Daisy Valera’s Diary

August 20th will mark 70 years since the fateful attack carried out by a Stalinist clique against a man who exhibited in his deeds and writings a love for the world proletariat. He was confident that a social structure different from capitalism could free life of all wrongs.

The festivities haven’t changed much since I left. The neighborhoods are assaulted by an immense number of people who come from all the surrounding municipalities of the province to celebrate.

Everyone who needs to travel to one of the country’s provinces turns to the La Coubre station, a fact that transforms this terminal into a well-known place and one that is undoubtedly interesting.

Sometimes you’ll hear that art advances a half step behind the masses, which is another way of saying that works of art always reflect how artists see society.

Graduation was an important moment for most of those who were there. For me, it was the end of one stage and the beginning of a more complex one.

The sea is definitely beautiful, though at night its darkness is only smelled and heard. Notwithstanding, they don’t charge admission on the coast and having a little bread and water only costs a few pesos.

Nonetheless, there’s something I’m not able to understand: If China is the fourth largest world economy, why is it that this nation is unable to guarantee conditions for its students in Cuba that prevent some of them from having to become street peddlers?

To be student in the nuclear chemistry program was a complete challenge from the very first instant. It meant setting new priorities and enduring countless headaches and a level of stress that didn’t diminish over time.

Perhaps other people accompanying me on such an unpleasant journey through the city do not share that hope since their suffering is double; that’s the product of having to endure the immediate situation while lacking the long term dream that a better future is possible.

One news item that has been on the lips of all Cubans over the last few days concerns the rate reductions on cell phone calls. In just two years Cubans went from not being able to access wireless telephones, to these being approved, and to now where calls on them will only cost 0.10 CUCs (about 12 cents USD) a minute after 11:00 p.m.