Hitching in Cuba is regulated by the state. Pick-up points were established near some bus stops where inspectors (known as azules, or “blues,” which is the color of their uniforms) have been positioned to stop any government-owned car and fill extra seats with passengers who need a lift.
Read MoreRecently, when I read the excellent Havana Times interview “Miriam Celaya: A Dissident by Nature” by my colleague Yusimi Rodriguez, it confirmed my thesis that the Cuban blogosphere is fragmented, consisting of fiefdoms and courts like in the Middle Ages. While some share commonalities, others are definitely at opposing ends of the political spectrum.
Read MoreThe crackers we bought to “liven up” the end of the year ended up hurting my tongue and gums. They’re so hard that they snap off and break if you bite them, and though they’re sold as “saltines” they have no flavor whatsoever.
Read MoreUntil I left high school, I didn’t know how much tenacity I really possessed; I’d never had a chance to test it. It took a lot for me to adapt to the level of demands at the university.
Read MoreThe news spread like wildfire through the neighborhood. I was awakened by the phone. It was my cousin Lucia who had interrupted my early morning dreams. “Rosa, get up!” she commanded, like some general giving orders to his troops to march into battle.
Read MoreAnother occupied building has collapsed in Havana, this time only partially and with no fatalities, but in the same district of Centro Havana.
Read MoreHavana looks like a city of smoke. Those of us with allergies or asthma are confronted with a tremendous dilemma: whether to leave town or stay despite the diseases. Leaving the city isn’t so easy, and even if it were, where would we go to save ourselves?
Read MoreWe Cubans were hopeful, though skeptical. It was believed that because of the wave of “change” taking place in the country, the First National Conference of the Communist Party of Cuba was going to come up with real proposals aimed at reshaping political and social life on our island.
Read MoreI had to pack up all my stuff once again, with this making it the third apartment I’ve lived in since I finished college.In just one year and five months I’ve bounced through three municipalities here in Havana
Read MoreA few years ago, when a student asked the president of the island’s National Assembly when would Cubans have a real chance to travel, the nation’s highest legislator responded with a paroxysm: “If everyone in the world could do that, the skies would be filled with airplanes!”
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