Cuba with Simon Reeve This World

'I've travelled to Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean.

'With its unique blend of sun, sea and revolution,

'it's one of the most seductive places on earth.

'It's also been stuck in a time warp

'since communists took over here 50 years ago.'

It's a steam train. How could it NOT be fun?

'But Cuba's finally changing.'

I think Ramon is rather enjoying being the boss!

'Faced with financial ruin,

'one of the last bastions of communism on the planet

'is now undergoing a new revolution.'

800,000?

-SHE LAUGHS

-That must be a palace!

'Capitalism is coming to Cuba.'

You've got a VIP area?

'The country's being transformed

'as the government loosens its iron grip.

'I'm meeting ordinary Cubans

'to find the winners and the losers in this new revolution,

'and I'm discovering whether this might actually be

'the last chance to see communist Cuba.'

Havana, Cuba's vibrant capital.

Founded in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadors,

it's now home to more than two million people.

Many of the cars here are still exotic, pre-revolutionary relics,

and they're the best way of seeing the city.

You see a lot of the city around the bay here.

From this distance, it just looks like anywhere else,

but Havana is like few other cities.

Motoring around today, in a classic '50s convertible,

you soon see this place has a unique appeal.

With rum, music, dancing, Havana seems all smiles and cigars.

It is a really attractive and alluring city.

It's got this glorious colonial architecture

that is crumbling away,

but there's such a romance to this place.

Until the late 1950s, Cuba was run

by an American-backed dictator, General Batista.

His regime was infamous for decadence, corruption and greed.

Many Cubans suffered extreme poverty,

even as Cuba became a playground for rich Americans and the Mafia.

Then in January 1959, after a seven-year guerrilla campaign,

rebel leader, Fidel Castro

overthrew the military regime and arrived triumphantly in Havana.

CROWDS CHEER

Castro introduced radical social changes.

The Americans were kicked out.

Schools, hospitals and industries were nationalised.

I want a political, philosophically representative democracy

and social justice in a world-class economy.

Cuba became the first and only communist state in the Americas.

It was the height of the Cold War

and Castro was welcomed into the arms of the Eastern Bloc.

Backed and bankrolled by his new friends in the Soviet Union,

he started building what he claimed

was a workers' utopia on America's doorstep.

Many Cubans are justifiably proud of the achievements of the revolution.

After the communists took power,

they introduced free pensions, free funerals.

Child malnutrition was virtually eliminated.

Rates of literacy soared.

Even life expectancy increased,

because Castro ploughed money into health care,

as well as education and the arts.

Gracias.

Visitors can get a taste of that egalitarian legacy

here at the Ballet Nacional,

one of the world's leading dance companies.

I've got my tourist ticket, which cost me about £20.

Most of the people here are actually Cubans

and the price they pay for a ticket is much, much lower.

The cheapest ticket for a Cuban

costs only the equivalent of about 15p.

Art for the masses.

It's a bargain!

ORCHESTRA PLAYS CLASSICAL MUSIC

The arts were an important part of Castro's vision for the new Cuba.

Ballet, traditionally elitist in most other countries,

is seen as popular entertainment in communist Cuba.

This Havana dance school, Drodanza, trains 500 students for free,

an education that, in the West,

could cost tens of thousands of pounds a year.

27-year-old Gedera is a recent graduate.

She's now a professional prima ballerina.

CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS

Speaking as somebody who can barely touch their knees,

let alone their feet, that was magnificent!

-OK, thank you.

-Are you OK?

Fine.

I get the impression that Cubans really, really love ballet

and they sort of respect, almost worship, ballerinas as well?

I'm just wondering whether

you would be able to have become a ballerina

if you'd had to pay for your lessons?

CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS

THEY PLAY THE LAMBADA

'Cuba's heady mix of idealism and revolutionary chic

'already attracts several million tourists a year,

'with increasing numbers from the UK.

'But there's a real dark side to life here.'

As a visitor, it's very easy to be seduced by Cuba.

It's a very colourful and an exciting place.

