Making life work in Cuba

Cuban house in need of repair, but still a residence

The complexity of life in Cuba became bizarrely apparent one night when we had dinner with 2 Cubans who explained some of the rules concerning inheriting or transferring property.  I’ll try to make this somewhat intelligible, so bear with me.

One person Don and I had met on our first visit to Cuba had told us how he and his wife were slowly building their house.  It turned out to be a much more complicated endeavor than he’d discussed with us on our first trip to the country.

typical Cuban transportation, particularly outside of Havana

First, in Cuba, you can only give your house or car or personal property to a child or spouse.  You can’t sell it to another person, though you can swap property between two parties (more on that in a minute).  If a married couple divorces, you can transfer property between divorcing partners in order to equalize a divorce settlement.

Our acquaintance, whom I’ll call Arian (not his real name), and his wife have known each other since primary school.  They began dating in high school and continued to see each other even after he went off to the university, which she was unable to attend because her grades in high school were too low.  They’ve now been together 10 years and have 2 children and a tiny house.  But, she’s not officially his wife.  This wouldn’t be all that strange except for the circumstances that have kept them from marrying.

colorful, restored homes in Trinidad

Arian wanted to find a piece of land where he could build a house.  You can acquire the land if your parents or spouse have some land they can give you.  He found a piece of land, but it was owned by an older woman who couldn’t give or sell it to him.  So, he married her in a 4 minute ceremony at the municipal office (this after considerable discussion with his girlfriend, who agreed that this was necessary).  He then paid his official wife, whom he never has and never will live with, for her land which, because they were married, she was legally able to transfer to him. 

Normally, and not uncommonly in Cuba, he would have divorced her since he now owned the land he wanted, but because of even more quirks in Cuba’s laws, he had to put in a foundation and 27 square meter room in order to keep the land.  He didn’t have the money to do this, so he had to stay married until he could save the money to build the required structure.

Initially, he and his girlfriend built a 15 square meter room with a bathroom.  This wasn't large enough to meet the government requirements for maintaining ownership of the land.  Even though they started the house 7 years ago, saving the money for expensive materials with 2 children is very difficult.  Until they can find a larger house for their swap, the four of the them all sleep together in 1 tiny room and live in another.  His desire is to have a balcony or terrace or small garden where his children can play outside.

crumbling apartment building, Havana

Originally, Arian and his wife hoped to build a second floor with 2 bedrooms and turn their tiny 2 room downstairs into a kitchen/living space.  Now, they are thinking about trying to swap their current home for a larger one.  That would require paying extra money for the larger home, the difference between its value and the value of their home.  Meanwhile, he needs to stay married to the woman from whom he bought his land years ago in order to maintain ownership until he can swap the land and house.  Confusing?  Very much so, and pretty typical of the creative ways Cubans get the things they need.

Our other guest told us how he'd been able to build his house.  He found a woman with a single story house who needed a better roof.  He offered to build a concrete roof for her if she'd sell him the roof, again under the table, and let him build a second floor home on top of her house.  They reached a deal, not requiring that he marry her because she wasn't transferring land, just adding a story to her home, which he was paying for.
Cuba doesn't really have titles to homes, so his deal is a bit shaky, but he, too, is hoping to swap his apartment, which he built mostly himself, to someone else for a better and larger home.

private truck packed with travelers

Barter is key to the Cuban economy.  Few people could survive without doing deals under the table, buying and reselling items, renting or buying (usually with remittance money) an old car or truck to transport people who pay a couple of Cuban pesos for the ride, trading services with family and friends.

renovated apartment building, Havana

Life like this is very creative and very difficult. Everyone longs for the day the U.S. will lift its embargo, so futile since it has accomplished none of its goals--i.e., removing the Castros--in its 60 years of existence.  It has only served to impoverish the very Cubans we want to help.