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The Cuban capital is seeing a boom in stylish, privately run bars and clubs, the latest manifestation of president Raul Castro's economic reforms which aim to inject life into the country's moribund economy by permitting some private-sector activity.

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In this March 15, 2014 photo, people wait to access the government club Cafe Amor in Havana, Cuba. Along the Malecon seafront boulevard, working-class Cubans still gather by the thousands on weekends to sip from 90-cent cardboard boxes of rum.Franklin Reyes/The Associated Press

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In this March 15, 2014 photo, people attend the private club Cafe Madrigal in Havana, Cuba. The Cuban capital is seeing a boom in stylish, privately run bars and clubs, the latest manifestation of president Raul Castro's economic reforms which aim to inject life into the country's moribund economy by permitting some private-sector activity.Franklin Reyes/The Associated Press

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In this March 15, 2014 photo, a poster that reads ins Spanish "Havana of my heart", hangs on the wall of private club Cafe Madrigal in Havana, Cuba.Franklin Reyes/The Associated Press

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In this March 20, 2014 photo, musicians play guitar on the Malecon in Havana, Cuba. Cuba is still far from a consumer’s paradise. Nonetheless, there are more things here every day to spend money on, from home improvements and beach vacations to the hordes of smartphones and Xboxes imported for resale by islanders who are travelling abroad in record numbers.Franklin Reyes/The Associated Press

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In this March 15, 2014 photo, girls pose for a photo on the Malecon in Havana, Cuba. Foreigners visiting and living in Cuba have long been able to afford such luxuries. So have Cubans who work for foreign companies or embassies that pay hard-currency salaries competitive with elsewhere in Latin America.Franklin Reyes/The Associated Press

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In this March 15, 2014 photo, people gather along the Malecon in Havana, Cuba.Franklin Reyes/The Associated Press

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In this March 15, 2014 photo, a man pushes a cart with soda bottles in the Malecon in Havana, Cuba.Franklin Reyes/The Associated Press

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