Havana Times

Veronica Vega

An Effort in Cuba to be as Civilized as the Animals

Of all the problems Cuba has, the one that strikes me most when I go out on the street is the number of animals that are abandoned. Behind the impotence we feel at their suffering is an alarming lack of social consciousness and the absence of an Animal Protection Act to call a halt to all the sadism and irresponsibility.

Cuba: How to Recognize a Good Leader (I)

Whenever I hear someone complain about how bad it is Cuba, if it’s one of those people who fought, convinced of what we have today (or about the promises blown away by the wind), I’ll note that in times of greatest political upheaval, many useful details go overlooked.

Standing on the Edge of the Abyss

The Hindus pray to be always in the right place at the right time. From that perspective, I couldn’t have been anywhere else on the afternoon of February 2nd, but at the Cathedral in Old Havana. I was there to see an unusual concert of a very atypical duo: Ananda Stephan and Joseph Röösli, father and son.

Cuba: To Be or Not to Be a Revolutionary

Certainly there are born revolutionaries, but they’re the exceptions. Now, being strictly honest, how many human beings have proven themselves to be “revolutionary” (re-evolutionary?). How many can be revolutionary in every single aspect that society needs?

When the Curtain Falls

The months of thorny legal claims that resulting from my teenage son not being allowed to go to school because of his long hair are over. I felt relief that he decided to drop out of high school. He’ll look for other alternatives to studying and I gave up on appealing the case at more asphyxiating offices.

The Dying Art of the Cuban Hawker’s Cry

Those familiar with the hawker tradition recall it as the art of promoting the wares with well-modulated inflections that tempt us more with the power of the word, with the power of the music, like that of the peanut vendor which Moises Simons immortalized through the unparalleled voice of Rita Montaner.

Not Everyone in Cuba Has the Right to Study

This title isn’t merely a journalistic hook; it’s the conclusion drawn by the parents of two teenagers after fruitless dialogue with the current Director of Education in the Municipality of East Havana. This is because our children, Kabir and Sebastian, have been denied access to their own school day after day for almost a month.

Rip-off and Scam Control, a New Work Option in Cuba

As Einstein once said, every crisis is a challenge that forces us to exploit our potential to the full, and since scammers and rip-off merchants are here to stay, it seems to me, we might as well create the job of “Scam Detector “, especially with the renewed enthusiasm there is today for self-employment.