Cuba's economic landscapes is slowly changing and shifting towards a more capitalist environment, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Since President Raul Castro took over and instituted economic reforms, capitalism is increasingly becoming part of daily Cuban life, which runs contrast with the ideals of the Cuban Revolution.

Although capitalism has not seen its full glory in the tiny island, it is slowly reshaping economic values of its people, the report said. Little shops that sell pirated DVDs, for instance, are present in almost all parts and blocks of Havana. For decades, Cubans were encouraged to report to the government any black market activities. Now, enterprising Cubans worry their businesses are lagging behind competitors.

"There have been changes, and as the country grows there will be more," Luis Antonio Veliz, proprietor of the stylish, independent cabaret-nightclub Fashion Bar Habana, told the Associated Press. "It's a very positive thing, but some Cubans are having difficulty understanding that now not everything depends on the state."

Many new Cuban entrepreneurs have failed either because of limited supplies or low customer traffic, but there are those who have succeeded. Entrepreneurs from many parts of Cuba would migrate to La Havana Vieja, the capital's cultural center, and would take advantage of tourist foot traffic and farmer's market.

However, changes in economic values come with sacrifices. "When you work for yourself, you have to look out for your own interests," Veliz told the Associated Press. "I've become harder, tougher, more confident." He didn't have to be on-call 24 hours when he was still a government employee. Now, he skipped vacations and sometimes works without seeing his family.

Cuba has been a communist state since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution that ousted President Fulgencio Batista. Since then, the island experimented with communism and helped its people through subsidies and assistance from the previous Soviet bloc. Its goal was based on Ernesto "Che" Guevarra's concept of the "new man" - someone who is honest and obedient, who is selfless and puts society above one's own self.