Letztes Update: 4. March 2019
In Cuba people queue differently – you can even leave the line!
Dear Cuba lovers!
Here is a little tip for your Cuba trip, a special feature you should know about, if you don’t want to attract attention.
The English are queuing up when getting on the bus and also the Cubans have their peculiarity when queuing, which we should consider as tourists!
Of course there are many lines in Cuba, from the queue at the telephone card shop to the bank to the bodega, that’s why Cubans are experienced queuers! This is probably the reason why a peculiarity has developed in Cuba: “Departed? Place gone!” does not apply to Cubans. At each queue you ask: “quién es el último” – who is the last one – and then remember his position.
Of course, no Cuban says “Quien es el ùltimo”, only “El último” or “Último” – Cubans save words 😉
Whether you keep standing in line is not so important anymore, meaning: you can even leave the line! But don’t exaggerate, just sit on a nearby stone or stand in the shadows and wait from there, it will work.
So if you see a line somewhere in Cuba where you want to do something, ATM, for the bus, whatever, ask “El último?” – and the one in front of you will rase his hand. Then, of course, the ones that come after you, again ask who the last one is – just raise your hand, then everything has its order 🙂
Do you have some personal queuing experiences or nice pictures with long lines? As you can see in this article, I didn’t find any good ones in my archive 😉
Greetings from warm Cuba cold Germany
Dietmar
PS: a short note! One notices that the wind in Cuba is now blowing colder and social institutions such as social queuing are dissolving. More and more newcomers think they don’t need to stand in line – so be careful, there are more and more tailgaters!
PPS: The professional, queuing experienced Cuban will also look who is in front of the last one, so if the person waiting in front him leaves, he already knows his new position – but that requires a good knowledge of Spanish 😉
