The congresses organized by the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) are like Persian bazaars, places where you can come across all sorts of people: wisemen and charlatans, guards and buffoons, jewels and cheap trinkets. This is what I had the opportunity to confirm during my participation, as a speaker, in the last gathering held in Washington, D.C. at the close of May.
Read More“My life has been a never-ending struggle, just like everybody else’s,” says the 30-year-old fellow who sells used eyeglasses across the street from my cousin’s. “I moved to Havana when I was 15 and had to sell deodorizer to make a living when things were really tough here.”
Read MoreAs a child, I was unruly, argumentative and domineering…but also something of an overly sensitive crybaby. My dad would always say to me my tears didn’t go well with my character, that I was too strong a girl to cry over so many trivial things.
Read MoreBetween July 4-7, the Cuban National Assembly of the People’s Power (Parliament) held two commission and two plenary sessions, where deputies worked intensely to address a wide range of political, economic and social issues.
Read MoreFormer technology consultant and ex-CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden is the man making headlines these days. At least, he is one of the people that the international media is following most closely – another informant who has joined the cyber-crusade to reveal compromising secrets to the world.
Read MoreNew, neo-expressionist works by contemporary Cuban artists Rigoberto Rodriguez (popularly known as “Rigo”) and Ernesto Cordova, affording us two distinct takes on everyday reality, will be on display at a month-long exhibition entitled “Retaining”, currently mounted at the Fayad Jamis Arts Gallery in Alamar, Havana. (8 photos)
Read MoreI recall that, in 1998, I refused to sign up for what Cubans popularly refer to as the “bombo”, a lottery draw organized by the US Interests Section (USINT) in Havana to grant 20,000 Cubans permanent residence in the United States through a random selection process. I also recall mocking…
Read MoreWhat makes this crafts fair different aren’t the beautiful and prohibitively expensive items on sale (such as the reproductions of Sosabravo paintings, at 100 CUC, or furniture sets, with 2,000 CUC price-tags). What makes it different is the way in which it manages to bring a measure of cultural diversity to Havana’s Vedado neighborhood. (27 photos)
Read MoreI don’t know whether I actually believe in God or any supernatural forces. All I know is that, every night before I go to sleep, I pray to something you could call a divine power. The first thing I ask for is good health and long life for the people I love, especially my two daughters.
Read MoreThe reason it took me this long to begin was that I was trying to convince myself I could write something different, beyond the bounds of the conventional travel narrative or the reductive analysis of a complex society (like the US), something like the first impressions a Gaul or Breton might have shared after visiting the heart of the Roman empire.
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