It's also easy to forget this is still a totalitarian state

with only one political party, the governing party,

and no real elections.

Cubans have very limited civil rights.

For the last 50 years, few have even been allowed to leave the island.

Human Rights Watch describes Cuba

as the only country in Latin America

that represses virtually all forms of political dissent.

Dissidents are routinely followed, harassed and imprisoned,

so few Cubans dare criticise the regime in public.

I was only allowed into the country

on the condition I didn't meet with well-known dissidents,

but I was permitted to speak to ordinary Cubans

about their daily lives,

and that gave me a great chance to see the reality

of life in this country at a critical moment in its history.

To find out what it's like to live in communist Cuba,

I met a woman called Cecilia in a run down part of Havana.

All Cubans are entitled to heavily-subsidised food

and other services provided by the state.

Cecilia took me to her local ration shop.

-So!

-Buenos.

Buenos dias. Buenos dias. Buenos dias.

So what is this book that you've got?

So it's the staples of life, then?

But this is interesting.

Can you get rum as part of the rations?

-No.

-That's separate!

-That you have to pay for!

-HE LAUGHS

Approximately 628 people.

That's very precise! That's not approximate, is it?

And here's another customer.

'The rations provide very basic food for Cuba's 11 million people.

'The rations aren't huge and the quality is generally low,

'but distributing and administering food on such a scale

'still puts an enormous financial burden on the state.

'Back at her home, I met Cecilia's family.'

Hi, Umelady.

Umelady? Very nice to meet you. Senor!

Mucho gusto! Simon.

-Carlos.

-Carlos!

Yes, that's very lovely of you. Thank you.

'Like most Cubans, Cecilia is employed by the state.

'She works in a government pharmacy and earns an average wage here,

'about £15 a month.

'Her house is also state-owned.'

Bedroom one. Bedroom two.

And what are these doing?

The house is in danger of collapsing?

My goodness!

Is it frightening to be looking up at the ceiling

when you're in here in bed,

thinking the roof could collapse?

Whose room is this?

Is this for Carlos?

OK. Carlito! All right.

There's another support here in this room

propping up the roof,

which looks in pretty terrible condition.

'Since the early days of the revolution,

'the state has controlled all aspects of life,

'even the building trade,

'deciding who gets access to a builder and materials.

'Cecelia's been waiting for a new roof for 16 years.'

Oh, careful!

Don't tread there?

OK, so the floor's...

We don't want to fall through.

Yeah. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah.

My goodness!

'Cecelia's living conditions are difficult, but she's not alone.'

You can see Cecelia's house from the outside here,

and you can get a sense of the state it's in.

The roof has partially collapsed.

You can see all the brick work is falling apart

and it's far from unique. This is completely normal.

You look at the house here, one of her neighbours,

the first floor has almost completely gone.

There's somebody living here. This is still somebody's home.

All of the buildings here are in a terrible state.

None so bad as the one just 20, 30 metres down the road here.

That's actually collapsed.

Much of Havana is now falling down.

Havana's deteriorating buildings

are a symptom of a much wider problem in Cuba.

The economy of the island is in a state of complete collapse.

For 30 years after the revolution,

Cuba received generous subsidies from the Eastern Bloc.

Russian money, advisors and arms poured into the country.

The US reacted by imposing a trade embargo,

which they hoped would quickly topple Castro's regime.

Five decades and more than ten US Presidents later,

the embargo remains in force.

The economy here has been failing for decades,

partly because it's been strangled by the US embargo,

and partly because of inept government management.

The situation's got worse and worse,

and Cuba now imports twice as much as it exports.

Fidel Castro stepped aside and his brother, Raul, now runs the country.

The dire state of the economy

has forced his government to do the unthinkable,

loosen their grip

and send people who had previously been employed by the state

out to work for themselves.

I've got the official list here.

The very, very precise list of the 181 jobs

that the government is allowing people to do as part of the reforms.

They're very specific.

They include some you might expect, things like taxi driver,

construction worker,

shopkeeper as well.

So those are jobs that in the past

would have been done by people who were working for the government.

