“In this town there have always been people with money,” replies a seller of domestic utensils in Cabaiguán, Sancti Spíritus, when a traveler recently arrived from another province is surprised by the wide assortment of his private business and the high prices of the products. “Here everything is imported, what does not come with the mules arrives with the MSMEs”, sentence the seller.
Among the merchandise stored in the store, located in a house from the beginning of the 20th century, there are small metal shelves to store food, kitchen utensils, wall decorations and clocks, as well as containers to store everything from food to tools and cosmetics. . “Tell me what you are looking for, we have it in Cabaiguán,” he challenges the traveler, who only manages to ask for a matchbox. “Simple, to go out or to impress?” asks the merchant.
The variety of offers in Cabaiguán responds, in part, to the large number of residents of the area who have Spanish nationality. “This is the forest of the Canaries in Cuba,” says Leopoldina, an 82-year-old retiree who was among those who met last February with the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, during his trip to the island. the Spanish passport has changed people’s lives here because they are dedicated to bringing things and selling them”.
“They are well advised, those who sell clothes have everything very well designed so that people do not leave without buying something”
Among the prosperous private businesses in Cabaiguán, La Cuevita stands out, which takes its name from a large popular open-air market in Havana. The business is located in a very long house, which goes from one block to another. In each room there is a different store: clothes, dishes, shoes and household appliances. No dark or dangerous corners: abundant lighting, smiles on the faces of the employees and a wide variety of products
“They are well advised, those who sell clothes have everything very well designed so that people do not leave without buying something: cozy, well organized, it is easy for the customer to find what they are looking for,” analyzes Jorge, a resident of the city of Sancti Spíritus and that on a short trip to the town he says he was “impressed by the variety of products” that he cannot find in the provincial capital. “I’m going to have to come here to buy every time I need something.”
La Pinta, a nod to one of Christopher Columbus’s caravels, is one of La Cuevita’s main rival shops. The store is entered through what was once a family room and rooms are followed by offers of hardware, women’s clothing, children’s toys, mobile accessories, imported coffee, as well as vitamins and nutritional supplements. Most of the merchandise comes from Mexico, Panama or other countries in the area.
“In this town we are ahead of the game,” boasts a neighbor who offers a wide range of accessories for bathrooms: sinks, hoses, drains, drains and sanitary fittings. “Before, people lived off the land here, but now they live off this,” he says, pointing to some packages of white cement and some silicone tubes that make up his extensive catalogue. “Here anyone has the three ‘c’: Cuban, Canarian and merchant.” To which a passing passerby maliciously adds a fourth: “And facers!”.
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