The myth that Cuban women will sleep with you for trinkets, is one that keeps circulating on the internet. And it leads to people frequently sending me weird WhatsApp messages, asking what they should ‘bring to Cuba’ as ‘gifts for Cuban women’.
What you should bring to Cuba is easy. I’ve written about it before. You should arrive in Cuba with the medications outlined in this article. But if you’re just chasing hookers, you should bring cash. And lots of it. Because the Cuban ladies don’t want your ‘gifts’.
Here’s what you need to know about gifts for Cuban women. So people will stop sending messages, asking what they should bring to try and buy themselves a girlfriend.
Gifts For Cuban Women
Will Cuban Women Sleep With You For Gifts?
This is a persistent myth on the internet, that refuses to fade away. Cuban women won’t sleep with you for t-shirts, small makeup items or any other random junk, that you’ve brought as ‘lady gifts’.
What all Cubans, male and female, both need and want, is hard currency. They want foreign currency that holds its value. And not the local funny money that decreases in value daily.
If you gift random junk to a Cuban, any Cuban whether they be a sex worker or not, they will need to sell it. And that takes time and energy. Time and energy that could be better spent lining up for the items that they really need.
If you’re looking to bring gifts for Cuban women, whom you just want to sleep with, you should bring foreign currency cash. And lot’s of it. That is, unless they’re your wife, girlfriend, a particular woman you want to date or a close friend. Only if you have a pre-established connection to the particular individual, should you bring gifts.
Example Gifts For Cuban Women Who Are Friends
I’m friends with a lot of Cuban women. Some are former housekeepers and others are just women I met during my time in Cuba. One is a former Airbnb host, whom I had a crush on and was casually dating.
I take gifts for some of these ladies, with me to Cuba. For those Cuban women who are just friends I met during my time in Cuba, I don’t take anything unless there’s a specific item that they need and can’t get. And then I take it to Cuba for them, just to help them out.
For my former housekeepers, I take small gifts for their kids. Like band t-shirts that are rare in Cuba. And for them, I take cash and perfume. Perfume because it’s something nice they can keep for themselves. And cash, because they can use it to get the things that they really need.
Now, housekeepers will press for clothing items to be left behind when you leave. But that’s not because they want those items for themselves, or their loved ones. It’s so they can sell those items at weekend markets for cash.
Personally, I find the idea of an old lady spending her weekend trying to sell my used underwear, somewhat creepy. So I gift them cash. It saves them from wasting their weekends and it allows them to go straight out and buy the things that they need.
On one trip, I bought my housekeeper a horse, because hers had died and that was what she was saving for. Cuban’s are always saving money for something that they need. So find out what they’re saving money for. And contribute directly towards that thing they need, with cash. Don’t give them old junk that they then need to sell.
Example Gifts For Cuban Women Who You’re Dating (Or Trying To Date)
As against friends and housekeepers, I have taken perfume, makeup items and random things for the girl I was casually dating. Along with harnesses and other items for her beloved dogs. The good normal girls, who aren’t sex workers, don’t need to be gifted money. Just normal items you’d give your crush in any other country.
And in point of fact, if you did just turn up in Cuba to see your crush with some money and no gifts, she’s going to think that you believe she’s a hooker. At which point, you’ll get to see just how fiery and angry a Cuban lady can be.
Unlike cash, taking some nice perfume, wine, chocolates or flowers as a gift for someone you care about in Cuba, would generally be well received. Along with anything that says you’ve been thinking about them, care about them, or that compliments their style.
Don’t give your wife, girlfriend, significant other or crush, cash. Get them something nice that says you care about them. Otherwise, you’re going to be in the doghouse or dumped.
What To Give Jineteras And Prostitutes?
These types of ladies are only after one thing, money. Jineteras are just ‘gold diggers’, by any other name. I’d strongly suggest avoiding them, but to each his own. Give a jinetera whatever you’d normally gift to a gold digger. But be warned, if your contribution is a small makeup kit or a H&M tee, you’re either going to be in the dog house, or dumped.
Cuban ‘gold diggers‘ want cash, jewelry and luxury brands. Bringing an H&M tee or some other cheap item that isn’t Gucci, Versace, Armani, another luxury branded item or a tech gadget, like the latest iPhone, is going to get you dumped.
Prostitutes in Cuba are different to Jineteras (gold diggers). Prostitutes just want cash. These ladies are from the lowest rungs, of Cuba’s socioeconomic ladder. And they’re sleeping with you out of desperation.
Prostitutes need cash. And in fact, they’re not going home with you unless you’ve got cash to pay them. If you don’t give them cash, but instead try to pay them with a cheap makeup kit or a H&M tee, you’ll likely meet their pimp. And yes, these ladies do have pimps, who will get the cash from you if you don’t pay up.
Where Can I Get More Information About Cuba?
I’ve made my Complete Guide To Traveling Cuba available on this website. And I recommend you read it, before traveling to Cuba. It will help you navigate Cuba and Cuban society.
My Cuba travel guide will save you a lot of time and money on your next trip to Cuba. Cuba is not the sort of destination in which you can arrive unprepared. Read the most complete Cuba Travel Guide.
