As anyone who has lived with Cubans outside of the political elite can attest, two “basic” items most lacking—from the 1970s to the present—are towels (of any kind) and napkins. In fact, I only discovered I was a sloppy eater by nature when I went to Cuba and realized that almost everyone had grown up there without access to napkins for decades and I was the only one at any table who was always in desperate need of a napkin. More shocking than the general absence of napkins, though, was most people’s lack of a towel, especially when going to the beach. Beach towels in these pictures are few. The three in these frames were my own—purchased between my trips to Cuba and then gifted to or borrowed by my cousins and colleagues on a rare, state-sponsored trip to Bacuranao Beach in September 1996. No doubt, one of the great lessons I learned in Cuba was how few material goods were required to have a great time. SEPTEMBER 1996.
