Although begging for money and performing for it on the street was illegal since the adoption of Communism and, assumedly, the elimination of need in 1961, both beggars and street performers returned visibly in the 1990s across Cuba’s cities. Unable to offer alternatives, authorities tolerate their presence. Passersby and tourists sometimes glory in their talent. This gentleman, who performed for a full eight-hour day several times a week in 1997, created a jazz percussionist sound track for bustling Obispo Street from Central Park to the colonial plazas of Old Havana.