Now, if you get a licence,

you can set yourself up in that position on your own.

But there's also a few jobs in here that you might not expect.

There's a mule driver,

a palm tree trimmer, a well digger,

a button coverer, and my personal favourite,

as part of the reforms

you can now get a job working for yourself as a dandy.

'I only spotted a couple of dandies.

'That's a gentleman in traditional costume.

'But other new businesses were thriving.

'A new word has entered the Cuban vocabulary.

'Entrepreneur.'

There's people selling flowers, shoes, clothes,

calculators, mobile phones.

It might not seem unusual,

but you have to remember how novel all this is.

Before the reforms, people could be arrested

for starting a small business or trying to open a shop.

Now there's evidence of consumerism,

of an entrepreneurial spirit,

almost everywhere here.

The government has always employed millions of workers

at great expense.

But the nation's finances are in such a state

that the regime has decided

it must cut up to 20% of the government work force.

They're going to slash one million public sector jobs.

While the state will continue to run health, education and transport,

many other services are now shifting into private hands.

They're calling it an economic upgrade,

but how might unleashing private enterprise affect Cubans

who've only ever known life under a communist system?

Azouz? Azouz?

Hola, como estas?

'Azouz is one of the entrepreneurs

'on the front line of this economic revolution.'

Look at these shiny sunglasses!

-Let's see the man that...yeah!

-THEY LAUGH

This is a loo roll holder.

You've got a towel rail here.

Soap dish.

This is all stuff that previously

could only be bought through government shops.

Very, very hard to get hold of, very short supply,

and now, you can buy them privately.

This is the beginning of a big chain of DIY shops!

Cliente! He's spotting a business opportunity!

I've no idea where he's going.

I think...ah, he's offering them up a sink from somebody else.

The look on the senora's face here,

she wants a new sink!

Go on, do a deal!

'Building supplies used to come from government shops,

'if you were lucky enough to find one with stock.

'Kitchen sinks and everything else were available on the black market,

'but buying one was risky.'

If you did some DIY or renovations to your flat or house here,

and you couldn't account entirely for where you got the money for it,

or where you bought the supplies,

then your renovations could be torn down.

An inspector would come round and say,

"You're not authorised to do this," and they would take them down.

HE SHOUTS

He's got some pipes!

What happened there? And was a deal done?

Can we ask how much you got for the pipes?

Just between us!

'Since the reforms were introduced,

'Azouz has become one of 400,000 Cubans

'who signed up to work for themselves.

'For the first time,

'private businesses are paying substantial taxes

'into the state's coffers.'

A beer!

Cheers. Here's to your business. Good luck with it, OK?

-Good luck!

-Good luck!

So why did you want to start?

Why did you start working for yourself selling plumbing supplies?

How did it come about?

You're a doctor? Actually practising in hospitals at the moment?

This is really surprising.

A trauma doctor, an A&E doctor, working selling plumbing supplies.

Is that normal here? Does it not seem surprising to you?

-Drink to that.

-AZOUZ LAUGHS

Thanks, Azouz. DOCTOR Azouz!

That's very interesting.

Azouz didn't really want to talk about it,

but I know already that doctors here

can earn as little as £15 a month,

which is really a pittance in any country.

I suppose, in a way, his story shows the best and the worst of Cuba,

because he's not from a wealthy family,

but he's been trained as a doctor by the state.

He works in Cuba's world-class health system,

and yet he's not making enough money as a doctor to survive,

so he's got to supplement his income by selling plumbing supplies.

It's an extraordinary situation

and raises some pretty tricky questions about life in Cuba.

The state doesn't have enough money to pay doctors

and many take second jobs to survive.

It's ironic the communist government is now hoping capitalist businesses

might provide them with enough money in taxes

so they can save the economy and protect their public services.

Surely what all this really shows

is that Castro's communist system simply hasn't worked.

I headed out of the capital and into the countryside,

the traditional engine of the Cuban economy.

They've grown sugar here for more than 200 years,

and Cuba was once the world's biggest producer.

