HAVANA (AP) — Every morning Odalys de la Caridad Lara Reyes gets to work and starts to read out loud. Usually, it’s a novel. Lately, it’s just been the news. She’s one of a small band of tobacco factory readers — a job that has become a unique part of Cuba’s culture. Historians say the practice dates to about 1865, when workers at the El Fígaro factory picked a colleague to read to them as they rolled. Despite initial resistance from factory owners, the practice spread. Today the readers are on state factory payrolls and the job’s considered a national treasure.
