Irina Pino’s Diary

Sexual object, sex slave, Barbie. For decades, women didn’t have the right to vote. Very few women have been the president of a country. She was reduced to giving birth without being able to stop it, constrained to the home almost by decree.

Reaching old age alone is the worst kind of loneliness. There are also elderly people who, even though they are surrounded by their family, feel excluded; young people distance themselves or ignore them; at home, their opinions don’t count or they are the last ones to be asked their opinion. They are left in their own universe bursting with memories, where they live the life that has now passed.

This post might seem out-dated, but seven days without electricity and sludge everywhere is a trauma for anyone. I never imagined that Hurricane Irma would be one of the triggers of my home arrest.

It was easy for my generation to fall in love and have sex. Everything used to flow so naturally, we weren’t after money. That doesn’t mean to say that prostitution and self-interested people didn’t exist…, however, it wasn’t an odyssey to find pleasant company, far from that.

When you are young, you don’t think too much about your appearance, you just have to be a bit charming, as firm skin makes up for a not so beautiful face. And it’s true, once your body begins to age, you begin to worry…

Men don’t like talking about “this” even with their friends. They feel handicapped. They think that they have lost their masculinity and have stopped being men. Then, complexes and feelings of blame appear. Even so, they resist admitting it.

What we are witnessing in our youth here in Cuba today isn’t a lack of ambition, it’s a kind of eternal boredom, a not knowing what to do. Nothing fully satisfies them, they get bored of everything they are doing.

Cuba is a tourist destination. A slogan says so. But nevertheless, it is also a long term business. Therefore, many Cubans in exile are seeking out the way to be “repatriated”. And what does that mean? Well, that there are certain facilities involved, which will then translate into benefits.

On the night of Saturday June 17th, it was one of those Saturdays that I haven’t been scammed by bad movies on TV or sterile experiences. This time I won: I was at a concert of Cuban rock band, Anima Mundi, who were playing at the El ciervo encantado theater.

Fernando Perez makes auteur cinema, his unique vision on life in his country is full of symbols and characters who translate his desires, sadness and joy, and they make up a language (another one) to trace our present reality.