After the revolution in 1959, Castro nationalised the sugar industry

and put tens of thousands to work on collective state farms.

It worked well, at least for a few years.

This is the Toledo sugar mill.

In its heyday it was one of Cuba's largest sugar factories,

processing more than 5,000 tonnes of sugar cane a day.

But in the last decade,

half of Cuba's sugar mills have closed down.

HE SIGHS

This is a sad place.

The Cuban economy was really built on sugar, on the sugar industry.

And the profits from it became completely indispensable

to the communist government.

But the collapse of the Soviet Union

was a catastrophe for the sugar industry,

because it had become completely dependent on Soviet subsidies.

The Soviets used to buy entire harvests at inflated prices.

This guaranteed income meant that Cuba didn't need to compete.

Workers had jobs for life, and many became lazy.

They had a saying,

"The government pretends to pay us, and we pretend to work."

State farms became inefficient and corrupt.

So when the Russian orders abruptly stopped in the early '90s,

the impact was devastating.

There were shortages and even starvation,

a time Castro euphemistically dubbed, "the special period."

What happened on state farms also happened in state factories.

Bureaucracy, incompetence, corruption, and the American embargo

all combined to drive the economy off a cliff.

Across most industries,

output is now lower than it was before the revolution.

Twenty to eight in the morning,

which will be rush hour in most countries,

but the motorway here,

we're on a four- or five-lane motorway,

and it's almost completely empty of vehicles.

I can't think of another country in the world I've been to

where a road of this scale is so empty of cars, vans and lorries.

Great if you're a driver,

but not so good if you're the economics minister

and trying to build the industry and economy of your country.

'But there is one obvious area of the economy

'that's doing well - tourism.

'100 miles east of Havana,

'one part of the sugar industry's found a new lease of life.'

BELL CLANGS

It looks like it should be in a museum!

-HE SHOUTS OVER STEAM

-It's a working steam train!

Hola! Mucho gusto.

Mucho gusto.

How long have you been driving the train?

Looks like I'm the driver's mate, and we're going for a little trip!

In a steam train!

HE SOUNDS WHISTLE

It's a steam train, how could it NOT be fun?!

It is a curious thing.

This machine has so many quirks and makes so many different noises,

it feels like a living creature.

And one with awesome power.

THEY SING GUANTANAMERA

The days of plentiful sugar harvests are over,

but Hannan and his crew are among the lucky ones who still have jobs.

Looks like celery.

Eat some sugar!

Where it all comes from.

Three million visitors come to Cuba each year

to enjoy its beaches and Caribbean culture.

It's a trade worth almost £2 billion in precious foreign currency,

but the government reforms are aimed

at boosting visitor numbers still further.

They want to milk the capitalist tourism industry

for every bit of money they can get.

WHISTLE BLOWS

I headed south into the nearby Zapata National Park.

It's home to one of the most iconic locations of the Cuban revolution,

The Bay of Pigs.

GUNS FIRE

In April 1961, 1,500 anti-communist Cuban exiles,

backed by the CIA, invaded the Bay

in an attempt to overthrow the new socialist government.

Fidel Castro personally led the island's defence.

The fighting ended with a crushing defeat for the invaders.

The Bay of Pigs is the place where, as Fidel Castro put it himself,

"Yankee imperialism was defeated and humiliated,

"and socialism triumphed."

And as such, it's a real icon of the revolution.

It's also very symbolic, largely because

there are a number of graves along the roadside here

where Cuban soldiers fell,

defending the island and defending the revolution.

This area is crammed with revolutionary propaganda.

The authorities don't want Cubans to forget their past.

And they try to unify Cubans

by warning them of the threat of more attacks.

We were just driving past a school here,

a primary school which is closed at the moment,

but every day during term time the students, it would appear,

pass this rather inspiring educational motto which says,

"Every Cuban must learn to shoot, and shoot well."

Next to a primary school!

Buenos dias!

ALL: Buenos dias!

'63-year-old Satanino was just a boy when the Bay of Pigs was invaded.'

Satanino, do people here still remember the attempted invasion?

