Fidel Castro had a vision of a state-run ice cream parlour that would serve a minimum of 32 flavours. In 1959, Coppelia (the word means "ice cream parlour") replaced all the privately run ice cream shops. Ice cream is not just for the elite, Castro said.

Today, it's estimated that Coppelia serves 25,000 customers daily who, on average, wait two hours just for a few scoops." It is just the best strawberry ice cream. I come all the time and I even take some home," says one local, with her plastic container in hand that will soon be filled with all the ice cream she can fit in it.

A local doctor is willing to wait up to five hours for Coppelia's frozen fare. He makes a point of coming for ice cream at least once a week. "Ice cream is just a part of Cuban culture. We love it," he says. "And everyone deserves to enjoy it."

"Eating ice cream is a luxury," says Alexander Rodriguez, another customer. "Why not wait for it? And it is cheap." Cheap it is. At the low price of five pesos a scoop, ice cream is affordable. That's how Castro wanted it and as a result, ice cream has become a sign of the revolution. It represents what Cubans were promised - goods and services that would be distributed equally amongst the people of Cuba. 

Ninety-six per cent of people in the country can read and they can all afford to have ice cream for dessert.