The relationship between emigration and food in Cuba

Abstract

This research report aims to share the perception of the relationship between emigration and food acquired through direct observation in Cuba, a perception made possible thanks to a sandwich doctorate program. The period covered in this report is from October 2023 to July 2024, focusing on the municipality and province of Guantánamo, as a result of the elaboration of a previously initiated thesis on the agrarian issue, security and food sovereignty in the province. The rewarding coexistence with Cuban citizens, as well as the interviews conducted to consolidate the aforementioned thesis and the observation of daily life, in addition to photos shared by friends and family of the residents, made it possible to approach the research theme with the participation of emigrants in sending remittances and food in kind to relatives on the Island, together with narratives that develop regarding food. Based on this, it was possible to observe that: a) households that have family members living abroad have greater access to food, obtained through sending money or food modules; b) such households can also be configured as points of sale for food purchased with money from family members abroad or by the modules; and c) with regard to the narratives linked to the food consumption of emigrants, the possible or apparent increase in their weight is seen as an indication of an improvement in their quality of life.