Inside Airbnb's Cuba

Like most Cubans, Alejandro Portieles spent much of his life in government jobs. He started as a veterinarian, crisscrossing the island’s ruddy roads to tend to cows, horses and other animals at government farms. He later became an administrator for the government’s food services overseeing restaurants and cafeterias in various localities. He rose through the ranks and a few years ago, he was asked to take over the running of food service operations in Old Havana, the historic center of the ...