In recent years, Lis Cuesta, the wife of Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, has been a key figure in organizing and promoting exclusive tourism and culinary events, despite the food crisis that has characterized her husband's administration.
Lis's goal is to position Cuba on the luxury tourism map, but that mission has only left her with criticism and expenses from the national budget. Every year, fewer tourists visit the island, and many of those who do come share on social media the reality of a people who sometimes don't even have bread to put on the table.
From the Cultural Tourism Agency Paradiso, of the Ministry of Culture, Lis coordinates events that have become a platform to showcase a gastronomic wealth that Cuba no longer truly possesses.
The strategy includes not only organizing festivals in inaccessible places for the people, such as the Varadero Convention Center, but also taking advantage of the presence of personalities to showcase Cuban cuisine to the world, inviting international chefs and celebrities to be the promoters.
Here we leave you a list of 10 gourmet tourism events amidst the hunger in Cuba:
1. Varadero Gourmet Festival: The event has already had several editions. This year it brought together international chefs, entrepreneurs, and food critics for a high cuisine experience. While enjoying craft rum cocktails and gourmet dishes, most Cuban families struggle to access the most basic foods.
2. International Tourism Fair in Varadero: It has been a showcase of opulence in a country immersed in scarcity. It usually features an extravagant buffet filled with seafood, meats, cheeses, and desserts that are not found in local markets.
3. Cuba Sabe: Organized to celebrate Cuban cuisine, this event usually brings together renowned chefs, entrepreneurs, and food critics to taste and explore the flavors of national products and promote potential services to foreign companies.
4. "Festival in the Bread Crisis." In 2019, amid a severe shortage of flour in Cuba, which continues to this day, Lis Cuesta organized the first edition of Gastrocult at the Iberostar Grand Packard Hotel in Havana. It generated millions of criticisms on social media and turned the culinary show into a reminder of how the governmental elite prioritizes external image, without addressing the growing internal needs of the country.
5. Habanos Festival: It is one of the most elitist events held in Cuba. It is synonymous with luxury and is characterized by exclusive dinners, cocktails prepared by the best bartenders, and presentations of top-quality cigars. The irony is not lost, as while the attendees enjoy opulence, the average Cuban can barely afford a decent daily meal.
6. Le Dîner en Blanc: Havana has hosted these luxury outdoor dinners on two occasions since Díaz-Canel came to power. In 2023, leaked images of the event sparked outrage among the people. This type of banquet demonstrates the abyss that exists between tourist events and the harsh reality of the country.
Frequent congratulations to Cuban cooks: Lis Cuesta usually sends congratulations to chefs every October 18, Cuban Cuisine Day. The gesture seems like a great irony to many people because most cooks do not have the resources to provide proper service due to the shortages present in the country.
8. Gordon Ramsay's visit to Havana: The famous British chef visited Cuba in search of authentic flavors to promote it as a tourist destination on his television show. He explored the local gastronomy and its traditional ingredients. On social media, many Cubans wondered which market he bought the food from, and jokes were made when they saw him in a video jumping into the sea to catch the main dish.
9. Visit of the British royalty to Cuba (2019): At that time, it was Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla. The delicacy that supposedly delighted them was some humble "black bean croquettes." The government tried to impress the world with local gastronomy and had the royalty get their hands greasy.
10. Cuban cuisine as Cultural Heritage: Since 2019, the government proposed to declare Cuban cuisine as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity, highlighting its traditional dishes. However, most Cubans cannot access the ingredients to prepare those same dishes due to shortages.
While Díaz-Canel and Lis Cuesta promote Cuban cuisine to the outside world, the reality is that the population of the island lives with daily food restrictions, without a glass of milk or a piece of bread.
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