Though automobile prices are sky-high, Venezuela is still one of the Latin American countries with the most cars per inhabitant. As one might expect, Venezuelan roads become jammed in the morning and afternoon rush hours. This is what has made Venezuela’s moto-cabs, or motorcycles plain and simple, a near-indispensable means of transportation. (24 photos)
Read MoreSome days ago, we saw a heated debate about the petition that a number of renowned Cuban dissidents have made to the US government, calling for hardline measures that would bring about the economic collapse of the country and thus definitively remove the Castro brothers from power.
Read MoreThat the pangs of nostalgia can deceive us, painting our memories of the past with bright colors, is a feeling I had for the first time some years ago, while reading a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. As I’ve grown older I have become slightly more suspicious of any romantic perception of the past.
Read MoreFinding a skillful tailor or seamstress in Havana is no easy task. In fact, the last time it took me nearly a year of asking around to be able to order a pair of dress pants, pants I had intended to wear on my birthday for the first time.
Read MoreWe are going backwards in time, journeying back to the bud, as Alejo Carpentier would have put it. This regression is gnawing away more and more of our integrity every day. In Cuba, Darwin’s theory about the evolution of the species is proven wrong again and again.
Read MoreOdalys, one of my mother’s neighbors, has a niece who’s made some significant additions to her wardrobe of late. She now has some rather expensive garments, but, no, she doesn’t have a salary that would make such luxury affordable.
Read MoreOver the years, preparing a child’s birthday party in Cuba has become as elaborate and involved a process as those which people living in industrialized and “developed” nations often undertake to fulfill certain fantasies.
Read MoreToday, on the eve of Mother’s Day, I want to refer to a number of comments I received a few months ago, in response to the post “The Height of Forgetfulness”, which I had published on this site. I believe those who accused me of being irresponsible were right. In fact, that is precisely what I felt…
Read MoreOctavio Paz’ interests were not limited to Mexico’s past and present. The writer also explored the works of great personalities, of renowned painters, writers, bards and politicians. Paz felt he was a part of the world and would express his sincere opinions on issues he considered at once political and human.
Read MoreSexual offenses seem to be one of the world’s thorny issues today. I am constantly reading of gang-rapes involving a woman, a teenager or a little girl, about victims who commit suicide and even about rapists who publicly boast of their crime.
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