“Aguinaldos,” the beautiful Christmas tradition of singing carols in the early morning hours, is now becoming an instrument for crooks to gain access to homes. One of the favorite songs that is always performed by the carolers goes like this: “Open your door, open your door, I am in the street, and if you don’t open it, it would be an insult. To the ruffles, to the ruffles, to the ruffles of my heart.” As such, Carmen Perez, a resident of the Cienfuegos area of Santiago de los Caballeros, did just that, moved by the Christmas spirit of the song. She opened her door to the carolers at 3am, only to discover that the yuletide troubadours were crooks, there to steal her belongings. Traditionally, young people get together to serenade their neighbors during the Christmas season, often receiving invitations to come in out of the “cold” and have a drink or a cup of ginger tea. The criminal element has apparently adopted this scheme to gain access to more loot. Coincidentally, this is happening just as the local Governor’s Office and the Second Brigade of the National Army are preparing to celebrate a series of “aguinaldos” or “mananitas” in several of the city’s barrios.