For Marylín Álvarez and her family, like countless other Cubans, the question is no longer if the power will go out, but when — forcing them to implement ingenious alternatives to sustain daily life as the island undergoes its most severe energy crisis in decades. “The blackouts are quite severe and, with gas in short supply, I have to be running around to get food on time," said Álvarez, a 50-year-old cosmetologist living with her husband and two teenage daughters in the populous Bahía neighborhood in Havana. Álvarez's husband, Ángel Rodríguez, an auto mechanic, found a way for the family to catch up on their beloved telenovelas even during blackouts.