Name/Title
Die, cast plastic, artisanal productionEntry/Object ID
2025.1.417Description
Small cube, cream to pale tan, with a form noticeably out of true. Surface matte and irregular, with fine streaking, small voids, and scattered dark inclusions consistent with recycled or low-grade plastic stock.Use
Used for cubilete game.Context
Merolicos were itinerant vendors who sold goods made rudimentarily in clandestine workshops — generally consumer goods hard to obtain through the state market. Their semi-artisanal methods and poor-quality raw materials, without adequate technology, gave the products a crude, botched appearance. The term itself derives from the Mexican telenovela Gotita de gente, produced in 1978 and screened in Cuba in the 1980s, though the practice long predates it.
The object is therefore evidence of informal manufacture filling gaps in state distribution.Collection
The Cabrera Arús family collectionMaterials
Material
PlasticMaterial Notes
Plastic, cast or molded (collection owner). ⚠️ Polymer unidentified. Pigment: red and brownish-black colorant of unknown composition, applied into the cut recesses.Relationships
Related Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
useCreated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
August 28, 2026Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
August 28, 2026