Cuba: fiesta, getting by and prohibitions | M6 | Enquête Exclusive

With its 1,600 miles of beaches, Cuba attracts 2.5 million tourists every year. The cocktail of “rum, salsa and pretty girls” is still as seductive as ever. But behind the picture postcard lies another Cuba: that of ration tickets, work on the black and the lack of freedom. For the 11 million odd Cubans the priority is to survive. A communist regime headed by Fidel Castro for 50 years, Cuba is now ruled with an iron fist by his brother Raul. The police are everywhere and there are many restrictions. However, for several years now, resistance has been organising: a new generation of bloggers, graffiti artists and musicians is fighting to bring down the regime. But in Cuba they run a huge risk. How are these dissidents organising themselves in the shadows? Despite the economic reforms introduced a year ago, daily life remains hard. Although Cubans are now allowed to buy a house or a car, they still risk prison for buying beef or fishing for lobster¾dishes reserved for the tourists and for export. A plunge into the heart of one of the world’s last communist dictatorships.