Dariela Aquique’s Diary

It was a wise strategy in terms of politics; a little food and amusement would conceal the heated atmosphere and the image would always be presented of a happy people with no problems.

Never has the issue of international politics been at the center of my writings, but I believe that now an exception is forcing me to do so because the subject I am going to write on cannot be avoided.

Since he assumed power, Raul Castro has demonstrated on several occasions his great concern for turning around (or at least trying to) the precarious conditions of the island’s economy.

It’s common for people to cite biblical proverbs when confronted by certain situations. This happened yesterday, for example, in a small ward at the oncological hospital.

A few days ago I was talking with a friend and colleague, who also writes for this website, and we discussed whether a more intellectual or a more popular approach would have greater effectiveness in communicating our ideas.

Distances on an island are as limited as the possibility of changing things on an island. That’s why on islands, we inhabitants find sex, food and politics to be obligatory topics.

Attempting to read a comment concerning one of my posts in the English edition of Havana Times, I discovered a phrase that translates into Spanish as something like “en un valle de sombras” (in a valley of shadows).

For some time — especially in places that feature comedy — people have been mocking a ridiculous and worn-out Cuban custom.

What was the sensation experienced by Winston Smith (the main character in 1984, the novel by British writer Georges Orwell) when he thought that enormous and ubiquitous signs with the phrase “Big Brother’s Watching” were looking at him from all directions?

Wisely, the Cuban government has now reconsidered an entire series of decisions that were taken to promote social development but that in practice demonstrated the opposite.