A 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.
Read MoreSome people just rub you the wrong way the first time you see them. It’s like falling out of love at first sight. It doesn’t matter if what they do or say is good or bad, of if they’re for or against you…the thing is that you simply can’t stand them.
Read MoreThe jester is on the tightrope, with the king looking at him from his throne. The jester, blindfolded, has to guess his every step. The king — in ecstasy — anxiously waits for him to fall. Who reigns higher? Who’s the fool? Who’s bones are broken even before the fall?
Read More“United for a Prosperous and Sustainable Socialism” is the motto under which the “Cuban Workers Federation” (Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, or CTC) will convene this coming May Day (surely it’s a more optimistic slogan than “Work Hard!”).
Read MoreNo dear Cuban readers, I’m not making a bad joke. What I’m saying is absolutely true. In the Ecuadorian Amazon there’s full Internet service. These days I’m living in Lago Agrio, the capital of the province of Sucumbios, near the Ecuadorian border with Colombia.
Read MoreIn these days the earth has aligned itself with the sun in a similar position to that of the day when I first poked my head out from the maternal womb. How badly I take birthdays!
Read MoreThe dynamics that every revolution puts in practice are too complex to be predictable, but in more established groups of thought, the mechanisms of empowerment begin articulating automatically. This is a natural law.
Read MoreReason rests on the appreciation and discernment of facts. Everything finally reaches a category of relativity. That’s why I try not to be sectarian or biased. I always make my own opinions, which are committed only to sincerity – first with myself, then with others.
Read More“The party’s over” was the reply of the new Pope, who marked his first public appearance as the newly elected Bishop of Rome. With this, Francis refused to comply with the complicated ritual of putting on the formal outfit worn by previous Pontiffs at their respective times of presentation to the Eternal City.
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