Diaries Archives - Page 547 of 642

The Miracle of Life

The P-15 bus was stuck on the train track as a locomotive was bearing down on us. I was in the middle part of the articulated vehicle, where there aren’t any windows, which is why I couldn’t see what was going on.

The American Ballet on a Caribbean Island

Early last Monday morning I went to the Karl Marx Theater here in Havana, the venue where the American Ballet Theatre will perform the first week of November. When I got there, a veritable “Trojan War” had broken out. People crowded into eight lines, with everyone pushing and screaming.

Patience Running Thin

Luis is a fervent revolutionary, though he only carries a regular ID card and not one of the Cuban Communist Party. The State is unable to solve his simple plumbing situation because two departments within it cannot come to an agreement. The two entities are the Water and Sewer Department on one hand, and the Housing Authority on the other.

Bang Bang, You’re Dead

Like anyone who’s not accustomed to having such armaments so close, a light anxiety came over me. Whenever there exists an arm, there also exists the possibility of it being fired…of someone being injured.

Laying the First Stone

“Laying the first stone” is a phrase that more than one Cuban boy or girl has communicated, or at least heard. It’s not new in settings where there coexist the glamour of one’s early youth and realization of a teenager’s inexperience.

Fears of the Economic Changes

There’s a rumor spreading in the streets of Havana. Fear is setting in as a result of the recent announcement concerning the planned mass lay off of Cuban workers – a half million within six months.

What They Don’t Want Me to Tell You

“Let Me Tell You” is not just a comedy show, over the past several years it has become the sole program on Cuban television that has faced up to the most pressing problems confronting our society.

I’m a Peaceful Man

I had discovered another nature lover: Alberto Muñoz, a former Cuban medal winner in wrestling. Now with the years weighing on his shoulders, he is determined to make his humble garden flourish.

Cuba’s Press and the Cepeda Affair

A few days ago the new Cuban baseball roster was announced for the Intercontinental Cup to take place starting October 23 in Chinese Taipei. The restructuring of Team Cuba has generated more than a few comments in our country among the followers of the national sport, especially over the exclusion of Sancti Spiritus slugger Frederich Cepeda.

Letter to a Cuban Abroad

I’m writing to let you know that here everyone is breathing, sleeping, eating and panicking over the “readjustment of Cuba’s economic model.”