In contrast to La Rampa, located in the very heart of Vedado, or the more popular discos in Miramar, the Payret and Parque Central sidewalks are the areas where Havana’s cheapest prostitutes work. If they don’t, they are sent back to their provinces of origin in the interior, and there isn’t much they can do there, at least nothing to feed their hopes that they will one day be able to stop selling their bodies. They also have to pay to be there, making a buck. They have to buy the documents they need to stay in Havana for at least six months and bribe the police so they won’t detain them for harassing tourists. They have to eat and pay the rent, after all. They are willing to do whatever is asked of them.Ĭubans are charged a little less than yumas (foreigners), but these working kids will bargain with anyone if they’ve gone many days without taking in enough. When a group of tourists nears, the young men and women prepare for battle: they straighten out their clothes, take out cigarettes, ask for a light, smile, make suggestive gestures.
An hour or an entire night of pleasure, or all the time needed to satisfy the lustful cravings of those who pay.Īs night falls, the crowd begins to grow and the competition becomes more intense. The young men and women sell themselves for nearly nothing. HAVANA TIMES - The afternoon settles in Havana and young people who sell their bodies begin to throng on the sidewalk in front of the Payret cinema.
