Last year brought me a lot of joy: my latest book was published, I traveled, I shared moments with friends and relatives, events that all give life some kind of meaning. This 2019 has only brought me painful events, illness, accidents, people who meant something to me have passed away.
Carlitos, the “Box Loader”, has passed away. A neighbor told me the news. It left me stunned. After a highly emotional silence, these words erupted from me: But, what happened? He was young, only 40-something years old, active, full of energy.
The Havana Biennial is a contemporary arts festival that used to be held every two years, then it became every three years. It is organized by the Wilfredo Lam Contemporary Arts Center in Old Havana. Enjoy this tour of the recently concluded event.
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything for Havana Times, some readers might have thought that I had got tired of writing. The thing is, though, that my mother suffered a fracture and I am looking after her around the clock.
Riomar is maybe a Titanic with the vast sea behind, sometimes calm, other times stormy. However, indifference is the storm that is making it crumble away, the salty air is just a undercover agent. It was a luxurious Titanic once upon a time, moored in Miramar, Havana.
Blondie in Havana! That really did come as a surprise for Cuban fans! We thought that it was just another rumor, like many other times there’s been talk about different famous bands coming, but then the national press and social media confirmed it. It really was going to happen!
“Inocencia” (Innocence), the new Cuban film now in movie theaters, is based on the tragedy of eight medical students who were executed in 1871. The movie tells us how these young people were charged with a fabricated crime and the punishment that followed.
Dear George, we are celebrating your birth with great joy. Listening to your compositions, watching your music videos is the best thing to do. Thinking about you like the privileged being you are.
Watching the Freddie Mercury biopic and the incarnation of Queen’s band members, I remembered my gay friends from the ‘80s, when there were police raids and they were locked up in jail cells, which they called “pateras” (maybe because they referred to patos or ducks, birds with a feminine appearance).
It’s no coincidence that I consider myself to be someone who is open-minded sexually, free of prejudice, given the fact that I write about sex-related topics here on Havana Times, where I have a personal diary. I love writing about sex, especially because the range of possibilities is endless.