When people mention Cuba, what comes to mind immediately: the vintage cars on the streets of Havana, Jay Chou's "Mojito," cigars and beaches, or the joke about being "so close to the US, yet so far from heaven"? For a country that seems "stuck in the last century," how big is the gap between real life and modern society?
In Episode 4 of "Earth Observation Bureau," @Captain Gongbiyang and @Xiaosa666 invite Cuban friend Ma Boyi, who has lived in China for 7 years, to talk from the perspective of an ordinary Cuban about real life beyond the tourist filter.
At the worst times, there was no electricity for 48 hours straight, so people got up in the middle of the night to cook three meals for the day; families use a "ration book" to get rice, oil, eggs, and other daily supplies, and doctors have to take odd jobs after work to earn money; healthcare and education may be free, but medicine and even surgical supplies have to be found on the black market.
At the same time, Cuba is undergoing huge changes: opening up small and medium-sized enterprises, allowing more private business and foreign investment, and Chinese goods and Chinese investment are beginning to enter the local market. Where will a society that has long relied on imports and whose wages cannot keep up with prices go because of this round of change? Why do Cuba and Miami, separated by the sea, have such complex emotional and political divisions?
From vintage cars, blackouts, and the black market, to Castro, Che Guevara, the United States, Russia, and China - break the "nostalgia filter" of Cuba and see what real life is like for Cubans amid huge changes. We look forward to everyone's Triple Combo!!! If you think our program is good, you are also welcome to share it with everyone around you!!
