He doesn’t look like a former sailor. He is too big, he seems to have lost his gracefulness at sea, along with all of the hopes he had in his youth. Jose Manuel is now forty-two. He lives on Campanario (“Bellfry”) street, in Havana’s neighborhood of Centro Habana. Those bells, however, no longer toll for him. The only thing he thinks about is how to leave the city of his birth, how to escape his country, which he calls “hell”.
Read MoreA great many Cubans express concerns over the rise in misdemeanors, public vulgarity, vandalism and other phenomena associated with people or groups whose conduct suggests social exclusion. The media have also been showing much interest in delving into the causes of the problem and have set a broad campaign in motion to somehow contain this ill, which seems to be growing unchecked.
Read MoreWomen are taking a lead role in the Latin American political scene and they have come with proposals to reduce social inequality to a maximum and to bring about the political, economic and social integration of the L.A. region and the Caribbean.
Read MoreI saw a news piece on television reporting that the president of France and the German chancellor are discussing the possibility of signing a code of ethics. Apparently, it has to do with how governments should behave in order not to end up spying on one another.
Read MoreOur friendship began almost a decade ago. Every night, returning home from work, I would find him lying on the dirt near the bus stop – old, scrawny, his skin covered with disease, slow in his gait, hungry and, most noticeably, sad, very sad. No one was able to tell me where that sorry-looking beast had come from.
Read MoreI’d always thought of the whole dengue fever business as something that happens to others, something people can die from, but not anyone close to me. I imagine a lot of people think this way and will continue to do so. I don’t think this way anymore.
Read MoreThis past Sunday, a group of young people met in the beautiful San Francisco de Asis square in Havana’s old town to pay a personal tribute to Cuban children’s song writer and singer Teresita Fernandez – without having been officially invited to do so, without signed permits and without TV microphones.
Read MoreThere are only two things in the world I like more than plants. One is telling stories. The other are kids, particularly children under five. For me, it is delightful to spend time with a little kid, to see their smiles, to pamper them. On occasion, I offer them some of the sweets I carry around for my own girls so as to get as close to them and get a glimpse at those perfect beings that will soon not be so perfect.
Read MoreTo claim that Cuba is an enemy of the United States would be humorous if the statement didn’t have such tragic and shameful consequences. How could a small country, without offensive weapons of any kind represent a threat to the most powerful empire on the face of the earth today?
Read More“Cuban design ? difficulties” is a simple and useful formula that could well be used to summarize the situation of this practice on the island. The promotional and support strategies which the Cuban revolution developed in many cultural sectors (such as popular music, ballet and others) were scant in connection with the design arts.
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