Diaries Archives - Page 572 of 639

Violence vs. Civility

Regardless of everything, there’s something that doesn’t cease to be contradictory: I find that despite the violence in the streets, I don’t sense violence from the people of Caracas. (8 photos)

On Election Day last Sunday, I was wrapped up in a family drama. As I didn’t sleep at home the night before, I called my mother early that morning to tell her I wasn’t going to vote. For years I had been mustering the courage to do something like this, but this was the first time I had reached the point of taking action.

Again, Education… (I)

When I studied in England a couple of years ago, my neighbor in the room next door was a pretty young Northern Irish woman named Laura who worked as an elementary school teacher. On one occasion I asked her how in such a multicultural city as London the problem of teaching world history to kids of diverse ethnic origins and religious affiliations was approached.

While Waiting for May Day

Meanwhile, Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner could be seen strolling along with Obama, posing for the picture and offering her support to the nuclear monopoly of the US and its allies.

Health and Good Cheer

“To those who have health, cheers! Cheers like the slaves used to say,” said a smiling gentleman, greeting me back in January upon the arrival of the new year. He’s a retired doctor, the father of a friend.

Many Cubans Turn to San Lazaro

When we have a health problem, many of us Cubans turn to the Gods so they’ll help cure whatever ails us. San Lazaro, for example, is one of those deities who are most called upon.

Independent Candidates without Platforms

I asked myself: Why aren’t we as voters able to find out how our future delegates propose to solve the problems of our neighborhoods? What do they think about the situation of the country and the paths to improving it? What do they intend to do in the municipal assemblies and the popular councils?

In Falcon I Saw the Stars

The most amusing thing was a pack of little donkeys we saw on the trip along the peninsula in the State of Falcon. Never before had I seen wild donkeys; they were both distrustful and lovers of the sea that greets the most arid territory I’ve ever visited.

Machismo vs. Humanity

Though over the last several years there have been major changes in terms of how homosexuals are treated in Cuba, still present are elements of the backward ancestral machismo that we have cultivated along the course of our history. This is visible in homes as well as in the street, as much among everyday people as in the offices of State institutions.

Viva Cuba Libre for Marti & Fernando

For those of us who suffer the “marble syndrome,” or who engage in the petrifaction of our heroes by transforming them into empty statues, we find ourselves face to face with a Marti who masturbates, who disregards the economic problems of his family, who lives off the charity of his good friends to pursue his dreams.