When one thinks of latex condoms, usually the first thoughts you would have are “safe sex” and “stretchy balloon doppelganger”.
But for Cubans, condoms are not just something you use for STI protection. To them, a condom is the ultimate everyday multi-purpose tool.
Due to decades of US trade sanctions and a barely functional Soviet-style economy, basic goods are about as rare as rainbow unicorns on the island of Cuba and when goods do come in, they’re way too expensive for the average Cuban worker. Having said all that, there’s an almost comical oversupply of condoms and thanks to the government, they’re also mega cheap.
When all you have in your toolkit is a stack of stretchy latex balloons, you can either use them as originally intended or you can get mega creative like the Cubans. Due to the strength and stretchiness of latex condoms, Cubans have started using them for a variety of industrial and everyday applications.
Hairdressers use condoms as hairbands, concerts and children’s parties use them as balloons, and fishermen use them to make hook-carrying floats to catch fish. I can joke about condoms all day, but this level of ingenuity is actually super impressive.
But perhaps the singular, most interesting use for condoms in Cuba is making wine.
Some bloke owns a makeshift winery in his Havana and he makes wine by covering bottles of grape juice with condoms. Now this sounds like trying to mix water with oil, but according to the guy, the latex condom actually helps increase the alcohol percentage while improving the whole fermentation and wine making process.
Huh.
Excuse me, I have a few bottles of condom-infused wine to make.