(10 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Havana, Cuba – 4 July 2025
1. Woman with long nails on the cellphone
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Havana, Cuba – 27 June 2025
2. Various of Manicurist Marisel Dárias working
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marisel Dárias, manicurist:
“Cuban women are extremely high maintenence, they may lack food but their nails, hair, eyelashes, and feet, they always have to be well groomed. I always have clients.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Havana, Cuba – 5 July 2025
4. Sisters with long nails cooking
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Miralys Maura Cruz, state company worker:
“Without my nails, I’m nobody; it feels like I’m not myself. It is a strain, but I try (to have them) even though I know they are not cheap, and nails are a luxury, it’s my favourite luxury.”
6. Yalema González peeling vegetables
7. Miralys Maura Cruz chopping an onion
8. Yalema González collecting clothes from the clothesline
STORYLINE:
A deepening economic crisis makes almost every aspect of life in Cuba challenging for the population; long lines for buses, power outages and shortages are part of everyday life on the island.
But Cuban women will do everything they can to look their best no matter what, and the fashion of extremely long and highly decorated fingernails has become a must for those willing and able to spend the time and money.
While over-the-top nail designs have long been common elsewhere, in Cuba they stand out because most Cubans have little disposable income and procuring the embellishments isn’t easy.
And for those who have mastered the work, whether from online video tutorials or visiting manicurists from other countries, extravagant nails have become an important source of income in Cuba’s limited private economy.
Recently, Cuban manicurist Marisel Dárias Valdés spent nearly six hours applying and decorating the acrylic extensions for a client.
She set up a nail salon at her home in Havana, where she displays the specialized, imported products that are expensive and very difficult to obtain in the city.
There is no official figure on the number of these specialized businesses, but since the pandemic, these small private spaces have flourished, and some have turned it into an art form.
Each client agrees with their manicurist on the cost of the service, which can range from $10 to $40. That’s a lot of money in a country where a monthly state salary is around 5,000 Cuban pesos (about $13), although many families rely on remittances from relatives abroad and state subsidies.
The materials are brought into Cuba from the United States or Panama by the manicurists themselves or relatives, or they are bought from resellers in Cuba.
A small bottle of professional nail polish alone can cost $15.
Miralys Maura Cruz, and her sister go about their daily domestic chores with surprising agility, despite their crystal-adorned 2-inch nails.
“Without my nails, I’m nobody, I know they are not cheap, and nails are a luxury, it’s my luxury,” said Cruz.
AP Video shot by Ariel Fernández and Milexsy Durán
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