The debacle of the sugar sector, which registered catastrophic harvests these last two yearsis affecting an entire cultural tradition in Cuba: the guaraperas.
Instead of guarapo, this Friday, they sold mango juice at the Neptuno store, between Belascoaín and Lucena, Centro Habana. “There isn’t even a straw to grind,” the employee told a customer who came in to cool off in the middle of a hot morning in the capital. “You can see that the harvest hasn’t even been enough to tie up the goat,” commented the man ironically, who had to settle for a mango juice and regretted that it was sour.
Not far from there, the guarapera located in Infanta and Carlos III, one of the ones that sells the most product in the capital, even shipping it by the bottle, is completely closed. An old woman who went to quench her thirst turned around, disappointed: “This Revolution gives neither sugar, nor water, nor ice nor shame.”
The first blow was received by the guaraperas through hygiene, with the lack of detergent to wash the glasses. Then he began to reduce the supply of ice and, later, the cane
Traditionally, guarapo has been a drink to quench thirst in the midst of the high Cuban temperatures. Served with plenty of ice, it helps to refresh, as well as providing enough energy to continue on the road. However, it is also a fragile liquid, which quickly turns acidic and must be consumed as soon as the cane is ground.
The guaraperas were very frequent in Havana, but in recent years they have been disappearing and, currently, there are only a few scattered around the city. Given its rapid deterioration, the guarapo is not sold on the streets, nor is it stored in cans or jars. Although in other countries it has been preserved in containers, in Cuba it is still an ephemeral drink.
For this reason, going to a guarapera was, in addition to a necessity to alleviate the heatwave, a whole cultural experience. The sugar mill crushing the reeds, the milky-yellow liquid coming out of the stems, the ice shards noisily poured into glasses that were then filled with a sparkling, sweet drink. The first sip was like a jolt of energy through the body.
The first blow was received by the guaraperas through hygiene, with the lack of detergent to wash the glasses. Then he began to reduce the supply of ice and, later, the cane. The blackouts have given the final blow to many of these places that need electricity for their mills. At the counters where a few years ago impatient customers were seen as they watched the guarapo sprout from that grinding, now only flies and silence remain.
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