Be careful! If you decide to walk down Obispo Street with a camera, hide it – immediately! It doesn’t matter if you have professional equipment or you’re using a little disposable camera. You might figure that on a street full of tourists and with police stationed on every block, you wouldn’t have to be so mindful.
Read MoreTo describe it as a dream would be to miss the point. Dreams always look at one’s own possibilities, though they’re over in a few hours. That moment was too alien, like a strange and confident animal that let’s you pet it and then runs away.
Read MoreTelesur programming has resumed in Cuba, but now it’s live and direct, not like those pre-recorded edited broadcasts of the past, that brought us what the island’s authorities called “The best of Telesur.” I’m left wondering why the change?
Read MoreMateo repairs old “Aurika” model Russian washing machines. Impelled by the need to better his economic situation, he has earned his living this way since he first arrived in Havana. At first he worked clandestinely, but when the new economic policies went into effect, he obtained his self-employment license.
Read More“Hey, have you read the horoscope for 2013?” “No, what do things look like for this year?” “Wonderful, my friend. The predictions are excellent. They say that this is the year of travel.” This was the conversation I overheard between two women.
Read More“Hacer +” (Do +) has appeared of late as graffiti and seems to be aimed at encouraging locals to get moving. Sometimes it appears (other times it disappears) in Alamar, the Havana neighborhood where I live.
Read MoreiPhones, Blackberrys, laptops and all kinds of “pads” are becoming more commonplace in Havana. This new generation of personal electronics are full of the latest apps, movies, TV shows, and news programs. This is happening with less than 5% of the population connected to the internet.
Read MoreMy father died in 2000. His cancer started in his colon, a situation that led to an operating room where the doctors removed the polyps that had invaded that part of his body. After surgery they said the operation had been a success.
Read MorePersonally, I don’t know any Cuban, however poor they might be, who sees themselves as living in “misery,” although this means recognizing at least a minimal degree of misfortune. But I do believe that moral misery exists in Cuban poverty.
Read MoreFinally, the authorities have publicly acknowledged that there’s cholera in Havana. Now, if we truly want to protect ourselves, we need gas to boil all the water we consume. It’s that simple.
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