Vicente Escobal, Special for Lux Info Press
HAVANA, June – Where is the end of the line? Are you last in line? Who’s last in line? Could it be that the certainty of knowing they are last in line has damaged the Cubans’ self-esteem?
Lately, the professional place holder has sprung up to eradicate this problem. He is likely to be found wherever there is a waiting line, which in Cuba is just about everywhere. One can find them at the bus and train terminals, at the Cubana de Aviación agencies, at the newsstands, at the
Immigration office and at the United States Interests Section in Havana, ready, willing and able to save the supplicant a long wait, for a fee. A friend assures me he saw one the other day lurking around the cemetery in Havana, just in case.
The going rates for the professional place holders’ services depend on ingenuity, on the complexity of the transaction, and on the need or urgency of those who can’t or simply don’t want to be last in line. They all have a peculiar intuition born of experience in their profitable
enterprise. With one look they can identify and evaluate the potential client.
Are you in line? They then explain they are holding a place in line for a relative that never made it, or they are tired of waiting, or their friend has already solved the problem elsewhere; they have an inexhaustible repertoire of opening gambits to lead into negotiations.
Last week a physician in the eastern Cuban city of Manzanillo absolutely had to travel to Havana. At the bus terminal, he complained to the manager about the place holders, who can be unpleasant and even aggressive in some places.
The manager ruled this was a police matter; the police decided the administrator had jurisdiction. In the end, the physician paid a place holder 40 pesos to get where he was going.
If the governing class experienced the needs and wants of the foot soldiers, there would be fewer lines and place holders and Cubans would feel less like they are last in line.
Versión original en español
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