Cuban residents in Havana say the island’s latest stretch of water and power shortages is reaching far beyond what people can cook or keep cold. They describe it as something that is changing how they spend time, how they look, and even how they manage cleanliness, as severe blackouts persist and the wider economic crisis grinds on.
Many of the adjustments are visible in routine beauty practices. Eduvirgen Zamora, a 56-year-old cafeteria worker, said she hides her hands out of embarrassment because she has stopped affording the kind of nail upkeep she previously used. Zamora told The Associated Press that she now keeps her nails short, except for her thumbs, which have inch-long talons that she gets done by doing her lashes as a cheaper alternative. She said Cuban women like “to look beautiful — to do her hair, do her nails, do her feet — and wear perfume,” adding, “I don’t look how I would like to look.”
Salon workers described how water scarcity also affects what styles and services clients can realistically maintain. Melina Colás, a manicurist in Havana, said she once got long braids to celebrate her birthday but soon decided the style was difficult to keep because of chronic water shortages. She said she previously wore her hair long and straightened, but she has cut it and wears it natural even though she believes it does not suit her appearance. Colás also said public transportation’s reduced availability means clients often arrive late, and she has adjusted her approach by relying on a mix of water and vinegar in a spray bottle to offset water shortages—something she said also helps soften cuticles and stave off fungus cases as time between manicure appointments stretches. “Some cases are critical,” Colás said.
Other service providers said the shortages are affecting both day-to-day operations and what customers are willing—or able—to pay for. Betty Ramírez Aldana, a 50-year-old hairstylist, said the economic crisis and shrinking budgets have reduced the number of clients he sees. “It really came as a shock to me, because I’ve lost a lot of clients,” he said, noting that normally, by that time of day, he would expect several customers but that “no one has showed up.” He said his makeshift salon had recently spent three weeks without water, explaining that electricity powers many pump stations on the island and that severe outages are common. With limited access to water and power, he said he can no longer provide certain straightening treatments and instead offers options like cuts, and he said some clients have decided to embrace natural curly hair rather than regular salon processing.
Laundry and hygiene are also changing. Antonia Isalgués Barrién, 60, who works for a state-run company that runs boats from eastern Havana to the heart of the capital, said she hangs clothes outside every day after working because she does not have water to wash them. She said the conditions are especially hard because it is “very hot here in Cuba,” and she recalled that in the past she used to wash clothes nearly daily rather than having to hang them in fresh air and then put them back on again. Isalgués said she has noticed an increase in passenger counts as more gas stations close and only a small number of public buses remain in circulation.
Power and fuel constraints are tied to the broader discussion about U.S. policy toward Cuba. U.S. diplomats flew to Cuba earlier this month for meetings with top government officials for the first time since 2016 as tensions remain high. Cuba’s government said eliminating the U.S. energy embargo is a top priority for its delegation and called it an “act of economic coercion” and “unjustified punishment.” In late January, just weeks after the U.S. invaded Venezuela, President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, which produces only about 40% of the fuel it needs. The Associated Press reported that the U.S. has tied any change in sanctions to conditions including an end to political repression and the release of political prisoners, as well as economic liberalization.
Boat pilot Iván de los Ángeles Arias described the daily reality for workers and passengers as shaped by the shortages rather than by expectations of diplomacy. He said he often boards the boat for a five-minute ride across Havana’s bay while keeping his car at home for emergency use only, saying, “That’s the reality we’re forced to live,” and adding, “You deal with it as best you can.” Arias said he does not expect the talks to change his circumstances. “I have no hope,” he said. “That means nothing if living conditions remain the same.”