The morning begun and the sun rise in the sky and announces another given day, predictably blue, hot and sunny, as if the good weather was almost a public service. This country gets up really early and movement is evident from even before the first sun light. Men and women, though still sleepy, are waiting at bus stops for buses. Coffee vendors take the most out of their main hour of work. Definitely the aromatic and sugary good black nectar is the perfect and necessary drink to face the day and clear the mind.

The motorized police, popularly known as "little horses", with their bright motorbikes and tight blue uniforms, are standing at crossroads and have not yet begun to deliver their feared fines. In no time the towns and cities are full of people and vehicles of all kinds. They come and go, and as a very Cuban distinctive sign, dozens of healthy children and young people of both sexes, with their colorful uniforms fill the streets, noisy and restless, loaded with heavy rucksacks. Practical reminder that education, even with its shortcomings, remains free and universal.

Who said that twenty years are nothing ?

A new day begun, and to realize the evolution and changes Cuba has been going through perhaps a good reference could be traced back to that now distant 1993 when the so-called Special Period was at its worst. Traffic and public transport had almost disappeared, replaced by bicycles which filled the asphalt, it was impossible to buy anything and the food was carefully rationed. Today, twenty years later, the images are completely different. Numerous vehicles, many of them quite new, alternate with Youtong Chinese buses, trucks and vans of all kind. The traditional and always flashy American cars of the 40s and 50s of the last century are still an inseparable part of the landscape, but now many of them are engaged in "botear" , ie they are collective taxis (like dolmus) costing 10-20 pesos in national currency and they transport passengers for a fixed itinerary. In large cities bicycles are rather scarce, while in medium cities and towns, given the distances, they are still abundant, and share space with particular horse carts, which also work as cheap taxis.

The car fleet has grown exponentially and traffic begins to be heavy in strategic areas and link crossing during "peak hours".

Public transport still leaves much to be desired but is getting better by the day.

The streets, a showcase of a new Cuban time

Corners, doorways, driveways and many public spaces have become shops and stalls, which often offer an aspect of improvisation.

In the street you can find a huge, and sometimes variegated, variety of products and services. Profusion of light meal deals as the popular pizzas, snacks of all kinds, ice cream, "little boxes" (a kind of mixed dish served in a cardboard box).

Many "stalls" offer a generous range of hardware of all kinds: clothes, shoes or tools, other offer repair and maintenance services for the increasingly rich mobile phones trade. Some places specialize in religious objects, aimed at the many followers of the religious practices of African origin. Increasingly, state enclosed spaces are leased to individual workers and groups become something like sales fairs, and the possibility of renting state-owned premises, by individuals, for individual businesses have already opened up.

In those areas where tourism is very present, or economic activity is vital, as the provincial capitals, or the Havana-Varadero axis, a growing number of private restaurants are opening, while the novelty in this field are the cafes and specialty bars, some of them offering some evening entertainment.

The list of services provided by "private" businesses as they are still called, is long and covers almost every need. To the aforementioned without being exhaustive, you can add small gyms, hairdressers and beauty centers, barbers and multiple trades such as carpenters, masons or plumbers.

The contradictions of the everyday life

The Cuban economy is still essentially state-owned when it comes to strategic and high production sectors, this is clearly reflected in the four million workers employed by the State, but new forms of ownership and production, both cooperatives and private, already exceeds one million jobs, thus affirming that the Cuban economy is mixed is simply a finding.

However, these relatively recent realities generate numerous contradictions and contrasts in a society that for decades has prided itself as being very egalitarian.

People linked directly to the new economy have seen their incomes increase substantially, but even among them you have to make a distinction because many are actually employed, so the actual number of new "entrepreneurs" is much lower.

The dual circulation of currency (that for Cubans, known as Moneda Nacional, and the CUC, more for tourists, convertible peso) produces obvious differences in income and prices and it is based on a palpable and growing social inequality, contrasting with the daily traditional institutional and political discourse. Now Raul Castro has announced that soon the Moneda Nacional will be eliminated. But it will not be an easy process and transition.

State wages, at all scales, are clearly insufficient to address the many freed prices.

Examples abound, thus a private taxi driver can earn in a day what any professional will earn in a month. A brief visit to the agro-market can cost many people a quarter of their salary. These realities give rise to increasingly threatening social phenomena, such as corruption, widespread and sometimes transversal. Making ends meet is for many a daily struggle able to wear off the most patient citizen, and it does not seem to have very clear rules .

Some social sectors, which could be termed as "vulnerable" have little capacity to adapt to these times: a good example is the elderly, which includes more than a quarter of the population whose incomes are essentially their pensions paid in local currency.

The "libreta" the ration-book still remains a "must" for part of the population, which count on the food freely distributed by the government to make ends meet.