DescriptionPerga or “Carnaval” paper cup. Made in Cuba in the Perga factory. A conical wax-coated paper cup printed in orange and blue: a loose-limbed figure dancing, hair flying, holding a foaming drink, confetti scattered around it. This and the other Perga came from my grandmother’s bookshelf, where they had been sitting behind a row of books, hidden and forgotten, for decades. She was a dirigente of the CDR on her block. CDR is the acronym of Comités de Defensa de la Revolución, a neighborhood watch organization created in 1960. The cups almost certainly came through the supplies the CDR received to organize neighborhood celebrations, such as street parties, local festivals, and possibly events tied to the XI World Festival of Youth and Students, held in Havana in 1978. Pergas were ubiquitously used for beer and malta sold in bulk, yet the origin of the name remains unclear.