Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Havana, Cuba to escape the cold here in the Netherlands and recharge. I was really impressed by the history, the people, the arts and the tremendous effort the Cuban people took to keep Cuba free from oppression.
First against the Spanish Empire, then against the British Empire and finally against the US. I guess if you can keep these giants out, you deserve to light a big Cuban sigar.
I can talk for hours about the Cuban Revolution but in this article I would like to focus on how scam-artists operate in downtown Havana, in case you are planning to go there someday.
The overenthusiastic talking guy
He or she will say Hi and will ask you where you're from and as soon as you start talking in your broken spanish or just plain old English, the game is on. It doesn't matter, it all leads to one direction and that is that your wallet will feel lighter by the hour.
This is the con: Because you are a tourist, the con-artist will want to tell you all about Havana, Cuba and the activities that you just can't afford to miss out. So he will want to give you instructions but because it's to much and to specific, you'll need a pen and off course a piece of paper. And guess where you can find this, yes a bar.
So you go into a bar with this artist and however is with him. One hour, a couple of drinks later and a lousy written piece of paper in frond of you, you realize that you've been conned. And if you don't, you will when presented with the bill of say 40 dollars and you get this.
Counter the con-artist: You can carry a piece of paper and pen if you want to trick the con-artist or you can just say: Dejame en paz which means: Leave me alone.
The flirting single mother
The sun has just set and you are leaving the hotel in search of a good restaurant so you can enjoy a real Cuban evening.
She will be waiting in the surroundings of your hotel and will immediately compliment you with anything what makes you, you. Be that your hair, your camera, shoes, eyes, muscles, clothes, whatever gives you enough dopamine to allow the person to continue the interrogation. It won't feel like a interrogation but with every question the con-artist will build a profile to see how to match your evening with hers.
This is the con: The con-artist will guide you to the “best and the most exclusive” restaurant in Havana, Cuba where you guys will be dining and you will be paying, offcourse. After that she will tell you a sad story about the poor economic situation in Cuba and the lack of resources she has to raise her child and she will plead for an extra hand-out and because you have a heart, you will give it to her.
What you perhaps don't know is that she works on comission for the restaurant for bringing in new customers and that every resource she needs to raise her child is free in Cuba. The only thing Cubans have to work for is things they don't produce or grow themselves which is electronics, vechicles and so on.
Counter the con-artist: You can say hi and just walk on and say you have other plans. Tengo otro cita, lo siento, senorita. Which means: I have another date, I am sorry.
The funny Pimp
In the old city of Havana you have a park called Parque Central which is surrounded by a couple of famous hotels like the Iberostar and the Inglaterra and let's us not forget the famous Capitol building which was in restoration when I was visiting.
If you pass the Inglaterra hotel and wander down the rabbit-hole of the boulevard you will find all kinds of salsa-bars and places where you can spend your evening drinking and dancing. However if you happen to stumble upon a second park where people are just sitting, dancing and looking at their phone, be very carefull. Because this is the place where it all happens.
As soon as you take part of the scene by sitting on a bench or just standing against a wall, you will be noticed. A guy and a girl pass you by and stop a couple of meters next to you and remain silent to observe your actions/habits whether that is looking at your phone or lighting up a cigarette. If you do nothing, some odd question will be asked like “do you have a lighter or do you enjoy the view”, it doesn't matter it could be anything just to break the ice and start the conversation and the introduction.
After the introduction he will immediately inform you that the girl he is with is not his girlfriend, it's just a friend. From here things start to pick up very fast. If you venture further into this rabbit-hole you'll find yourself laughing, drinking and buying drinks for your new friends. After you paid for drinks one or two times and got spotted with the stack of bills you have, the girl will find you very attractive and will try to seduce you by rubbing your leg and kissing your neck. The boy will persistently insist that you have it going on and will suggest that you both take a room so you “lovebirds” can get it on.
However if you have some integrity, which is rare, and decline to consume the paid for sex arrangement, the pimp or the girl will say just about anything to get some money(CUC) out of you. The economy is bad, it's his birthday tomorrow, my mother is sick and so on. It doesn't stop until you make it stop by walking away.
Summary
The overenthusiastic talking guy, the flirting mother and the funny pimp are just roles people take on to shake some gullible tourists out of their hard-earned money. You should't take it personal, instead you should learn from it so it won't happen again because you voluntarily gave up your money, didn't you? Well, I did. But I was undercover for you guys.
The roles I described in this article are not the only scams in towns. When I was in my hotel, I heard an English girl complaining paying 40 CUC ie like 40 dollars for a Cuban Sigar Box that goes for like 5 CUC ie 5 dollars on regular souvenir shops. She was pissed.
With this article I would like to inform my fellow Steemians about the Cuban Sting so that you won't be stong unless offcourse you like to be stung. If that is the case I suggest you go with the funny Pimp and you won't be bored anytime soon till you're out of your currency.
And currency is a necessity in Cuba while currently creditcards won't work, Western Union won't collaborate with the country and the ATM machines won't give you what you have. So be carefull and steem on my dear Steemians.
Stay tuned for more Cuba. Next up is Cuban Culture.
p.s. The pictures I presented here has nothing to do with the con-artists.