#ingenious
Today I’m very pleased to introduce you to Lazaro, my favorite Cuban handyman!
More than an electrician, Lazaro could be a plumber, a mechanic, a gardener, a cooker, etc.. He is always here to help in the resolution of difficult situations, always here to find a solution!
I have always been impressed by this kind of people. And what a pleasure to know one of them here in Cuba!
How did they learn all these skills? Why is my generation not like this? Let’s ask Lazaro!
- First, when I was a child, he said, I didn’t see anyone in my house, I mean any specialist, fixing anything. I always saw my dad or my grandfather repairing all kind of things like lamps, toilets, the roof, a car but also jewelry, shoes and so on. They had tools for everything! It was very impressive and I wanted to understand: how did they do? So when someone was repairing something I was trying to be next to him in order to see him, to learn and to be able to do this by myself for the next time.
- Not everything is perfect in my work! I remember once, a friend didn’t have hot water. He called a specialist who wasn’t available for the next three days. I decided to help him and I arranged the problem as best as I could. I succeeded, it was working and I was very proud of me! But the day after he called me telling me that his house was totally flooded!!! I was so confused… Why could I say? He laughed. We learn a lot from our mistakes!
- In Cuba when you need a tool or something it’s sometimes difficult to find it or it could be very expensive just for a stupid piece of plastic! My dad created the missing items and he transmitted me his talent! And I still call him when I have a doubt. In Cuba, we transfer this kind of skills from generation to generation. That is probably the reason why we always have 50’s vintage car! He laughed.
- Do you want me to tell you the secret to be able to fix everything? Keeping a substantial stock of a thousand things.
Lazaro stopped speaking and he went to the little room behind the kitchen. He started opening the cupboards to take out things. He opened a cigar box full of screws, nails, washers, staples, anchors, wires and so on.
Then he opened a cardboard where there were ten different shower tubes and another one with ten different kind of plastic bottles.
- People often make fun of me when they see all that I keep but they are quite happy when I repair something in 2 minutes! He said.
- So, I’m not a specialist in anything, he continued. Being handyman is just a state of mind. Well, I guess my studies helped me too. I’m a civil and industrial engineer and I also studied in the construction sector and my father was a mechanic.
- I’m a little bit disappointed by the new generation. People are less and less able to do something with their own hands! I really want to transmit this spirit to my two sons. Sometimes they want me to show them how I work, sometimes not. They prefer watching a football game or playing with their phone. They don’t pay attention to what I’m doing and saying.
So, as you probably understood, we have a lot to learn from the old generation: take care of your shower tube, screws, nails, and staples! It could be useful one day! ;)
And if you are now looking for something impossible to find in Havana, what do you have to do? Keep Calm & Call Lazaro!
Thank you very much for this interview Lazaro, really ingenious and creative!
Clémence.
