La Libreta - The Ration Book for Cubans
La Libreta
Dia de inicio 19 de marzo del 1962 – First Day of use.
There has been talk since 2009 to get rid of “La Libreta” as it is used in present day form. To this day it still exists in some form like it did 50 years ago with a few exceptions which I will mention below.
Prices on “La Libreta” are subsidized prices set by the government which have not changed much since 1962, which is also the reason the average wages of a worker have not changed either. In “La Libreta” each page represents a month and as you present your booklet, the grocer marks down which items you have purchased and what quantities. So, don’t lose or forget “La Libreta”, you will not be able to buy your allotment.
“La Libreta” also had in its inception tear off coupons for such items as clothing, shoes and needed home products and toys.
As my mother recollects the food that Cubans were able to buy with “La Libreta” lasted just two to three weeks instead of the month it was supposed to last. As I go down “La Libreta”, and see the foods available I am able to tell you her memory of each item.
Meat – three quarters of a pound (12 oz) per week per person, but that included fat and bone with the piece of meat, my father Armando was working at the sugar cane fields, so his ration was cut off. Next time you go to the grocery store, check the weight of what you are having in one meal.
Chicken – one per month, per child, from what my mother tells me she has never seen a chicken that small in the USA.
Rice - 6 lbs. per person per month
Chicharos ( Peas) - 2 lbs per person per month , she would have to boil them for hours so they would soften up, they had no flavor because there were not any spices for them, and she does not eat peas to this date because they remind her of the peas she had to cook in Cuba.
Sugar – there was plenty as Cuba was the leading sugar producer in the world for many years.
Milk – Children up to the age of six years old are allowed one liter of milk per day and after their six birthday you would lose the milk and get 6 cans of condensed milk per month as are the elderly, the ill and pregnant women. The liter of milk per child sounds like a lot but it was actually Russian powder milk mixed with water in Cuba and bottled, the milk had to be boiled to be able to drink it, then the problem was that once they boiled the milk the pan would be burned, so to wash the pan my mother kept a supply of sand from the nearby park to be able to scrub the pots.
Compotas - Baby food in a jar was rare ( apple, prune) each child was allowed a few, but they were seldom available to buy. The way many families beat the system of having food for their babies was to go to the doctor and telling him their child had diarrhea for a few days, so they would have a prescribed note to go to a special government office called “oficoda” and they would sell them platanos y malangas, The doctors knew the scam, and would be helpful as long as they did not over do it.
Toothpaste – a small tube for the family for the month, it never lasted more than a week and after that you would brush your teeth with just the brush. My mother remembers having a dentist appointment and having to go to a neighbors house and begging to just scrape their toothpaste over her brush so her breath would smell like she had just brushed her teeth prior to the dentist visit.
Coffee was 3 oz. per person per week, she would send my father a little at the Agricultural Center, my grandmother drank a little, but because the children did not drink coffee, my mother was able to trade the extra coffee with a neighbor for condensed milk that would last a few extra days.
Laundry soap – like other products, they did not last the month, my mother would have to scrub the clothes with a brush and water until she felt it was clean.
Soap – A very bad soap made of “Cebo” animal fat –which lasted just about a week instead of the rationed month.
Clothing – One pair of pants/shorts, one shirt per school year, mandated to wear uniform to school. Regular clothing, one pair of pants one shirt and one pair of shoes per year. My mother Adelfa tells me that she always had to buy the shoes big so they would fit for the year, she tells me that our last year in Cuba I actually wore girls shoes to school because mine did not fit anymore and were torn up.
Dia de inicio 19 de marzo del 1962 – First Day of use.
There has been talk since 2009 to get rid of “La Libreta” as it is used in present day form. To this day it still exists in some form like it did 50 years ago with a few exceptions which I will mention below.
Prices on “La Libreta” are subsidized prices set by the government which have not changed much since 1962, which is also the reason the average wages of a worker have not changed either. In “La Libreta” each page represents a month and as you present your booklet, the grocer marks down which items you have purchased and what quantities. So, don’t lose or forget “La Libreta”, you will not be able to buy your allotment.
“La Libreta” also had in its inception tear off coupons for such items as clothing, shoes and needed home products and toys.
As my mother recollects the food that Cubans were able to buy with “La Libreta” lasted just two to three weeks instead of the month it was supposed to last. As I go down “La Libreta”, and see the foods available I am able to tell you her memory of each item.
Meat – three quarters of a pound (12 oz) per week per person, but that included fat and bone with the piece of meat, my father Armando was working at the sugar cane fields, so his ration was cut off. Next time you go to the grocery store, check the weight of what you are having in one meal.
Chicken – one per month, per child, from what my mother tells me she has never seen a chicken that small in the USA.
Rice - 6 lbs. per person per month
Chicharos ( Peas) - 2 lbs per person per month , she would have to boil them for hours so they would soften up, they had no flavor because there were not any spices for them, and she does not eat peas to this date because they remind her of the peas she had to cook in Cuba.
Sugar – there was plenty as Cuba was the leading sugar producer in the world for many years.
Milk – Children up to the age of six years old are allowed one liter of milk per day and after their six birthday you would lose the milk and get 6 cans of condensed milk per month as are the elderly, the ill and pregnant women. The liter of milk per child sounds like a lot but it was actually Russian powder milk mixed with water in Cuba and bottled, the milk had to be boiled to be able to drink it, then the problem was that once they boiled the milk the pan would be burned, so to wash the pan my mother kept a supply of sand from the nearby park to be able to scrub the pots.
Compotas - Baby food in a jar was rare ( apple, prune) each child was allowed a few, but they were seldom available to buy. The way many families beat the system of having food for their babies was to go to the doctor and telling him their child had diarrhea for a few days, so they would have a prescribed note to go to a special government office called “oficoda” and they would sell them platanos y malangas, The doctors knew the scam, and would be helpful as long as they did not over do it.
Toothpaste – a small tube for the family for the month, it never lasted more than a week and after that you would brush your teeth with just the brush. My mother remembers having a dentist appointment and having to go to a neighbors house and begging to just scrape their toothpaste over her brush so her breath would smell like she had just brushed her teeth prior to the dentist visit.
Coffee was 3 oz. per person per week, she would send my father a little at the Agricultural Center, my grandmother drank a little, but because the children did not drink coffee, my mother was able to trade the extra coffee with a neighbor for condensed milk that would last a few extra days.
Laundry soap – like other products, they did not last the month, my mother would have to scrub the clothes with a brush and water until she felt it was clean.
Soap – A very bad soap made of “Cebo” animal fat –which lasted just about a week instead of the rationed month.
Clothing – One pair of pants/shorts, one shirt per school year, mandated to wear uniform to school. Regular clothing, one pair of pants one shirt and one pair of shoes per year. My mother Adelfa tells me that she always had to buy the shoes big so they would fit for the year, she tells me that our last year in Cuba I actually wore girls shoes to school because mine did not fit anymore and were torn up.