It must have been pretty terrifying.

Given the revolutionary status of the Bay of Pigs,

you might think the government would be reluctant

to introduce capitalist reforms here.

But in just a year, the number of private guest houses

shot up from just 12 to more than 80.

Thanks to the new reforms, the Bay area is booming.

'Among the new openings is Tiki.'

Oh, wow!

'A B&B and cafe built by Satanino,

'partly on top of his house.'

Look at the view!

My goodness!

It sounds like a real opportunity for you. Is it going well?

'The government restricted the tourism industry in the past.

'Now, albeit reluctantly, the regime has finally realised

'it needs to make serious money from its coastline,

'one of its most valuable assets.

'There are plans to build more luxury hotels across the island,

'even multinational-owned golf resorts.

'For now, Satanino's own ambitions are a little more modest.'

Like other people in the area,

Satanino's not just offering tourists food,

he's offering them a place to stay as well.

SATANINO: Permiso?

The cleaner's in. Buenos dias.

Is he a good boss?

SHE LAUGHS

What do you teach?

It must be quite an exciting time,

cos this is opening,

more tourists coming, things are really changing?

Only weeks after the Bay of Pigs invasion,

Fidel Castro invited western journalists to tour Cuba.

One of the first stops on this PR jaunt

was a newly collectivised rice farm

intended to impress on his foreign audience

that socialism was working

and the country would soon be able to feed itself.

I travelled deep into Matanzas state,

following in Castro's footsteps.

Most Cubans live in the countryside.

Like the Cubans I met in Havana,

farm workers have also benefited hugely from the revolution,

with free health care and education.

But economically, the revolution has been a disaster out here.

Today the island imports up to 70% of its food.

Ramon?

-HE LAUGHS

-Buenos dias, Ramon!

Buenos dias.

What are you doing here, Ramon? What's going on?

'Ramon's spent most of his life working on a collective rice farm.'

This doesn't look like it's the hardest bit of the work, I imagine?

Now look at the tractor!

It looks loved and cared for, but it does look quite old.

'Cuba's Soviet era of bureaucracy

'imposed some peculiar rules on what could be farmed.

'Even out in the countryside, people had to toe the line.'

Here and across the country,

local people used to plant extra crops in the wild

to supplement their rations,

but if the authorities found out, found the crops,

they'd rip them out.

The state had to control everything and everyone.

But now the authorities are letting go.

In a remarkable turnaround,

the state is allowing farmers like Ramon

to lease government land and become their own bosses.

He's now hiring seasonal workers to help him farm,

but motivating them can be quite a challenge.

It's ten to eleven in the morning. Have they not turned up?

This is the problem with being the boss, with being the man in charge!

You have to worry about all these different things!

You have to manage the people as well and get them here!

'One of the biggest headaches for new farmers like Ramon

'has been how to make overgrown fields productive again.

'Much of Cuba's agricultural land

'has been covered by an aggressive weed called marabou.'

Some of your fields were in this sort of condition,

completely overgrown?

So you finished the day bleeding from head to toe?

'It's midday when Ramon's gang eventually turn up for work.'

So finally, here come the workers. Ramon!

-They're all late!

-HE MIMICS CRACKING WHIP

That's what's going in.

It's still wet. Well, it's damp, at least.

That's what they're going to pop in.

It's wonderful to hold, actually.

When you think of what a staple this is

for billions of people on the planet,

but a lot of Cubans as well.

'Rice production's now rising,

'as more than 150,000 Cubans have signed up

'to lease their own farmland

'and take control of their own patch of the island.

'It's a huge change

'and could help to transform the economy of the country.'

What Ramon's done here is very impressive.

Taking ownership of the land, taking responsibility for it,

clearing it, running it, maintaining it.

Managing workers who aren't necessarily used to being managed.

It's a hell of a task, a hell of a headache.

But if he gets it right, he gets the reward.

So how does it feel to be the boss man now, the man in charge,

rather than one of the workers, as you were in the past?

I think Ramon is rather enjoying being the boss!

