Diaries

What Great Thinkers Would We Interview Today?

By chance, I came across the book (actually, I bought it for 60 Cuban pesos in a used bookstore) by the French journalist Guy Sorman called “The real thinkers of our time”, published in Spanish in 1991 (the French language original dates from 1989). It is a volume of interviews with intellectuals chosen by the author.

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Chavez’s Farewell?

This past Saturday night, as people sat in front of their TV’s watching the Brazilian telenovela, a voice suddenly cut in. An announcement came on saying the broadcast was being interrupted for a live report with important information from the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela.

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Cellular Stress

“You’re a fool if you don’t buy a cellphone. How are we supposed to reach you in the case of an emergency or some need?” My brother and Osmel have cellphones. When they get together at home all they do is try to tempt and entice me.

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Cuba’s Gay Population Is Itself Responsible

The current session of the Cuban parliament is ending and the issue of the extension of rights to people with sexual orientations that are not heterosexual has again been left off the island’s legislative agenda. Though outraged, I’m really not too surprised given the lack of autonomy of the Cuban Parliament.

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Controversy around the Word ‘Terror’

The subject that succeeded in catching the focus of the group was a debate around the use of the words “state of terror” in describing Cuba. The question was whether it’s appropriate to use the “terror” in referring to people’s emotional state here and to explain their behavior.

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My Julieta Venegas Concert

The Mexican singer Julieta Venegas was in Cuba to support the initiative “Todas contracorriente” (Everyone Against the Current), which opposes violence against women and girls. She gave a concert at the National Theater in Havana.

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The Artist of 23rd and 12th in Havana

He seemed more like a cartoonist, one of those who charge ten pesos or one CUC for a job that often isn’t even that good and only takes a few seconds. My first reaction was to ignore him and to continue the conversation I was having with some friends…

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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.

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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.

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