Diaries

Silk Buttocks in Venezuela

Beatriz, I believe, is the name of the young girl in 1103. I live in 1203, with my room just over hers. At times, in the early morning, her voice floats up to me as she speaks in anguished tones with someone on her cell phone.

Read More

A Stroll Through Centro Havana

I felt a deep communion with the past, with memories and desires that reappeared unexpectedly, now at a stop, suspended in view of everyone as a great work of conceptual art, admired by some and disliked by others.

Read More

Cuba Group Seeks Inclusive Public Forums

Cuba’s Critical Observatory network (OC) has just published on its blog a statement or “position” calling for forums of public expression that are truly pluralistic, inclusive and open to the various tendencies on the island that are struggling to be heard.

Read More

To Love, to Fear, to Leave

When I started studying Spanish grammar, way back when I was in elementary school, I didn’t even notice the romantic nature of the model verbs we used for learning how to conjugate all of the Spanish verb forms. These verbs were “to love,” “to fear” and to “leave.”

Read More

The Players in Today’s Cuba

Four or five years ago, daring to speak openly in Cuba of political change or transition, as some call it, was tantamount to self-crucifixion and virtually nobody dared expose themselves to that. But now, it is striking how many fellow citizens broach the subject with the greatest nonchalance.

Read More

Domestic Tourism Here in Cuba

For Cubans, traveling in our own country to see its beauty is a veritable utopia. The difficulties lie in the relatively high costs of transportation, accommodations, food and leisure activities themselves.

Read More

Vision Problems

I had felt something was wrong when the eye doctor — in her immaculate white coat — asked if I wanted the prescription made out for making my purchase in national currency pesos or in hard-currency CUCs.

Read More