Author: Jorge Milanes

Demonstrations of racism of any kind are sometimes so subtle that it’s hard to imagine it ever re-emerging as a serious social problem. It’s equally difficult to imagine situations where its examples are manifested.

They slipped out of the back of the cafeteria and immediately began running at full speed down the street with a bucket. Behind them a police officer whistled trying to get them to stop.

Merely inviting someone over for lunch out of gratitude or on the occasion of some celebration presents a dilemma for most Cuban families. You have to give yourself several days to find everything you want to prepare, not to mention coming up with the money – and in both currencies.

My colleague Osman Aviles is a young writer, essayist, poet, editor who is paving his way to joining the Cuban intelligentsia.

Dogs have always been considered “man’s best friend.” They’re loyal to the grave, at least according to Angela, my neighbor from across the street. She has 16 of them!

Across the park, two women came staggering out of a bar attempting to cope with the usual effects of beer. One of them led the other a supposed hiding place, though from the bus everyone could see them.

In Cuba it’s customary to mop the floors of houses using a frazada (a medium thick, towel-sized cloth). This is one of the most common and never-ending duties in Cuban homes, thanks to the dust that inevitably blows in.

Recently I went to the Lawton neighborhood to visit my friend Clara. The taxi route dropped me just outside the house of this friend, who had been expecting me since early that afternoon.

Ayme Amargos is a journalist who for several years has reported the news from the city of Camaguey for the National Television News (NTV). Very serious about her work, I’m sure she could never imagine what my co-worker has done with her name.

Celia is a nice woman who works at a bookstore in Old Havana. I met her several years ago and from that very first time encounter, I knew that she was a good person. She’s also proud of her first name, which has several meanings – one of which is “smooth as silk.”