As is often the case with me, reality proved far stranger than fiction. I arrived at the bus terminal at 6:30 in the morning and was shocked to see over a hundred persons ahead of me in line to get to Batabano on the southern coast and board the ferry to the Isle of Youth.
Read MoreCuba’s official media offered scant coverage of Argentina’s recent electoral process. In Machiavellian fashion, they postponed announcing the victory of the right (predicted since well before) until the very end, unwilling to share the news.
Read MoreIn 2014, the Argentinean film Wild Tales won several awards at the Havana Film Festival. The movie is an oddly entertaining experience for spectators, who see the strings of violence move characters and are left with only two alternatives: to burst out laughing or feel aversion towards these.
Read MoreA few days ago, while standing on a street corner in Havana, Luis, an acquaintance who never misses a wake, told me about a burial and the last wake he’d been to.
Read MoreThe same thing happens every time I visit Pinar del Rio. It doesn’t matter whether I go back in two years’ or two days’ time, the beauty of the landscape always makes a deep impression on me, particularly in Pons, a town in the municipality of Minas de Matahambre that is as beautiful – perhaps more beautiful – than Viñales. (19 photos)
Read MoreI’ve been worked up these days. What got me into this rather unusual state isn’t the collapse of the Pekin stock market or the rising cost of living in Cuba. It’s the book How Night Fell (Como llego la noche). If you’re Cuban and don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t be too shocked.
Read More“I want you to take me to Monte and Cienfuegos, to the place we went to see La China last year. She’s a volcano in bed!”
This is a daily request heard from Cubans and foreigners alike.
Recenlty while standing at the bus stop on the intersection of Prado and Trocadero streets, right across the two bronze lions that keep watch over part of Old Havana’s promenade, I heard five young people debate the reasons for leaving or staying in Cuba. They were speaking openly and sincerely.
Read MoreThis past Sunday, I was on my way to meet with a friend when I noticed that a number of tourists were leaving the ocean drive area in a hurry, while others enthusiastically went up to meet the waves that crashed against the seawall with more and more impetus. (23 photos)
Read MoreThe Austrian film Michael, telling the story of a pedophile, was recently aired on Cuba’s La septima puerta (“The Seventh Door”). I must say I had no interest in watching this film. The issue is repulsive and hard to swallow, but the critic’s introduction persuaded me to see the film.
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