the seafront and thinking, you know, one of these days, you know? cruise ships. what happens then? hugo: well, look anthony: is this an inevitable march of progress? am i being a snob? no, no, you re being very realistic. that s the concern of most cubans. i wouldn t mind seeing one or two starbucks along havana, but i m hoping we re not going back to 1958, with the majority of cuban companies were owned by american corporations. anthony: right. hugo: i have got to believe that cuba will want to research some of the value that represents, you know, the hearts and soul of the cuban people. anthony: last time i was in havana, a meal at a paladar would have been rice and beans. now, sushi, a certain sign of impending apocalypse. that s good. hugo: yeah. ten years ago, this restaurant would have never been allowed. not only because private businesses were not allowed, but
but there s new stuff, too. this is certainly new. fabrica de arte, the hottest spot in havana. a nightclub, performance space, art gallery, highlighting artists, musicians and deejays from around the world. questlove is scheduled to deejay here tomorrow night. inti: it s like a big bag that all the arts can fit inside. anthony: what is going on here? i asked inti herrera and x alfonso, two of the young entrepreneurs behind the place. nothing like this ever existed before. did the government bureau of arts help you? inti: at the beginning, we had subsidies from the ministry of culture. even the building, we asked for the building, because it was
somehow. anthony: along with his creative partner, marco castillo, dago rodriguez is half of los carpinteros, an artistic entity whose work is shown and collected all over the world. dago: every single grill is a different theme. we have different technology to fabricate and to develop. anthony: los carpinteros have managed to stay in rhe government s good graces by widely using irony to make their points. in the brutally and capricious contemporary art world outside of cuba, they are stars. they make a lot of money, but they always return home to havana. looks like we ll be eating well. anthony: tonight it s a party in dago s backyard.
leonardo: this is a typical street of this neighborhood. houses of wood, houses of concrete. the street is not in good condition. here was the bus station. it s not a bus station anymore. now it s a building. it s a monument of the past. anthony: mantilla is a suburb of havana, home to one of cuba s most celebrated writers. leonardo: [ speaking spanish ] anthony: author of the internationally successful mario conde detective series, padura has been able to portray the
if internet comes, and i think the government is trying to delay it. if that comes, many things will change. people will have access to different points of view, and i don t think our government wants that. anthony: if everything goes well, what will havana be like, what will this neighborhood be like in five years? yusimi: you know, having a prosperous society doesn t warranty it is the same for everyone. you know, you see these people who have been able to use opportunities to open businesses, to open successful restaurants. those opportunities are there, but i cannot use them because i don t have money. i don t think it is possible to have a perfect society, but i think it is possible to try. how you like the food? anthony: oh, it s delicious. really good. thank you. my name is jeff sheldon,