Cuba fashion show small step for private business

(23 Nov 2019) CUBA FASHION SHOW SMALL STEP FOR PRIVATE BUSINESS

Thousands of young Cubans packed a Havana sports arena Friday night to witness a small step forward in the tumultuous relationship between one of the world's last communist states and its small but vibrant private sector.

The four-year-old fashion label Clandestina debuted a new collection, based on Cuba's legacy of international athletic achievement, in the Ramón Fonst arena in Havana's Revolution Plaza, home to the most powerful Cuban state institutions.

Runway models included stars from the glory days of Cuban amateur sports, including world record high jumper Javier Sotomayor, Olympic champion runner Ana Fidelia Quirot and Regla Torres, considered by many to be the best female volleyball player in history.

The Cuban private sector is legal but highly restricted by Cuban law, thickets of bureaucracy and official views of private enterprise as either a necessary evil, potential threat to the socialist system, or both.

Despite that, Clandestina was able to win permission to debut its 2020 "Glories of Sports" collection in the 4,000-seat Fonst arena with the participation of athletes seen as national heroes, in a sign that at least some members of Cuban officialdom are increasingly accepting the legitimacy of private enterprise.

The Clandestina collection's theme appeared wisely chosen - pride in the nation's sports glory is shared by virtually all Cubans regardless of their political beliefs.



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