Diaries Archives - Page 407 of 644

33 Years of Crisis

When I’m an old woman I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren that I visited hell – and believe me, Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy fell short. Each person has their own version, just as my story isn’t a blank slate.

Cuba: As the State Cuts the Ropes

Every decline in the dynamic of an authoritarian power reveals the illusory character of the community that once unanimously supported it. The leasing of state-owned storefronts to food service workers is the most recent conceptual decline.

The Cuban Flag

For those of us having been born since the Cuban Revolution has obviously marked everything in our lives, as is understandable. Still echoing in our ears are the slogans of “Pioneers for communism” and “We will be like Che.

The Misery of Poverty in Cuba: Part I of II

Vedado is the downtown neighborhood of Havana. It is in between the residential Playa/Miramar municipalities and commercial/government oriented Centro Havana. Vedado boasts many popular Havana landmarks.

The Internet Controlled By Governments?

Back in the distant ‘90s — the romantic era of the Internet — those of us who worked at Havana’s Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) were among the first Cuban “non-computer specialists” to learn about the functioning of the World Wide Web.

The Monument to Runaway Slaves Outside Santiago de Cuba

“El Monumento al Cimarron” (the Monument to Runaway Slaves), a towering sculpture created in bronze and iron, was built on a hill near the town of El Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba Province, to honor one of the earliest slave revolts that took place in the country.

Calling the Kettle Black

A few weeks ago, just by chance, I saw a report on “the real United States” by Tele Sur (the Venezuelan Television network) broadcast here on Cuban TV. Among other things, the material showed the tragedy of the homeless including many Iraq veterans.

Yours Is My Kingdom

I just read a book that’s chaotic, at least in appearance. Tuyo es el reino (Yours Is the Kingdom), by Abilio Estevez, was on my nightstand for months waiting in my line of books to be read. But if I had known how good it was, I swear it would have been among the first.

Helping Each Other Out

Despite the many needs that we all face here every day, I don’t think there’s any reason for us to lose our dignity and pride or to end up like beggars.

The Dog That Has My Humanity in Check

“Blackie” is a dog that has made its home in the basement of the building where I live, in Alamar. The homeless dog found some tough guys to take care of her who have passed on to her their ways of violence and territorialism. So now Blackie has wound up being their guard mutt.