Diaries Archives - Page 245 of 628

The Miracle Workers: On Cubans Living Abroad

Unconsciously, a great many Cubans long for a brother, cousin, friend, son or anyone they know to come see them from abroad, in the form a prodigal, generous, miracle-working visitor.

The Positive Side of Cuba’s Migratory Crisis

The Cuban government has had no choice but to televise a migratory conflict involving its own citizens. This time around, we aren’t seeing Syrians fleeing from NATO bombings or Haitians taking to the sea in precarious rafts, nor Africans flocking to Europe’s borders in search of a better life.

A Re-Encounter with Old Neighbors

Back when the complete works of Lenin adorned the living rooms of Cubans, there were no color TV sets, everyone went to the movies and US dollars were the Phantom of the Opera, Albert told his best friend that he was a homosexual. At the time, no one used the word “gay” and “homosexual” was a sophisticated and rather strange term. The common word people used was “faggot.”

A Few Enjoyable Documentaries

Documenting the intensity of real life is a way of transforming our experiences through art. There are many ways to achieve an interesting documentary, a genre that, despite being less popular than fiction, has many avid followers, myself included.

Cuba’s Patron Saint, Watch Over Cubans Everywhere

For one reason or another – and through one means of another – several of my young cousins, nearly all of my friends from university (most of them close friends), some neighbors and even acquaintances from my junior and senior secondary days have left the country.

Is it a Crime to Go for a Walk with a Foreigner in Havana?

I still haven’t managed to let go of the anger or overcome the surprise. While strolling down a street in Old Havana next to a foreign friend of mine, a police officer stopped me to ask me the most ludicrous questions I’ve heard.

Illustration Biennale Closes at Gallery in Alamar, Havana

The 10th Los Puentes Illustration Exhibition closed this past November 19This biennale gathers visual artists who wish to exhibit works related to published literary pieces and/or that could be used to illustrate these. (16 photos)

The Third Time Was Not the Charm

These days, I’ve been recalling a two-part post I wrote for Havana Times, titled Cuba’s Horizontal Gravity. I’ve also been thinking about this force that restricts our movement across the world, not unlike the physical force that tethers us to the Earth.

A Call to Break the Silence

They say that Cuba’s Citizen Insecurity apparatus – i.e. State Security – has threatened to put an end to the Sunday rallies organized by a group of government opponents. Could we be about to witness a kind of (less intense) Black Spring?

My Warring Havana Neighbors

It’s said that what a writer sitting in front of a blank page needs is for his muse to come down and inspire him. I don’t put much stock in that. What I personally need to write a good story is absolute peace and quiet.