Diaries Archives - Page 246 of 644

Cuba’s New Religions

The rise of new cults or religions, similar in their psycho social patterns, has been no secret to anyone in Cuba over the past few decades. Here are some of these,as I see it.

I’d begun a post commenting on Irina Pino’s “The death of my father.” I wanted to write about the brutal indifference in hospitals in Cuba, when processing a deceased person – something that also should be considered a service.

The Eternal Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro will continue to celebrate birthdays until, one day, as is only natural, he will cease to be among us physically, to go down in history as one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th and 21st century.

A Funny Anecdote Involving a School in Havana

A neighbor of mine told me her second menstruation caught her by surprise at school, on the day they had an exam and teachers had warned that students would forfeit their right to take this test if they failed to wear their uniform scarves (as many did refuse to wear this symbolic garment the day through).

Cuba’s Communist Party Congress: Cringing With Embarrassment

Listening to President Raul Castro read a long report for over two hours at the opening of the 7th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) made me cringe with embarrassment, as they say.

A US Visa Denied, the Thaw with Cuba and My Arguments

Last Tuesday, I went to the US Embassy in Havana for the third time. The two previous times, I had gone with my mother, for her interview. Her visa was denied the two times because, according to the official who interviewed her, her arguments weren’t convincing enough to grant her a visa.

An End to Melancholy

I get out of bed and look in the mirror. The messy hair and horrible-looking face make me look away and I stumble onto the phone. I look at the time. It’s 11:30 am. I head over to the kitchen like a zombie. I prepare some coffee, which I will take without sugar and a bit of powdered milk.

My Father’s Good Life

When my father died just before the age of 86, a friend said to me: “At least he had a good life. He had children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who loved him.” What she said left me thinking and made me look back at certain episodes in his life.

Farber, Plattism and the Dilemmas of Cuba’s Opposition

Samuel Farber’s most recent article unleashed a tsunami of comments and protest. If we were talking about a party, we’d say he got people’s blood pumping and down to the dance floor.

More on the Discovery of My Fears

I believe I was born in Havana in 1964, but I have no memories of my childhood before I was 2. Memories become blurrier the farther I think back. I have a feeling it was a time when one could not easily be free of fear.