Over the years, buying and selling en la calle—in the street—has been practiced by generations of Cubans trying to make ends meet. Many of the goods sold on the vast black market come from government stores or from abroad. Now they can be sold via internet on Revolico.com, a fascinating development in a country where regular web access is rare and frustratingly slow. Incredibly, the site claims to be among the top three most-visited websites in Cuba.
Some of the ads are for items like cars, housing, computers and household wares. Others are bound to attract attention from authorities: users make offers to arrange fraudulent marriages as a means for leaving the island.
Of course, since the site lacks the Cuban “.cu” domain extension, it must not be hosted by any server on the island. So it is probably only a matter of time before access to the site is blocked by state authorities that attempt to curtail the black market in Cuba. But in the meantime, one can pick up this set of car doors:
Or this Ford 54:
Both are available from local Havana residents on Revolico.com.
