With the new laws that were recently passed in Cuba, and now that the sale and purchase of certain types of property, such as vehicles and houses, has been legalized, a classifieds page is – understandably – a popular place indeed.
Read MoreIs there compassion in socialism? Apparently there is, or so claims Mayra Espina, currently working as a researcher at Cuba’s Center for Psychological and Sociological Studies, located in Vedado, Havana. The question is the title of yet another public conference held in Havana’s Dominican convent of San Juan de Letran.
Read MoreCuba’s ninth mother’s day crafts fair, expanded in 2012 to display works from across the country, is currently underway at Havana’s PABEXPO fairgrounds. Named “Art for Mom” (“Arte para Mamá”), the fair will be held until May 11. Three exhibition areas were needed to accommodate the increased number of artisans, who hail from 12 different provinces. (35 photos)
Read MoreSometimes, it feels like I’m living in one of those countries where parents still sell their daughters into marriage, in exchange for goats or some other kind of property, where human beings are marketable items or, worse, where loved ones can become exchange goods. But no, I live in Cuba…
Read MoreMay Day parades ought to have special meaning for me, a worker. I assure you it did, at one point, but not so much anymore. I don’t believe that parading all the way down to Revolution Square, carrying banners with phrases that evoke the occasion, or portraits of revolutionary heroes or leaders, means anything for the world’s proletariat, much less that we support socialism or not.
Read MoreOn April 26, during an online debate held through the web-site of the Cuban Association of the United Nations (ACNU), I asked Reverend Oden Marichal, representative of Cuba’s Council of Churches, the following three questions related to the issue of human rights.
Read MoreI must confess I feel a profound aversion towards hospitals and polyclinics. This is not only because of the physical pain, misdiagnoses, indifference or mistreatment I have experienced in these, but also because of the association my mind invariably makes between these places and the time spent in waiting rooms.
Read MoreAfter the triumph of the revolution in 1959, May Day immediately went from being a commemoration of those who perished in Chicago, to the completely pro-establishment mass function it has been to this day. This year Cuban workers will march across Cuba under the slogan of “For a more prosperous and sustainable form of socialism!”
Read MoreThe fear of ending any relationship can be paralyzing. People aren’t only afraid of authority, they’re also afraid of change, of the unknown. Judging from the reactions of people around me, I can say Cuba’s situation now, faced with the prospect of change, is more complex than we’d imagined.
Read MoreI don’t know about you, but I still remember that game-show aired on Cuban television in the 1980s, “9550” (the exact number of kilometers separating Havana from Moscow), in which Yiqui Quintana, a sports commentator turned host, would give the top prizewinner a 15-day trip to the former Soviet Union.
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