Years ago, the small 16th Street beach in Miramar, Havana, was a very popular spot. People, particularly the very young, travelled far to go swimming there and enjoy its peaceful atmostphere. It was a place where beauty and youth met.
Read MoreThough I am surrounded by large urban organic gardens where I live, putting fresh, healthy food on my table is becoming harder every day – and not precisely because of the prices. Aimed at benefitting the low-income population, they are now the chief supplier of Havana’s private restaurants.
Read MoreI have a neighbor who travelled to Italy on an invitation from his daughter, who left Cuba 15 years ago, when she married a foreigner. His only son also lives there. He had planned a three-month stay, but, a week after arriving…
Read MoreDrinking hot chocolate in Cuba is almost a privilege, an exotic experience, an act denoting social prestige. Few Cubans would believe that, for the longest time, hot chocolate was one of the most popular breakfasts in the country. Once the companion of people’s morning toast, it has become a true culinary luxury.
Read MoreThe Coronary Care Ward at Havana’s Calixto Garcia Hospital is not exactly a merry place, but it would be far more depressing if it wasn’t for La Niña. La Niña is a cute little dog that squats on the ground floor of the hospital.
Read MoreThe hot weather we’re having has one daydreaming about the beach the day through. The beaches to the east of Havana are relatively close – for anyone in Havana who enjoys full physical faculties, that is. For disabled persons, however, it as though these beaches were thousands of kilometers away.
Read MoreThere are two dates in which Cubans experience pain over those who have perished and hatred and contempt towards the monsters capable of organizing or carrying out terrorist acts: September 4 and October 6. In fact, In the course of 55 years, thousands of terrorist acts against Cuba have been carried out.
Read MoreNow that I am devoid of an Internet connection, I take advantage of my free time to survey the neighborhood from my balcony. The most interesting elements in sight are afforded us by nature: the changing tonalities of the sea, the always-green tree canopies and the daily traffic of people.
Read More“Dear Jorge, I write you from beautiful Mexico, where I am doing my novitiate, a crucial step in my training,” my former workmate and friend Osman Aviles wrote me in an email. Osman has devoted part of his youth to the study of Cuban poets.
Read MoreA very wise person called Guayaquil the last redoubt of the Caribbean. I don’t know whether it’s because its full name is Santiago de Guayaquil, but the truth of the matter is that I’ve felt at home here since arriving, like in my own Santiago, Santiago de Cuba, that is.
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