Lien Estrada Archives - Page 3 of 6

13th Street of Holguín, Cuba

Before leaving for the United States through the lottery in 1998, my father lived on 13th Street in the San Fiel neighborhood of Holguin.

I’m at my bookstand, selling. A friend comes by to say hello, and at that exact moment a customer asks me to reach a book for him.

A stressed-out friend visits me. He tells me that a family has invaded his house. The poet Ghabriel Perez, explains what he did next.

Clothing, like almost everything, and I am talking about the most basic needs, has been a challenge in the midst of daily life here in Cuba.

I totally understood the Captain. It happened to me. It happens, almost surely, to many men and women in today’s Cuba. It’s a reality.

In fact, when we stop seeing each other, the first thing we think is that the person has probably already left the island.

A friend is visiting me and makes a comment while laughing. We’ve gotten used to laughing at everything, even when it’s not exactly funny.

I belong to a project in Holguin which was created by a group of young people dedicated to charitable work. Here I’ll share a little about it.

This summer, I wanted to treat myself by visiting a place completely unknown to me: the Guisa Botanical Garden.

The difference from the 1990s crisis is that there is an abundance of supply, which is incredible. Now the conflict is money.