Ampara Campos is 82 years old. She has worked, among other jobs, as a nurse... READ ON
At the age of fifty, Daisy -who does not want to say her last name- got early... READ ON
Ony Mendoza - now 70 years old - has been retired for five years and works as... READ ON
Raul Bouza sits in his house in Havana Vieja that collapsed in a hurricane... READ ON
Mario Díaz (right), now 81, is trying to increase his retirement as a... READ ON
"Artists have no age. They are immortal." jokes Maria Lozada de los... READ ON
In the poor San Lazaro district of Cienfuegos, 89 year old Angel Julio Soza... READ ON
Aida Guerreros Blanco is 92 and has to live on 120 pesos ($ 5 a month). She... READ ON
At 78 years old, Gilberto Velasques Ramos works as a water salesman in... READ ON
"I'll keep working until I die," said Milo Suarez Turquisa,... READ ON
Ebaristo Día Día, 87, has worked for 25 years as a handyman in... READ ON
On a busy street in Santiago de Cuba, 86-year-old-visually impaired Lidia... READ ON
The mean life expectancy in Cuba of 78.89 is remarkable. This is almost equal to the life expectancy of 78.93 in the US (Source: United Nations, 2020). According to Cuba's pension system, the retirement age is 60 years for women and 65 years for men. Because salaries are extremely low, the pension is often less than the equivalent of $10 (240 pesos Cubano) per month after more than 30 years of employment. The dual economy on the tropical island requires Cubans to be inventive to survive. In order to buy the products that cannot be bought in peso Cubano and that are not included in the "libreta", the subsidized communist food booklet, Cuban elderly must find an additional income. Preferably in the peso convertible (CUC), which is equivalent to the dollar and is worth 24x more than the peso Cubano; and with which many products have to be paid for. In several cities in Cuba I photographed retired elderly people working in the informal economy.
