Diaries Archives - Page 537 of 639

Maria Eugenia and I

Jorge Milanes Despaigne Early in the morning I was walking toward the Plaza de Armas, a place where on November

In Cuba the Bratz have grown in popularity. With the airs of clueless teens and the bodies of adult women, they sport oversized sunglasses and earrings, wear thin gold chains and costume jewelry, and prance around in their miniskirts or shorts complete with their accessorized fake-leather handbags.

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Havana Scenes (III)

Cubans are ever-increasingly breaking the silence barrier and expressing their collective disquiet. I was a recent witness on a packed bus when a collective burst of laughter signaled the approval of a politically risqué account that an old man tossed out.

The Day I Stopped Being a Child

Forty days ago my mom died. It was in a cold and whitish room in the Oncological Hospital; it was a small room, for two patients.

The Customer Isn’t Always Right

The factors at play against providing good service to the public are as varied as they are questionable. These range from the lack of competitive markets (Cubans, in any case, have to shop at stores that are essentially the same) to a system of distorted and an “inverted social pyramid” [where those with the least skills are on top].

What Was and Isn’t…

The question “Do you remember?” is a phrase heard every day by Cubans. It’s almost common place to describe some event or production that no longer is, like being in front of a store window displaying items you can’t buy with the currency you earn.

Defending My Rights in Cuba

“I’m not protesting. I’m defending my right to quality service, to be respected as a customer, to demand the conditions that I paid for as a passenger. I live in a free country and I’m entitled to defend my ideas!”

Cuba’s Missing News

Why should our press be the laughingstock if we have excellent journalists and professional personal capable of reporting to people? Why are our journalists limited in reporting or not reporting the news?

Fear of the Train

A family situation requires that I return to my home province in the next few days, and the only option I have left is going by train. Many would say that this is fine, that there’s no problem with that; but I’d respond that they’re completely mistaken.