CUBA: COST OF LIVING:
Social & Recreation, Culture & Sports
SOCIAL AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES,
CULTURE AND SPORTS
I include this aspect since we have always considered that a person needs these activities for his or her development and, therefore, an objective of the Revolution is to make these available to the whole population in two senses: -the possibility to practice them and -the possibility to attend them. To be able to practice these activities, the Revolution has created inside the educational system an entire series of special schools for art, sport, circus, etc.; in addition, people who are not students at these schools have the possibility of receiving training in these activities, at very low prices in specialized centers. To make recreation, cultural and artistic programs and sports games accessible to all Cubans, special prices have been established in pesos. Let us look at each one of them.
The Cuban women's judo team won several medals at the 2000 Olympics.
Recreation. In this case I will refer to certain places. I myself even attended these places during my vacation, taking my granddaughter. The rest that don't appear have similar prices.
Zoo - In Havana we have two Zoos. There is the old one that is more in downtown where the animals are all in cages. It has a good number of animals, that is to say that it is not small. The cost of the entrance is 1.00 peso for the grown-ups and free for the children. There is another bigger Zoo where the animals are loose and you can circulate in special transports around what is called the African savannah and also through a moat of lions. The entrance to this Zoo costs 2.00 pesos for the adults and 1.00 for the children. In both cases the price for the tourists is in USD and it is the same, that is to say, $1.00 USD and free and $2.00 USD and $1.00 USD.
Aquarius (the Aquarium) - The entrance costs 2.00 pesos for adults and 1.00 for minors. For the tourists it is $3.00 USD for adults and $1.00 USD for minors.
Dancers perform at worker's rally in Havana.
Cultural. In this case I will refer to only two:
Cinema - The cost of the best cinemas in Cuba is 2.00 pesos. They are not offered in USD.
Ballet - In this case I want to point out that as is known internationally, Cuba has one of the best Ballets in the world. In Cuba we have several companies of international fame, even in different provinces. Well, for the Cubans the entrance to this Ballet cost 5.00 pesos. For the tourists it costs $5.00 USD.
Sports - For a long time, entrance to sports events was free. Due to the economic situation that faced the country with the Special Period, this free entrance as well as others that existed was decided to be eliminated. Starting from that time, the entrance to sports events has increased to 2.00 pesos and for the tourists $2.00 USD.
From my point of view the cost of all these social activities is low, in accord with the wages of any Cuban. I even consider that the costs in USD for the tourists are much lower that what it costs for these activities in their countries of origin. In what place one can see a Ballet for $5.00 USD or a ball game that decides the championship for $2.00 USD?
Basketball practice at sports training school.
From Trova to Afro-Caribbean, music of all styles is enjoyed and supported everywhere in Cuba.
Text copyright 2000 J. Gutierrez
Photos copyright 2000 C. O'Hara