The atmosphere is electric and the music is very loud. Everyone knows it and wants to know – both in Havana and outside of Cuba – the coordinates of the most exclusive bar in Cuba: Mío y Tuyo. Prostitution, drugs, the best alcohol and the best tobacco; Multiple rumors weigh on the administration of the premises. Its owner, Elio Ahumada, is said to be a close friend of Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, alias The crab, Raúl Castro’s bodyguard grandson. Supposedly shielded by the regime, Ahumada has a motto on social networks: “Speak, comment, defame.” Gossip can only give publicity.
Located in Miramar, on streets 5B and 42 in the municipality of Playa, the white fence of Mío y Tuyo, in addition to the security personnel guarding it, makes one thing clear: not just anyone enters. It is common to say that only the “beautiful people” go to the bar – with the intention of spending “the best nights in Havana”, but also the wealthiest, those who dress best and those who have the most contacts, in addition to having with transportation to return home at dawn.
Behind the bar, with dark glasses and a cocktail shaker in hand, the bartender prepares each customer’s favorite drink. There are some known as the mojito or elaborate as a climbing coyote. There are no limits, and the radiant bottles behind him attest: whiskey, Johnnie Walker – blue label, one of the most expensive –, Ballantine’s and Chivas Regal; of vodka, Gray Goose Magnum and Belvedere; of rum, wonders from one shore and another.
Those who prefer to smoke have a special patio and comfortable benches. There are also three exclusive –VIP– areas: to the left and right of the entrance door, and another at the back of the room. They got drunk at those tables, as the Instagram from Ahumada, from Rihanna to Gente de Zona, from Alexander Abreu to Isaac Delgado and Paulo FG. He also often sees Sandro Castro, grandson of Fidel Castro. From time to time, the security guards let in a “poor guy”: it is a strategy, some say, so that no one accuses its owner of practicing the apartheid social.
What is the secret of Mine and Yours? What guarantees its continuous supply, its survival as a business, in the midst of a devastating economic crisis? Who protects Elio Ahumada? The “friend” at the top who is most frequently pointed out is the famous grandson, who has been photographed more than once in the bar in the company of several young women. However, nothing – except the establishment’s full operation – allows us to demonstrate the link.
“Elio is a personal friend of El Cangrejo,” he tells 14 intervene Omar, a former security employee of Mío y Tuyo. “He earns his share of money in exchange for sponsoring the place. He enjoys an open bar and all the services they provide are free, in addition to being able to organize private parties.” For Omar, the strategy is clear: “El Cangrejo is the real owner, Elio is just a facade.”
Mary, a young woman who used to work cleaning the bar, assures that there are “dirty businesses” of the regime for which the establishment serves as a cover. “On more than one occasion I saw people using cocaine in the bathrooms,” she says. “When I reported the situation to management, they turned a deaf ear for a while. Shortly after, Elio himself told me that he would be terminating my services.”
Added to the alleged drug sales and consumption businesses, according to an observation at the scene and comments from former employees, is an orderly system of prostitution.
In addition to the alleged drug sales and consumption businesses, according to an observation at the scene and comments from former employees, there is an orderly system of prostitution. The young women barricade themselves in the VIP areas and wait for the arrival of potential clients: foreign businessmen, wealthy Cubans and members of the leadership who also usually take pictures with several women.
The Tuyo y Mío riders have free entry and a well-defined “space” in the room. When they manage to “hook” a client – whom they monitor and select from the VIP platforms – they take him to the dance floor. Although they often go in groups – in case the client can pay for an orgy – there are also “independent” ones, who must then deliver a commission to the administrators.
Security guards preserve order between the bar “girls” and the “independents.” There cannot be any conflict in the facilities and that is why who enters and who stays out is chosen with such scruple. No one knows who may be watching behind the surveillance cameras. After all, as another “motto” of Elio Ahumada says – which seems like a private joke to please his “friends” – the luxurious bar is “more yours than mine.”
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