Work done, Ramon invited me home to meet his family.

You can tell it's a farming community

when they're drying corn outside!

Do you not take your shoes off?

I'm taking my shoes off. It's OK!

No? You want me to put them on?

They're muddy, they're muddy.

Hola! Simon. Is this mum?

This is mum, I presume?

Hello. Buenas tardes.

Como estas?

Kisses!

This is what we like to see!

Look at this, food already on the table!

This is your rice?

So is that chicken, but what have we got down here?

'It seemed Ramon wasn't the only new entrepreneur in the family.

'Thanks to the reforms, his son, Carlos,

'has set up a bicycle taxi service.'

So this is a very exciting time for the family, then?

Turns out, Mum has opened a clothing stall, I think.

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

It's a very enterprising family!

This food is really delicious.

Have you thought about opening a little restaurant as well?

No.

THEY LAUGH

It's really interesting to see what's happening

with the family here and in this area as well,

because it shows that the reforms aren't just affecting

and changing the lives of the Cubans who live in cities,

but they're changing the lives

of the millions of Cubans who live in the countryside as well.

It was the weekend, and I was back in Havana.

But rather than heading to the beach,

some of the locals were heading to a bustling market,

unlike any I'd ever seen.

Buenos dias!

Buenos dias!

Buenos dias. Sorry to trouble you.

Can I just ask you what are you selling?

So it's got a living room, a balcony, a bathroom,

and it's all in great condition.

'Under communism, Cubans were only permitted to swap their homes.

'But now, for the first time, people have the freedom to sell.

'That's created a property market almost overnight.

'This is a city up for sale,

'and change for some can't come quickly enough.'

Do you sleep together in the one room?

Is that difficult?

SHE LAUGHS

THEY LAUGH

There's more to the new housing market, of course,

than saving a mum's blushes.

Allowing people to buy and sell property,

creating a property market,

is probably the biggest single social change of the new reforms.

It's also a most significant loosening of the grip

the state has over Cubans since the revolution.

House prices are rising,

and this property boom is attracting a new breed of entrepreneurs.

Businesswomen like Acaena.

Can I see what properties you've got in the notebook?

Can you just show us some?

How much? That must be a palace!

You've gone from selling cheese in the countryside

to selling properties that are worth an absolute fortune.

Your life has changed in an extraordinary way.

SHE LAUGHS

'The authorities say that creating a property market

'and the rest of the new reforms

'are just tinkering with the socialist system,

'but it looks a lot like something else to me.'

This is the absolute foundation of capitalism.

Allowing people to buy and sell property creates capital.

It means people can take out loans on their houses, for example,

to open a fast food joint or open a tailoring business.

It really feels like this is the start of fundamental change in Cuba.

With all this money changing hands, you have to ask,

where's it all coming from? It's not just local.

Havana International Airport.

A flight had just landed from Miami,

packed with Cuban-American passengers.

For decades the US banned Cuban-Americans

from visiting the island,

but they can come and go as they wish.

That's the first major thaw in US-Cuba relations for 50 years.

But almost as significant as the human traffic,

is what the passengers bring with them.

Travellers are allowed to bring in

what are termed "gift parcels" for relatives,

which basically is presents for the family,

but it's not unusual to see people turning up here

with half a dozen suitcases

and huge bags packed with stuff.

Visitors arrive with televisions, clothes and even food

that's sold on to Cuba's new shops and restaurants.

But just as importantly,

Cuban-Americans also send or bring cash to the island

to help their Cuban relatives survive.

This informal trade is worth billions of pounds every year.

I actually find this quite ironic,

because Cuba's always made great play

of the fact that it's independent.

But in reality, it's always been very dependent.

Dependent on the Soviet Union during Soviet times,

and now it depends in large part

on the United States and Cuban-Americans

for many supplies and for remittances.

And that surely proves how fundamentally weak

Cuba's economy actually is.

Officially, capitalism is still a dirty word in Cuba.

The government still insists their reforms are just

a slight modification to the communist system.

But market forces are taking root,

and that means there are losers and there are winners.

