Macheteros

The term "companero" is generally regarded much like "comrade" in the soviet era. These guys are really macheteros. They are getting the sugar cane they have cut weighed. It is mindboggling to see the old antiquated equipment and ox drawn wagons that are still being used in the small sugar industry that persists in Cuba. This timeless scene was photographed on the road to Viñales. This is hot, back breaking manual labor that only a few still perform. The zafra or sugar harvest has been the topic of both books and movies. The last time I was at Centrale Australia, the sugar refinery at the turn from the main highway toward Playa Giron, the were dismantling the large plant. I tried to take some pictures, but was chased away by a couple of security guards. When asked why I couldn't make some photos, they answered "It's part of the economy, top secret." I accepted that as part of the natural Cuban paranoia. It never occurred to me that they might have WMDs hidden in there.