Author: Veronica Vega

A friend told me how his father went off on one when he told him: “The Cuban government killed Oswaldo Paya.” The violence that followed prevented any dialogue from taking place.

El Ciervo Blanco is a project created by young Cubans who are trying to spread awareness about everything relating to magic, mythology or religion. Today, I wanted to share information with you about a video game that is being promoted by the El Ciervo literary group.

A friend told me in an email about an event that has shaken Spain, where he lives. The murder of an eight-year-old boy. I searched for the news online, and while reading, I felt the resounding drama and hysteria.

The article “Some men don’t change”, written by my colleague and friend Irina Pino, has made me sink into my own memories and doubts.

I belong to the analog generation. The generation that watched Russian cartoons in black and white and lived the boom of the videotapes. I only received letters every three months and a birthday card from my father who had emigrated.

Walking down a street in Alamar, I heard a young woman say to another: “An old man fell from the 5th floor trying to get in through the balcony because he had left the key…”

I recently took part in a debate that gave me a glimpse into what Cuba would be like after the much-dreamed, feared and avoided transition comes about.

Not getting mixed up in politics is a premise of the majority of citizens in any society. Because ordinary citizens only aspire to live within a social framework that works the best it can, not relying on their active participation. Cuba isn’t an exception to this rule, in fact, it takes it to the extreme instead.

A friend suggested I write about a comment one of his acquaintances made: “Black and shit is the same; may the good black people excuse me.” If I had been the other person in that conversation, I would have turned my back on him, because with such a precedent, the likelihood of having a reasonable debate would be zero.

As well as dengue fever or Zica, Cuba is suffering the scourge of another unknown virus that has become a plague: reggaeton. You mustn’t underestimate the power of noise. It travels through space like an overwhelming invasion and it doesn’t need to ask for any bureaucratic red tape or permits.