Irina Pino’s Diary

Walking through Old Havana, losing yourself in its squares, museums, stores, cafes, popular fairs stirs new emotions, a hodgepodge of places which have a signature, a scent, like the breath that precedes a story.

With its eclectic architecture, the oldest part of the city invites visitors and locals to walk through it, fall in love with it. No eyes are distracted, no feet rest. Not addressing its legacy would be futile.

Sergio is a professor of Marxism-Leninism, who studied Philosophy in the former USSR, and a radio ham in his free time. He happened to get in touch with Russian cosmonaut Sergei, who was on a mission at space station Mir…, and this is where a friendship between a Cuban and Soviet was born.

Greetings to all rockers in Cuba, the good news is that rock band “Malas Noticias” has played at Havana’s rock venues over the past few days and they were a real hit! These guys from Matanzas play covers by famous rock bands such as Guns and Roses, Led Zeppelin, Beatles or Aerosmith. (8 photos)

It’s common for married people to get tired of each other after living together for so long and for passion to dwindle. It’s normal: these are the stages of love. Hopefully you’re left with affection, common ground and friendship.

With a distinctive rock/folk sound, Ivan Latour, the Cuban musician, who captivated an entire generation in the ‘90s with decent lyrics and catchy music, played recently at the Casa de la Amistad.

At the places I regularly go, La Casa de la Amistad, El Submarino Amarillo, La Maison, where rock music takes control, I meet friends in their 50s whose view of sex has changed after menopause. They are experiencing it in different ways…

Nelson Mandela, the tireless fighter who struggled against apartheid in South Africa, is the star of the new traveling exhibition “Mandela 100”, at the Africa House on 157 Obrapia Street in Old Havana. It will be open to the public from May until August. (22 photos)

Rockers, metalheads and anyone who wanted to see and hear the band “Suicidal Tendencies” in Havana were in for a great night on May 11th at La Tropical, in the Benny More room. I believe Benny would have risen from his grave listening to these musicians and told them to be quiet because of all the noise they were making.

I recently had the chance to get to know Panama city, at a friend’s invitation, and I got to see a pleasant landscape where people are kind by nature, something which we see less and less every day. Violence between Cuban people can be seen in our everyday, in a line, on a bus, or maybe even in seemingly calm places.