and not as participants. One
should keep in mind that today the difference is that they are paid for
by working parents who are self-employed, artists, athletes and others,
and not by those previously mentioned. It would also be useful to point
out that, if they paid people decent salaries that reflected the actual
cost of living and the country were economically productive, everyone
would have the same opportunities to improve not only their children's
school snacks but the quality of family life too and, in the end, all of
society.

*Translator's note: Miramar is a neighborhood which was home to Havana's
wealthiest citizens before the revolution and today houses numerous
foreign embassies. Siboney is an affluent neighborhood favored by
members of the Cuban military.

18 July 2013

Source: "Who Are the New Rich? / Rebeca Monzo | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/who-are-the-new-rich-rebeca-monzo/