The convertible peso (sometimes given as CUC$) (informally called a cuc or chavito), is one of two official currencies in Cuba, the other being the peso. It has been in limited use since 1994, when it was treated as equivalent to the U.S. dollar: its value was officially US$1.00. On 8 November 2004, the U.S. dollar ceased to be accepted in Cuban retail outlets leaving the convertible peso as the only currency in circulation in many Cuban businesses. Officially exchangeable only within the country, its value was increased to US$1.08 on 5 April 2008, and reverted to US$1.00 on 15 March 2011. The convertible peso is, by the pegged rate, the twelfth-highest-valued currency unit in the world and the highest valued "peso" unit.
On 22 October 2013 it was announced that the currency is to be scrapped by gradually unifying it with the lower-value Cuban peso.
From 1993 until 2004, the Cuban currency was split between the Cuban peso (the currency Cuban citizens are paid in and used for staples and non-luxury items) and the U.S. dollar in combination with the convertible peso, which was a foreign exchange certificate (in use since at least 1985) used for tourism and for luxury items. The Cuban peso (CUP) can be exchanged to the convertible peso (CUC) at the exchange offices (CADECA), at a fixed rate of 24 CUP to 1 CUC (sell) and 25 CUP to 1 CUC (buy); however, for state household book-keeping purposes, both pesos are valued at a 1:1 rate.
When we were young
When we were young, everything was so new,
We broke all the rules just to do it,
And I don't know how the hell I lived through it,
Young and on the run, getting loaded like a gun,
When we were young
Now time sure flies when you're having fun,
I wish I walked through life but I chose to run,
I used to fien for abuse and play with guns,
I played and payed the price, stil my life ain't done,
I remember running wild, not a care in the world,
It was all about graffiti, and chasin' the girls,
Running from the law and bar room brawls,
Getting arrested callin' home with those late night calls, (When we were young)
Sorry mom, I'm in jail again,
Tonight I got arressted with a couple of friends,
You can either pick me up or send me some mends,
Either way ma, it looks like I messed up again,
Back to my P.O., or Rehab, or up north, to see dad,
it's just the way it goes when you were born to be bad,
Actin' a fool, skippin' school, flicking off the principal,
It's hard for mom to believe me but she's so convincable.
Shoplifting gifts for the girls, with my boys,
Walking out the sex shop, pockets full of sex toys,
And, we'd bring the noise like you'd wouldn't believe,
At 16 started getting tattoo's up my sleeve,
Throwing up the 32, taking part in dirty deeds,
So if you wanna get high, I got whatever you need,
And if you wanna get em' up, I ain't afraid to bleed,
I've been to Y.A. 3 times, so don't you step to me,
While you brag to your parents about your A's and B's,
I was underneath the bleachers with a THC,
a GED, a Chemical Dependency, and a PHD in Whiskey and Stonerology,
I lead the breakthrough in ways to use technology,
You can learn from my mistakes but it's more fun to follow me,
And it's never too late, I don't hate who I've become,
So let's smoke another one and remember, when we were young.