STORY: :: Cubans swelter in the dark as a power outage hits across much of the country:: August 22, 2024:: Cardenas, Cuba:: "We are already used, as Cubans, to live like this, laughing peacefully, with or without electricity."The state-run power company said breakdowns had forced six plants off-line on the outdated and poorly maintained grid.On Thursday evening there was no power in Matanzas province just east of Havana, except at the famed Varadero tourism resort and key institutions such as hospitals, according to local social media reports and Reuters witnesses.Residents appeared resigned to their fate and would not provide last names as they sought fresh air on the darkened streets of the town of Santa Marta in Cardenas municipality.