Author: Irina Echarry

Animal Abuse in Cuba, a Round Table Discussion

Every so often, Cuba’s “Mesa Redonda” (Round Table) program tries to address a social issue in a segment entitled “Sobre la Mesa” (On the Table). Though the superficiality with which issues are tackled is always rather vexing, the segment is a barometer which tells us how the government conceives a specific topic.

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Cuban Women: Testimonies and Tears

The theater was packed, and many had to stand throughout the 33-minute-long documentary, Ingrid Leon’s Mujeres…la historia dorada (“Women: The Golden Story”). The theater employees scheduled another screening for those who were left out.

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Cuba: Subsidy or Suicide?

My building was constructed in the mid-70s, in the midst of severe material shortages. The families who moved into the building had been without a home for years and therefore didn’t care that it was far from the city center or that the apartments were poorly finished.

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The Start of Classes in Cuba

Amanda smiles whenever anyone asks her if she likes going to school or not: a sincere, happy smile that reminds me of my own many years ago. Until the last school year, we would hear Amanda crying out on the stairwell every morning – she didn’t want to go to her kindergarten.

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Henrietta and Me

I would have liked to have contributed something significant to the world, something small but important. Thinking about this, I came upon the first of August, the day in which Henrietta Lacks was born. She had the worst three defects someone could have in 1950s Virginia.

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A Cuba Crime Report

On the last Saturday of March, an official government announcement took the habitual listeners of Havana’s Radio Reloj radio program by surprise. It was a petition by authorities asking the public the help clear up a crime that had taken place in Old Havana two days before.

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Once Upon a Time in a Cuban Movie Theater

It was ten to 8 pm, the time the second screening begins at Havana’s La Rampa theater. We were waiting to go in and see the Turkish film Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, winner of the Grand Jury Award at Cannes. Ready to take in the 157-minute movie, we were waiting for the ticket booth to open.

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Abortion in Cuba: Another Pending Debate

Abortion is a complex issue that stirs up passions as well as ethical, religious, philosophical and biological debates. Generally, the person voicing an opinion – no matter what camp they belong to, in favor or against – denies that the opposite opinion has any validity.

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