Lien Estrada, Author at Havana Times

A Poet Without a Home in a Socialist Land

A stressed-out friend visits me. He tells me that a family has invaded his house. The poet Ghabriel Perez, explains what he did next.

Clothing, like almost everything, and I am talking about the most basic needs, has been a challenge in the midst of daily life here in Cuba.

I totally understood the Captain. It happened to me. It happens, almost surely, to many men and women in today’s Cuba. It’s a reality.

In fact, when we stop seeing each other, the first thing we think is that the person has probably already left the island.

A friend is visiting me and makes a comment while laughing. We’ve gotten used to laughing at everything, even when it’s not exactly funny.

This summer, I wanted to treat myself by visiting a place completely unknown to me: the Guisa Botanical Garden.

Due to this acute crisis we are going through, I hope we reach that limit where the Cuban State is forced to make substantial changes.

When you see so many families selling their houses with everything inside, which is one of the most desolate ways of burning bridges…

Clearly, bookselling has its satisfactions. When you watch people’s delight at finding the information they’ve been seeking for a long time.

“I’m going to cook” has become, “I’m going to invent something,” because that simple daily activity has become totally tragic.