“What are they selling today?” asks the old woman as she hurriedly gets in line at the butcher’s. “The soy mincemeat and hot dogs,” someone replies. The butcher, who’s overheard the conversation, says in a loud tone of voice: “You don’t get any hot dogs, only the mincemeat.”
Read MoreA Cuban friend of mine was recently in France. While there, he dropped in to check out a festival that the French Communist Party holds every year featuring exhibits from the Communist Parties of the world and their affiliates. My friend told me that he enjoyed some of the concerts that were part of the event, but that in other ways he was disappointed.
Read MoreWhen I interviewed a Babalawo [a priest of the Yoruba, or Santería, religion] a few years ago for Havana Times, I was alarmed at the murky vapors emanating from the religious offerings that are common sights in Havana.
Read MoreIt’s clear not all Cubans have the same economic situation, but what’s certain is that the vast majority have salaries that last them a mere 8 to 10 days, and that, the remaining 20 days of the month, they have to what I do: work miracles to acquire essential products.
Read MoreEvery July, when the summer break starts, the city’s dump-sites fill up with notebooks thrown out by student’s who’ve finished the school year. They believe, and not without reason, that the notes they have jotted down in class are as good as garbage.
Read MoreEvery step you take in Alamar in East Havana invites you to reflect upon your surroundings. It seems that the city is becoming one big garbage dump. Fumigation services turn up randomly, but what difference does it make?
Read MoreA friend and I went to a Christian party. We weren’t exactly invited. The pastor wanted the gathering filmed, and another friend of ours asked us to help in the recording as a favor. I had no objections, because I respect all of the world’s religions.
Read MoreI want to let my regular readers know I was very eager to start writing again. After three months of more or less mandatory holidays, I was beginning to miss the frequent debates between commentators, both supporters and detractors.
Read MoreSome of my son’s high-school friends often come over to my house to play video-games on our computer. Sometimes, the noise they make becomes unbearable and I want to throw them all out. On other occasions, I try to have a chat with them to find out what they’re into.
Read MoreCuba’s telephone company monopoly, ETECSA, has admitted it is experiencing problems with its systems and that it is stealing money from users. They committed to reimbursing us the money they had charged us by mistake as soon as the problems were fixed.
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