Sawt Falasteen - After rocky road, Havana's 'Cathedral of Ice Cream' back in from the cold

Now reopened, it boasts not only new flavors, but also an updated price list that -- despite a 60-percent government subsidy -- may freeze out many clients in a country where the average monthly salary is just over $40.

A mainstay for locals since opening its doors in 1966, Coppelia became internationally known after featuring in the 1993 film "Strawberry and Chocolate" -- the first Cuban film ever nominated for an Oscar.

With capacity for 547 patrons, the sprawling, modernist building surrounded by lush vegetation has for decades drawn long lines of customers in a country with a well-documented love for ice cream.

The store was a project of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, himself a big fan of a sweet scoop and determined not to be deprived by the US trade embargo imposed on the communist island in 1962.

Coppelia originally boasted a menu with 26 ice cream flavors from its inception until Cuba's economic crisis in the 1990s that was triggered by the collapse of the Soviet bloc -- a key ally and financial backer.

In recent years, production costs boosted by skyrocketing prices of agricultural goods have started outpacing sales income, Coppelia boss Jose Antonio Gonzalez, 61, told AFP, who also blamed a rise in private competition.

Cuba has allowed private small- and medium-sized enterprises to operate on the island since 2021, after a near six-decade ban in favor of state-owned enterprises such as Coppelia.

Then in November, the parlor announced it was closing temporarily, to widespread frustration from long-suffering Cubans.

"We didn't close due to a lack of ice cream" but rather to "correct" the pricing, Gonzalez said.

By the time it closed, Coppelia could only offer a single ice cream flavor.

It now has eight since reopening on February 5.

"Coppelia opened, what a joy for all the people who live here!" celebrated 82-year-old Havana resident Victor Montoya.

Mijail Morales, 47, said he was also pleased, although "with this increase in prices, I don't think that the average Havanan will be able to go as regularly as they did before."

Moreover, he complained that "it does not have the taste of the Coppelia ice cream of five months ago, never mind the ice cream of 10, 15, 20 years ago."

- 'It's expensive' -

At Sabor Cid, a private ice cream shop that opened around the corner from Coppelia in May, customer Erena Cobo, a 57-year-old state employee, praised the "exquisite" offering.

But at more than $3 for a single scoop of one of its 24 flavors, "it's expensive. It cannot be compared with the prices at Coppelia."

Co-owner Jhendry Garcia explained the price was determined by the import costs and an unreliable foreign currency exchange rate.

For Gonzalez, private shops will always find it hard to compete with Coppelia due to its subsidized prices, central location, expansive floor area and sales volumes of 1,200 10-liter (2.6-gallon) tubs per day.

"It's not called the Cathedral of Ice Cream for nothing!"

Cuba is battling its worst economic crisis in 30 years with frequent electricity blackouts, rampant inflation -- especially on food -- and shortages of medicine, fuel and other essentials.

F.AbuShamala--SF-PST