If I were to tell you — my friend — that we Cubans are pigs and chickens, would you be offended and get upset? You probably would. Or maybe not. You might think “chicken” is a fitting adjective for those who’ve endured a half century without raising their voices, and the term “swinish” could come in handy when describing the hygiene of our cities.
Read MoreWhether their targets are dissident bloggers or socialist intellectuals, such behavior has a similar undertone: personal, moral and civic lynching. They amass what seems to be a perverse innovation of Cuban political culture: the internationalization of acts of repudiation.
Read MoreThe 19th Erotic Art Exhibition in the Fayad Jamis Gallery of Alamar, Havana opened on Saturday February 16th. This show awards, in addition to the visual arts, fiction and poetry on the subject and can be visited through mid April. (7 photos)
Read MoreThe Isle of Youth (the smaller island off the Cuban mainland), long ago ceased being a paradise that attracted immigrants. The repopulation project that was initiated and undertaken by the Cuban government was the impetus for the island’s 1978 name change (previously it was called the Isle de Pinos, or the Island of Pines).
Read MoreNo, dear readers, this isn’t a misspelling or an editing error. It wasn’t an English default of a MS Word document in my PC. The title of this post is a sort of parable related to its content. I’ve borrowed that classic passage from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Read MoreIt’s kind of an old pedestrian boulevard, except its indoors. Shops are on the sides. It’s a long walkway with several smaller and narrower corridors that branch off. In that environment are two well-known odors. One is the smell of night, which my bones know from sleeping anywhere in Havana. The other smell is that of mothballs.
Read MoreA 58-year-old author from the poverty-stricken Havana neighborhood of Mantilla has just won Cuba’s National Literary Award. Leonardo Padura was awarded that distinction in a context of social and institutional transformations that are changing the face of the island. For many of his compatriots, these changes and the award constitute good news.
Read MoreAn energy crisis is looming over the world, and Cuba’s not exempt. Basic commodities and food will become scarce — like during the Special Period crisis of the ‘90s — but there will also be crises related to politics, climate, health conditions, ethics and with our mental patterns of behavior.
Read MoreOne of the qualities I most admire in people is their willingness to teach. I’ve always seen it as an art, for which you have to be gifted. Educating other people is also one of the noblest professions.
Read MoreAfter Pope Ratzinger announced his resignation, Mexican analyst Pedro Echeverria wondered — making good sense in my opinion — “What if they didn’t choose another pope, and the Vatican disappeared? Just think how much money and trouble that would save.”
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