In the first years after Raúl Castro assumed power permanently from his brother Fidel (2009), entrepreneurialism in Cuba blossomed as never before and in ways unrestrained by the state. Once again, as in colonial times or before 1959, vendors with skills to sell wandered the streets, calling out their crafts in the hopes of being hired to fix a broken fan, Russian-made washing machine or even a (landline) phone. To our surprise, the same was true of Cuba’s tourist-heavy venues. Here UF doctoral student Lexi Baldacci and my intrepid chauffeur, guide and cousin Orly could not resist the calls of a caricaturist in Old Havana’s Plaza de Armas to have their image drawn. Old Havana, October 2011.
