Reporter's notebook: Salon Kardashian opens in Havana

Cuban entrepreneurs' market on U.S. influence

HAVANA – The popular reality TV show "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" documented the sisters' trip to Havana last year. 

Although the show doesn't air in Cuba, a business owner in Havana's El Vedado neighborhood named their beauty salon after the celebrity sisters. 

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The name recognition may be there. Cubans have access to American programming through the black market for "El Paquete," Spanish for the package of pirated entertainment delivered for a fee in a flash drive. 

The Cuban government controls the media, but with the help of the illegal service Cubans have had access to movies, reality TV shows, soap operas, music and news from the U.S. 

The U.S. embargo also hasn't prevented Apple from exerting their influence in Havana.

Near to the Salon Kardashian, a business offered to fix mobile phones put up a sign: "Adictos al iPhone," Spanish for addicted to iPhones. 

Local 10 News' Andrea Torres contributed to this report. 


About the Author

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, he covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba. 

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