Osmel Almaguer’s Diary

When I heard the word “computer” for the first time, I was only six. Of course I didn’t know what it meant so I asked my mother, who told me that she wasn’t really sure either. However, she had heard that it was a device that “answers anything that someone asks it.”

Cubans are always looking for reasons to celebrate. It doesn’t matter if it’s a birthday or a “non-birthday.” Common reasons for celebration include the victories of sports teams, the birthdays of saints, job promotions or getting together with friends you haven’t seen in a long time.

I grew up listening to Fidel’s frequent speeches. I remember them invading the two sole TV channels that existed, as well as all of the radio stations – except Radio Reloj [literally a ticking “clock radio” station]. The newspapers were responsible for announcing these engagements beforehand and echoing them afterwards.

The defects of capitalist elections are repeated by heart in our country, but I believe that the time is coming to raise our voices to point out our own blemishes; that will be the point of departure for improvement.

When I was little I would watch all the women in my family crowd around in my grandmother’s room, where they would open packages containing underwear, shoes, hair ornaments and those types of things.

When we refer to a “change of life,” everyone understands that generally one is talking about a change in the quality of life, a trip, moving, a new partner or something of that nature. However, in the vocabulary of the Paleros, this phrase indicates a much more serious and more complicated action.

We think that contact with the “strong” currencies of tourists is one of the most profitable sources within the context of the lack of money —almost chronic, almost typical— among most Cubans.

A few years ago I met a man whose name I can’t recall although the story that he told still astonishes me. He was a man in his forties who was always dressed in shorts, with no shoes. He never cut his hair, and when he smiled, you could see that almost all of his teeth were missing.

The rooster is one of the most common creatures in Cuba. Within the world of the visual arts, this bird was the preferred theme of a 20th century Cuban painter: Mariano Rodriguez. In our national sport —baseball— the Sancti Spiritus team has the rooster as its mascot.