Diaries Archives - Page 4 of 646

Chikungunya and Other Challenges

At home, the three of us had it. My aunt got it first, and she told my mother and me that by the third day we would feel better.

In Cuba, blackouts are nothing new; everyone has heard about them for years. They began in the 1970s…

Recently, I’ve been thinking back on those meetings of the Havana Times collaborators that used to be held in Havana every six months.

It wasn’t long ago that I came across the concept of learned helplessness. I recognized myself in it immediately.

The street was empty, with the bulk of the crowd scattered along the avenue waiting for a collective taxi to take them to their destinations.

In Cuba, it’s common to hear the phrase “Hasta cuándo” (“How much longer?”) uttered as a kind of overused cry for help.

It’s not just a line. It’s an open-air popular assembly, a thermometer of scarcity, and a theater of survival.

The average salary hovers around 4,000 Cuban pesos (CUP). ($10 USD) A few years ago, that was enough to get by. Today, it’s a cruel joke.

Jose Marti spent more than half his life outside of Cuba, including 15 years in the United States. He never accepted US citizenship.

The bell rings at a school in Havana, but it doesn’t just announce the start of class — it signals the beginning of another day of endurance.