I created this photo story about family life inside a casa particular in Cuba in the spring of 2019.
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Growing up: Casa Particular
In the heart of Vedado, an urban neighborhood in the city of Havana, Cuba, lies a home of pastel pinks, greens, purples and blues: each wall adorned with family photos, old and new, each countertop covered in curios and knick-knacks of varying importance. The apartment is home to Lourdes Rolanzo, 57, her husband Jorge Mateu, 52, their daughter Ailyn Mateu, 30, her husband Luis Pombu, 65, and their two sons, Sergio, 8, and Brian, 5.
Together, they run their home as a casa particular, Spanish for private house, a private bed and breakfast-like homestay unique to Cuba. An unlikely aspect of the country’s predominantly state-run economy, the Cuban government has been allowing its citizens to privately rent out rooms in their homes as a means of generating income since 1997. There are currently more than 2000 casas, as they are colloquially referred to, registered in Havana, offering more than 5000 rooms to stay in.
Since the family opened their home in 2010, they have been visited by travelers from all over the world. To make ends meet, “everyone works together and everyone does everything,” Rolanzo said.
MORNING
For the family, the day begins before sunrise at around 4:45 a.m. Getting up a little earlier to make the coffee, Rolanzo and Mateu are usually the ones to get everything ready in the kitchen. “The dynamic is what you see here, it’s a mess in the morning,” Rolanzo said.
Ailyn prepares packed lunches for her sons. She has a full day ahead of her with both work and an academic course she is taking, so she packs one for herself too.
Ailyn assists Brian with his daily morning teeth brushing. Travelers will often leave extra toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste, as various toiletries can be hard to come by in Cuba.
Sergio doesn’t need as much help.
The boys put on their uniforms for school. The blue scarf that Sergio wears, a Young Pioneer kerchief, signifies the stage of participation he is in with the Youth Communist League. When he reaches the seventh grade, the scarf will be replaced by and distinguished with a name tag that reads “Che," an homage to the revolutionary, Che Guevara.
Sergio and Brian wait with their grandmother before leaving for school. When a new guest arrives, the protocol is that they spend the day with Rolanzo and then join her to pick the boys up in the afternoon. “The boys usually call the visitors their friends, but the people that are here for semesters or longer, they call them brothers and sisters,” Rolanzo said.
Rolanzo reviews Brian’s homework. Apart from their courses, the boys take extracurricular English classes and participate in soccer, chess and the theater group, La Convenita. Though it changes often, Brian wants to be a chef and Sergio wants to be a professional soccer player when they’re older, according to Ailyn.
AFTERNOON
Brian sits down to eat dinner, typically chicken and rice. Although the household often eats separately from their visitors, they try to eat together as a family. “There’s three good cooks and Jorge is not one of them,” Pombu said.
Sergio plays a game on his phone after dinner. According to the house rules, the boys are allowed to use technology on weekends and “special occasions,” but Rolanzo sometimes bends the rules.
NIGHT
The entire family sits around the television before bed. They can be found watching “novelas,” short for telenovelas or Latin American soap operas, together every night. The household is currently enthralled in “Son La Siente,” a series about a Japanese family living in Brazil.
Gifts from previous guests sit on the table, each one a relic of a different passer-through. Even if a visitor comes for just a few days, they always bring a gift. “Every single person that has passed by here impacts you in some type of way. Everything is very fluid, everyone has their own personality,” Rolanzo said.
Sergio picks up his toys before bedtime. Goodnight kisses are given all around and the boys head to their room to sleep. “What we want for the boys? Whatever they want, whatever they wish for,” Pombu said, “and a better future than with us,” Ailyn added.
