In Defense of the Hustlers / Dora Leonor Mesa

In Defense of the Hustlers / Dora Leonor Mesa
Dora Leonor Mesa, Translator: mlk

Vices come like travelers; they visit us as guests, and stay as masters.
Confucius

In the old East Germany where I worked years ago as a German translator,
I learned,through snobbery,top level cooking in a five star hotel. Later
in Cuba, in my debut as a mother, I should have chosen between a
promising professional career or resigning myself to being mother and
wife. After choosing the longest road, I "got" the title of cook with an
European experience, so I could get good jobs, those that pay in
convertible currency (C.U.C.) and create on our humble table a culinary
culture that would make us proud, in spite of the daily difficulties.

In one of my experiences as cook, a known painter for whom I worked
sarcastically called me the English Lady. When I asked him why, his
answer perplexed me:

"You cook very well, and you don't steal or ask questions."

The saddest thing about the situation is that after changing jobs,
because of my employer's return to his country, my excellent references
did not avoid initial suspicions. You often found the house full of
garments, another day, delicacies everywhere, sometimes money in
unexpected places, "forgotten" digital equipment. . . In the end the
favorable judgment, far from being flattering, is embarrassing: We
Cubans, at least for some time now, have acquired fame as thieves,
hustlers. . .

The controversial issue about the shameful reputation of Cuban as
thieves and hustlers is real. You just have to read from time to time
the weekly sections of Letters to the Editor of the Granma and the
Juventud Rebelde newspapers. Passengers on the public bus avoid paying
the fare. There are even citizens who steal electricity or domestic gas.
In the stores you can find a cracked toilet bowl for $25 CUC ("La
Especial" of Infanta) in a country with an average salary of $20
dollars. And in the farmer's market, pretending to forget the price and
the weight of the products on sale is the best strategy.

The country's important companies, among them ETECSA, Enterprise of
Telecommunications of Cuba, have legalized rapacity: exorbitant rates,
discriminatory service. A different kettle of fish is the National
Electrical Union, responsible for supplying electrical service to the
nation and thus to the residential sector. Frequently, the Cuban
magazine Bohemia explains in detail how to read the electric meter and
make payment calculations according to the prevailing price rates.

For years my maternal grandmother kept her payment receipts (I do it,
too). This habit helped us to discover how the household consumption's
numerical trends rose disproportionately even before the months of
highest spending, Christmas holidays, vacations in August. The Company
defended itself saying that consumption increases with an increased
demand for electricity. Nevertheless, the actual analyzed data do not
coincide with those of the receipt. With an Excel table and a simple
statistical analysis you saw that the variations were significantly
unequal yearly.

Sometimes we had problems with the "electricity" collectors thanks to
our valuable table, which predicted when they would try to charge more.
On top of that, we had to complain in the municipal billing office
several times, where, it is fair to say, they still receive their
clients in a friendly way, the bundle of payment receipts from several
years, this "weapon", had to be present, the actual readings and the
table of statistical fact on Excel, printed with the pertinent data and
graphics.

In our house we had no high-consuming new equipment or air conditioning,
but the same two old refrigerators as always, responsible for the
increased domestic electrical expense. We never changed them for the new
Chinese appliances proposed by the State, very small and expensive.
Apparently, there were some adjustments in the Electric Union. For some
reason the current cost of domestic electricity is more reasonable.

Payment date / Amount in Cuban pesos

January 2009 $84.40 August 2009 $157.65

January 2010 $71.00 August 2010 $171.20

January 2011 $56.00 August 2011 $137.30

January 2012 $54.80

The Manufactured Gas Company has a history in our family. The charge for
gas is really moderate (100 cubic meters cost 11 Cuban pesos, about
$0.50), but we have little luck. We had a gas collector who, little by
little, began to bring us the bill without the payment stamp, and the
consumption readings did not correspond with what appeared on the
receipt. Upon confronting her, she arrogantly told us that she was a
"cutting edge worker," that is to say, the best employee.

The first time I went to ask the Provincial Company of Manufactured Gas
about the collection procedure, God was with me that day; the director
of our corresponding office was there. In front of the clerks of the
Office of Customer Service, she highlighted the "efficient collection
work" and put into question the quality of my humble stove:

"That is not why! I too spend more than 11 pesos, but by leaving it
burning. . ."

After the interview, normalcy returned. Nevertheless we detected that
the value of the bill was always the same. The bridge collapsed when the
collector told my oldest daughter:

"The next bill will come higher."

In the rain, for the second time, I approached the Office of Costumer
Service of the Provincial Company with all the paraphernalia of several
years of payment. A clerk, Jorge L. Galban, compromised to investigate
the case. He visited our house, reviewed the gas meter and soon after
that, in the month of January, as compensation we did not have to pay
the monthly bill. Our bills were being reported as if we had a broken meter.

Eighteen months later, another gas collector appears. The reading of the
month of June did not coincide with the real one, the consumption
climbed again without excuses. The payment receipts returned with the
date of the reading without changes. I tried to convince the worker
about the anomaly. I made him come into the kitchen to corroborate the
reading of the meter. In truth, three pesos is nothing; we are just a
mass, people. Why not clients?

Thousands of Cubans fled over the ocean, so they could feel they are
treated as persons. Some made it. Others rest in the ocean. Bryan, my
nephew, lives among the fish. I am sure he is happy, surrounded by
freedom and beauty. We decided to stay in Cuba. We really like the idea
of thinking and acting like people with rights. Previously the boss at
the Gas office rejected criticisms from her exemplary collector. An
announcer from a television show recommends:

"Follow the path of money."

"Perfect. Anti-scoundrel clients, FORWARD!"

Translated by mlk

June 12 2012

http://translatingcuba.com/?p=19014