Diaries

Maduro and His Harsh Tone

I hadn’t wanted to comment on what is happening in Venezuela, primarily because I am prone to writing on Cuba’s problems more than foreign ones. And secondly, because as always our media only gives one version of the events and I don’t want to err inappropriately.

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Change and Consensus in an Inclusive Cuba

The Cuban government is sparing no effort to substitute its promises of social justice with a soft neoliberalism administered by an efficient State, as Russia and China have done. This is the process we must target in the criticisms and demands we address to Cuban leaders.

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My First Year Outside Cuba

I left Cuba exactly one year ago and during this time I’ve had to adapt to life in Ecuador. I would now like to summarize a number of things I’ve seen, things I thought were unique to Cuba and now see they are, regrettably, not limited to my country.

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Some Curious Facts About a Cuban Butterfly

I have many friends who are biologists and have become something of a self-taught biologist thanks to this. Years ago, one of these friends told me an amazing story about an insect found in Cuba. It is a butterfly which I took a long time to identify as such.

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Bocoy Rum Factory in Havana Closed Indefinitely

Last week the Bocoy Rum Factory, the maker of Legendario brand rum, closed permanently with little notice to workers or the public. I didn’t read about this in newspapers or hear it from street gossip; rather I heard it from the workers themselves.

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Cuba Between Love and Hate

Rude behavior is becoming more and more common in our homes, streets and neighborhoods. I don’t know whether this is because the economic problems of Cubans today is expressing itself as mistreatment, yelling and offensive gestures. Yesterday I witnessed an accident that proved shameful not only for the victim.

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Cyber-Dissidents and “Changes” in Cuba

Cuba’s so-called “cyber-dissidents” (as the government refers to anyone who does not bow to the official discourse) have criticized many different aspects of the country’s social, economic and political spheres. They are the ones who stick their fingers right inside the wound.

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Today’s Cuba and Bad Behavior

The film, which tackles a highly interesting social problem we face today, makes us think and realize that stories like its plot are becoming more and more common in our society and that we often do not want to put such topics on the table.

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My Friend’s Three Partners

Woody Allen once said that “the heart is a very flexible organ”, and I agree with him in every sense. A colleague at Havana Times gave me a compilation of essays on free love by 19th and 20th century thinkers, put together by Osvaldo Baigorria.

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