While doing my shopping this past Sunday in the Marianao plaza, I was witness to a small police operative. Right where I was standing, they detained one of the many who day by day dedicates their efforts to reselling good sold at state establishements.
I used to buy magazines and newspapers regularly. I speak in the past tense because, since a few months ago, it is no longer so easy for me to buy the periodicals I used to read to keep abreast of developments in culture and become informed about events of significance.
A year ends and another one begins – such is the circle of life. I often wonder why people congratulate one another on the street. Is it to celebrate the fact we are still alive? If that’s the reason, I can understand that.
While reading an international magazine, I came across a quote by Confucius that caught my attention: “In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” I spent the better part of the night awake, thinking of these words.
De tarde en casa (“Afternoon at Home”) is the name of a Cuban television program aired every Sunday at 5 in the afternoon and hosted by Rakel Mayedo. I’ve seen the program a couple of times and found it interesting every so often because of the guests invited on the show. But on this occasion I was totally bewildered.
On November 2, Cuba’s Granma newspaper published a press note regarding the self-employed, demanding that 3D home theaters and computer game rooms be shut down immediately and claiming such businesses were never authorized (they cut people some slack, a lot of slack, and now they’re pulling in the reins).
A few days ago, Cuba’s Round Table TV program addressed the issue of what young people – and the Cuban people in general – wear these days. It’s true that the way some young people dress today is a bit curious, but this is not a question of right or wrong: it’s simply a way of dressing different from what was in style in earlier decades.
I recently read an article by a fellow Havana Times blogger which mentions how the renowned Cuban actress Ana Luisa Rubio was beaten up as part of a government reprisal. When I first read her name, I had the impression I didn’t know the actress. After doing a Google search and seeing her photos, I immediately recognized her and felt profound pain.
I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the reality show most watched and enjoyed in Cuba is Caso Cerrado (“Case Closed”), a Miami domestic court program hosted by Judge Ana Maria Polo. Many watch the show at home, thanks to illegal satellite dishes. Others, like me, buy or rent weekly packages on discs that include the week’s cases.
Those who read this article may accuse me of exaggerating, or maybe think that I’m stealing a scene written by the Spanish director Almodovar who is so given to mixing drama and comedy. Others might allege that I’m just a person with very bad luck; still others may believe that it’s all a fabrication and that I’m writing to get rich, or because groups from the Empire are sponsoring my articles. All of these allegations are very distant from reality.