“On the coast, there is always food”: A homeless Cuban shares how he survives in Cienfuegos

The severe economic crisis in Cuba has skyrocketed poverty levels to alarming rates and increased the number of homeless Cubans living on the streets, dependent on what they can find to survive or the charity of others, with no hope of improving their living conditions.

Juan José, a 59-year-old from Matanzas, is one of the thousands of Cubans who today survive on the streets, facing countless material hardships, as he lacks housing and income to cover even the minimum of his most basic needs, such as food.

The man arrived in the city of Cienfuegos, in the center of the country, in search of some means of survival that would allow him to “improve his precarious living conditions a bit,” according to a testimony published on the website of the non-governmental organization Food Monitor Program.

The text does not clarify what Juan José did in his hometown of Matanzas or the circumstances that led him to "emigrate" to neighboring Cienfuegos, where he arrived with only 126 pesos in his pocket - the equivalent of about 40 cents - and the intention of seeking a "better life."

But Juan José's existence is extremely precarious, lacking the most basic necessities.He has no place to live and no family to help him, and he is forced to look for food or necessary items in the trash, along the shore, or by asking other people.

On the Cienfuegos coast, he found a place to bathe, sleep, and cook on “his makeshift stove” using food scraps taken from garbage bins; remnants discovered along the shore, often originating from ritual “work” in Afro-Cuban religion, such as fruits, honey, chicken, goat, and other offerings; and even fish, crustaceans, and other marine animals, the report reveals.

Juan José usually spends the night in an area along the bay's coastline. "I came alone, with just a little bit of what you see here... I found this spot back here while walking. It’s cool here, and you can sleep better if there aren't any mosquitoes. If there are mosquitoes, you have to make smoke or rub yourself with sage. Look at this, these are the no-see-ums, but if it’s cool, there are no mosquitoes, and you can sleep," he said.

"Here at the beach, you can find crabs, snails, and the cobo, which is good if you boil it. You can swim and you can boil water; look, one is right here, but I'm clean, you see? A lot of food washes up that gets thrown away, and you can easily pick it up from the sand," he added.

"There's always food on the coast," she assured, "there are oysters, little shrimp, and small fish that can be fried... I cook them here in a can; you boil them and that's it, using sticks from here, a little piece of plastic, cork... with anything."

In addition to what he gathers from the sea, Juan José searches for food in the trash, though – he says – “sometimes people give you something or what they have left over from their meals. Look, today I found this pig snout, it's good; after boiling, it's clean…”.

However, he acknowledged that "not every day you can eat; sometimes you go three days or more without food because there’s nothing to eat."

However, he does not hesitate to share what little he has when another person arrives at the location who, like him, is also surviving on the street.

“To drink water, I ask anyone for a bit, and you pour it into a bottle or look for it at the bus terminal or somewhere else. It’s not cold, but it quenches the thirst,” he continued.

Juan José revealed that he suffers from diabetes, hypertension, and has undergone surgery. "I can no longer exert myself or stand guard, and there is no work available. Here, there is no job for someone with these issues, and what they pay isn't enough... the wages are terrible," he claimed.

Despite her health condition, she does not receive medical attention or medication. “I once went to the Family Care System, and they told me I had to wait until I turned 60; that was before Covid, and I haven't gone back since,” she recounted.

"To earn a little money," the Cuban collects cans, cardboard, aluminum, "whatever he can find." He takes plastic bottles from the trash, washes them, and sells them for five pesos. He also collects old clothes and shoes, "which are repaired and sold as well," he stated.

The scarcity of basic products, rampant inflation, and the low purchasing power of the population have significantly contributed to the rise of begging in Cuba.

According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), there have been 3,690 "vagrants" registered in the country between 2014 and 2023.

Meanwhile, a study published in October by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed that a total of 4.2 million Cubans, or 37.8 percent of the country's population, experienced food insecurity in 2023.

The study revealed an alarming result: 12.8% of Cubans (1.4 million people) did not reach the daily threshold of 2,100 calories per capita last year.

Eighty-nine percent of Cuban families experience extreme poverty, revealed the VII Report on the State of Social Rights in Cuba 2024, presented in July by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH). This figure represents a one percentage point increase from 2023 and a 13% increase from 2022.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Economic Crisis and Homelessness in Cuba