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Media smugglers get Taylor Swift, Game of Thrones, and the New York Times to Cubans every week through an illegal network of runners.
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http://goo.gl/0bsAjO In Cuba there is barely any internet. Anything but the state-run TV channels is prohibited. Publications are limited to the state-approved newspapers and magazines. This is the law. But, in typical Cuban fashion, the law doesn't stop a vast underground system of entertainment and news media distributors and consumers.
"El Paquete Semanal" (The Weekly Package) is a weekly trove of digital content—everything from American movies to PDFs of Spanish newspapers—that is gathered, organized and transferred by a human web of runners and dealers to the entire country. It is a prodigious and profitable operation.
I went behind the scenes in Havana to film how the Paquete works. Check out the video above to see how Cubans bypass censorship to access the media we take for granted.
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10 Comments
lucky760Fascinating stuff.
*promote
siftbotPromoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015 4:13am PDT - promote requested by lucky760.
antYep. We should send them downloaded VS videos too.
Wow, they have fancy setups. I thought Cubans were poor.
Fascinating stuff.
*promote
lucky760They are, except for the kingpins.
Wow, they have fancy setups. I thought Cubans were poor.
antBut how are regular people watching like those HD videos?
They are, except for the kingpins.
lucky760Valid point.
I was wondering about them having computers in general. From other recent short documentaries I've seen, everyone there's been jerry-rigging all their mechanical stuff for the last 50 years. If they can get computers, why can't they get other things?
huh.
But how are regular people watching like those HD videos?
bobknight33Or they can overthrow their communist government and let free markets give them everything they want.
notarobotThat was really interesting.
Janussays...I'm surprised how many of them were willing to show their faces. I doubt their government is as technology-deprived as the rest of the population.
Bruti79says...Cuba is one of my favourite places to travel to. If you ever get the chance to (and the US will get it very soon,) I recommend going. Go off the resorts, talk and meet with everyone.
As for computers, technology and the ilk, there is a black market for it. A lot of tourists have deals set up where they bring in tablets, phones, clothing for people and get paid well for it.
I was talking to one of the guides from Moron (yes, actually named that.) They said aside from drugs, the second highest black market industry is high fashion. They essentially see what the tourists are wearing, and then they try and copy, hand make, bargain for the same clothes. Tech works the same way, they see the cameras, phones, tablets, and either cobble together something from parts they have around, or they make a deal.
It's a really rad place, food, dancing, people, if you get a chance to go, go. You will love it. =)
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