Diaries Archives - Page 25 of 627

Tied to the Sea

My parents and the ocean, days in paradise, distant echoes of a better country, far away from the disaster we’re currently living through.

Both here in Cuba and on the other side of the Florida Strait, we hear the cheers of demagogy that speak of a heroic people.

Love is that perfection. But no one said it was free. Everything in life has a price that is not always money. It’s time.

Like every week, last Sunday I went to visit Mom. Like every Sunday, the journey becomes a real adventure.

As I mark off another anniversary, I feel it’s time to ask you, our readers, whether we are in fact providing you with an important service.

For a long time now, “sugar” is one of the scarcest products in modern-day Cuba. It sounds ironic for this formerly leading global producer.

It was around 5:00 in the morning, an hour before dawn, and I was there, on the road six kilometers from my house. The problem wasn’t that…

Microbrigades emerged in the 1970s. As the name suggests, they were small groups of people aimed at addressing the country’s housing needs.

At almost 40, I still remember those family gatherings. We never had Christmas trees or gifts under them, no chocolates, or delicacies.

I realize that it’s not that I am depressed, but that my island of joy, that same island of tobacco, rum, and guaracha, is depressed, sad…