US Edition'La bolita,' Cuban lottery offering hope in tough times
- Carlos, a collector in Havana, manages bets for "la bolita," a clandestine lottery.
- Despite being illegal for 66 years since Castro's 1959 ban, "la bolita" persists due to Cuba's economic crisis.
- This lottery, an adaptation of 19th-century games, involves collectors and bankers handling millions of pesos.
- Cubans struggling with a $42 monthly average salary see "la bolita" as their "only option left."
- While providing hope, "la bolita" can cause deep debt, leading to increased betting amid growing hopelessness.
33 Articles
33 Articles
La Bolita, Cuban Lottery Offering Hope In Tough Times
Every day, as he has done for 20 years, Carlos makes the rounds collecting bets in central Havana for "la bolita" -- a clandestine national lottery that provides a sliver of hope for Cubans struggling to make ends meet.
The “chains of favors” that keep Cubans afloat in the face of state neglect
Vicente Borrero looks like a soldier back from the battlefield. With his skin tanned, his tuxedo pierced, his cap old and dirty, his pants short and faded, and his eyes always looking away, always about to cry. He looks like the last survivor of the town of Jicotea, in Santiago de Cuba, a postwar man who saw it all, and lived it all. In his roof house of zinc and board walls, where any torrential can sneak, Vicente has been waiting for someone f…
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'La bolita,' Cuban lottery offering hope in tough times
Every day, as he has done for 20 years, Carlos makes the rounds collecting bets in central Havana for "la bolita" -- a clandestine national lottery that provides a sliver of hope for Cubans struggling to make ends meet.
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