Yaminalina

Rum. Tobacco. Women. Only sin pays in Cuba.Yaminalina (Yami), comes of age in Cuba during one of the island's most challenging times, the "Special Period." After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989, Cuba descended into levels of poverty and isolation never seen before. The United States responded by tightening the embargo, hoping to provoke a hunger rebellion. At the worst possible moment, a series of storms battered the island, destroying buildings, crops, and livestock. To prevent the total collapse of the economy, Castro legalized the dollar, creating a contradictory monetary system in which salaries were paid in pesos, but everything worth buying was sold in dollars. Under these conditions, sex tourism flourished, giving rise to the women known as jineteras. Yami embodies these women: young, bright, talented, cultured, and desperate.With the perspective afforded by distance and time, Yami recounts her formative years, tracing her journey from an idealistic young woman yearning for a career, love, and family, to a shrewd businesswoman who comes to understand that female beauty is simply another perishable commodity in Castro's dystopia.