Fabiana del Valle Archives

Cooking with Charcoal and Not Dying in the Attempt

This story begins like most tragedies in Cuba: a blackout of catastrophic proportions and a now ornamental only cooking gas cylinder.

For the first time in decades, the average Cuban found in internet access a crack in the wall, a breath of freedom and a voice of their own.

Technology is on the way to assuming a central role in Cubans’ lives. However, its a road full of contradictions…

I don’t usually get involved in political debates if I feel I don’t have the preparation or knowledge to offer valuable insights.

The Cuban government and its “just revolution” once promised a country without beggars as a symbol of social justice.

People, dreams, eras, go by while I remain stuck in the same place. Every farewell leaves a footprint, a vacuum impossible to fill.

If she had a crystal ball to see the future, she would’ve stayed home. But magic doesn’t exist—at least not for poor Cubans.

Here I am the skeptic, tired of this routine, of mosquitoes, shortages, & blackouts, searching for things in Cuba that are still beautiful.

An anonymous young man walks down the street carrying a worn-out pair of sneakers with patched soles—survivors of a thousand battles.

Ever since my daughter started attending the Vocational boarding school, my money seems to have magical powers…