There's a small, growing middle class in Cuba

and I headed to one of their new hangouts.

So this is La Pachanga, a burger bar over here.

It seems to be very successful,

judging by the number of cars that are outside.

It's also got security on the door.

-Hola!

-Buenas noches. Buenas noches.

'La Pachanga is owned by the former manager of a state hotel.'

Sergio!

Buenas noches.

A few months ago, Sergio opened La Pachanga inside his own home.

For Cubans, its menu of burgers and fries

is an exotic taste of life beyond the communist ration shops.

You've got a VIP area?

Can we have a look at that?

Would we be at least allowed to have a look at the VIP area?

Come on, let's see!

Rather privileged.

Oh, my goodness!

You've even got a bar here.

This a burger joint with a difference, eh?

So how do you get to be a VIP and come in here?

What qualifications are required?

Was this your dream?

Sounds a little bit like having a demanding baby!

Ah! Back into the normal world.

Never lasts in the VIP room!

'It hasn't taken long for Sergio

'to master the basic principles of the free market.'

If there's one thing that Sergio's been really,

I think, quite innovative about,

he's branded almost everything with La Pachanga.

La Pachanga, you can see it's on all of the tables.

Like countless fast food franchises around the world,

Sergio hands out merchandise

branded with his ketchup and mustard superhero.

La Pachanga T-shirts, caps, even bumper stickers,

can be seen all over Havana.

It's all designed to encourage brand loyalty, and it's working.

Behind the scenes.

And look, more La Pachanga.

Buenas noches!

Flipping heck, there's not a lot of room! Sorry!

Let's go! Let's go!

HE LAUGHS

'Sergio now employs more than 40 people

'and tonight there's just about room to squeeze in one more.'

Guess what the gloves are for?

It's not a customs check.

It was either this, or I would have to do the washing up.

I can't stand doing the washing up.

Credit to this gentleman. He's doing it very well.

The magic formula!

Is being a boss part of what you enjoy

about this whole enterprise, this whole business?

How many meals are you serving every day?

1,000 meals a day? My goodness!

'A meal here typically costs about £3,

'that's around a week's wages for most state workers.

'La Pachanga's popularity shows

'just how much private money is already flowing around Havana.'

Oh, no, I failed! Look at that, it's a disaster!

All I had to do was flip the burger.

The burger is fragmenting,

disintegrating under my watch here.

OK, so you definitely do not want me

working the burger cooker, really, do you?

You want a proper professional in here.

I should get out of the way!

I return, sir, to you...

-HE LAUGHS

-..your La Pachanga hat!

So can you imagine yourself in five or ten years

becoming the McDonald's of Cuba,

with La Pachanga branches across the country?

Is that the ultimate aim? Is that the goal?

THEY LAUGH

Wow!

Gracias!

Thank you, Sergio. Let's give it a try.

Look at the size of this.

Excuse me. There's no delicate way of doing this.

I'm not really a burger fan, but this is good.

It's a tasty, meaty meal of a burger.

This place really does surprise me,

not least because we have to keep remembering

that until very recently, this was a fully communist state

with a really quite authoritarian government.

I'm amazed at how quickly people have embraced the changes.

It's all going surprisingly well.

HE PLAYS TRADITIONAL CUBAN SONG

Castro's mantra for Cuba was, "Socialism or death,"

and for most Cubans, socialism's all they've ever known.

But even the Cuban government has had to acknowledge

the need for urgent change.

They think they can allow just a bit of capitalism into Cuba,

using it to generate tax revenues

that will preserve the best aspects of the socialist legacy.

But it seems to me the genie is already out of the bottle.

Embracing capitalism will set in train

an unstoppable momentum for change.

It won't be long before the new middle classes

start demanding greater personal freedoms,

questioning authority,

even calling for democracy and the end of one party rule.

Cuba is now experiencing its second revolution

and I think the impact will prove as monumental as the first.

I suspect this really was my last chance to see Castro's Cuba.

HE SINGS TRADITIONAL SONG

Hasta la victoria, siempre!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd