Author: Dariela Aquique

Our media’s obsession with justifying the unjustifiable seems to have no end, always putting the blame on the same guilty party: that consumer society; those countries where state power is based on the dispute and succession of this or that political party; those rightist governments; those class societies; that perpetual enemy, that…!

Most large cities around the globe feature at least one Big Band and a jazz club. And my Santiago de Cuba, is not the exception. The Iris Jazz Club, a newly opened space, opens its doors every night to those who like to listen to this music of virtuosos.

When I read about the changes to Cuban immigration policy, I immediately became excited and wrote the HT article Immigration Policy Changes. I realize now that I was a bit selfish and focused only on the topics concerning the situation of Cubans here on the island and didn’t think much about Cuban emigrants.

The controversial telenovela Pablo Escobar, el patron del mal (Pablo Escobar: The Ringleader of Evil), produced by Colombia’s Caracol network, has everyone here hooked. Older people still recall the details of the 1980s in Colombia, where the name “Pablo Escobar” was the highlight of each news item that referred to that country.

Chavez, though not my cup of tea, has been elected and re-elected by the people, and this is a demonstration of popular power. This is unlike Cuba’s system, which is now ready to start its voting, though we all know in advance what the results will be.

Today is my birthday, the day when most of us are filled with joy and are ready to celebrate yet another coming year. But I have to confess that what I’m feeling is something between happiness and sadness. The feeling of nostalgia is what has overcome me.

The much heralded “Population and Housing Census” is now being conducted in Cuba under the slogan “We’re Counting Everybody.” It is said to have the aim of counting how many of us there are: Men and women, children, adults, young and old, blacks, mestizos and whites, as well as what condition people live in, etc.

The strategy for determining and controlling education and culture in the country as being based on political principles (understanding that I’m referring to unconditional support as stipulated by the government) can clearly be seen from that well-known speech “Words to the Intellectuals.”

Things have been shaking on the Internet with a trilogy of open letters, each of them dealing with the controversial theme of the Cuban diaspora. From different perspectives, all of them analyze the problems of emigration and its consequences.

My friend Alfredo spoke recently about the closing down of Polemica digital, the blog published by young university professor Elaine Diaz, whose web log was one of the most widely read in Cuba (for those who have Internet access) and outside as well.