We got screwed over. The decision by the US government not to grant visas to Cuban activists and academics scheduled to speak at the conference of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) has condemned us to the sidelines – or at least to our own insular debates.
Read MoreOne of the first things one sees when arriving in the Emergency Room of the “Manuel Fajardo” Clinic Surgical University Hospital, is a huge poster in which you can read: “Your health care is free, but it costs…”, followed by a list of some of the services we are given free, with their prices.
Read MoreThe other day, I was going to visit my mother and by chance I decided to get off the bus that was going to drop me at Fraternity Park. From there I could see an agglomeration of people on the ground floor of the Saratoga Hotel, and since I’m curious, I decided to go over there. The stir was over the supposed presence of Beyoncé.
Read MoreThe US Interests Section in Havana just denied me a visa to travel to that country, where I was invited by the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) to make a presentation at its upcoming congress in late May.
Read MoreThere was something I always thought about the first time I left Cuba. I was only gone for 11 months, but since it was my first time I was away from my family (not counting the rural boarding-schools), I was a little afraid of what might happen while away from them and my friends.
Read MoreHaving left Cuba less than a month ago has proved a major revelation for me. Yes, because for a Cuban crossing the limits of the island for the first time, brings with it a peculiar significance to the trivial act of traveling in today’s world.
Read MoreAfter 54 years of Cuba’s revolutionary government being in power — during which time the most radical changes in all of the nation’s history took place, both positive and negative — we’ve begun to take a critical and constructive look at the mistakes made by the government that Fidel Castro turned over to his brother Raul.
Read MoreA few days ago I shared an evening with a young couple of compatriots to discuss the ideological colors of the island’s future. These friends were pessimistic about the chances of a socialist alternative being a solution to the problems in Cuba.
Read MoreA while ago, someone I think highly of said to me: “Yeah, that student (Eliecer Avila) had the courage to ask those questions to (National Assembly President) Ricardo Alarcon, making the official look ridiculous, and the student himself even became a popular figure. But what did he achieve with all that? Today he can’t work in his field and all the doors are closed to him in this country.”
Read MoreWe’re so used to being the center of the universe here that I was surprised a few days ago when neither Cuba, nor the Cuban revolution, nor Fidel Castro were mentioned in a listing of Latin American leaders and revolutionary processes.
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