Diaries Archives - Page 576 of 639

Alienated by Baseball

For me it’s amazing to see people so involved in a simple game. You feel as if they have something of value at stake (be it even vanity or pride) every time the players come out onto the field.

The defects of capitalist elections are repeated by heart in our country, but I believe that the time is coming to raise our voices to point out our own blemishes; that will be the point of departure for improvement.

A Guantanamera Cheering for Villa Clara

I’m a faithful follower of Cuban baseball. Ever since I was little, going to the stadium has constituted one of my most enjoyable pleasures – with the music, the shouting before each home team hit, the songs mocking our opponents, and those ever-friendly disputes with the referees.

Havaneurope?

Several days ago, while walking through Havana with a London photographer, he told me he didn’t like the restored part of the city because it appeared too much like just another European city. For this friend, what was different was capturing the municipality of Centro Havana in his lens, an area where the restoration work of the Office of the City Historian has yet to arrive.

My First Trip Abroad

I had never flown abroad, at least not physically. This first trip took me by surprise; I didn’t even have time to say goodbye to all my friends and family – that was the bad part. Nor do I like the fact I’ll have to go several months without seeing them. But I can’t complain; thousands of Cubans would love to be in my place.

The Return of the Boat

To get to school we had to cross the bridge that joins Cojimar with Alamar, two towns on the outskirts of Havana divided by a river.

Entering the Work World

I began the process for the validation of the medical degree I received in Cuba, which will take a minimum of five months. At the moment I’m looking for any kind of work.

Dispute over Human Rights in Cuba

For Cuban citizens it is virtually impossible (and punishable) to formally testify against, monitor or criticize any alleged human rights violation committed by officials or state institutions —on occasion contrary to its own 1992 socialist constitution— given the capacity for social control by the State and the subordination of the mass media to government directives.

My Neighbor’s Wake

My neighbor died this afternoon. What a shame! I want to go to the funeral home for a while. It’s ten o’clock at night right now, so I suppose I’ll stay there until around three in the morning, since I have to work tomorrow. On the way, I ran into other neighbors who were engaged in a lively conversation.

A Wanna Be a Bongo Player

We’re living in interesting moments today here in Havana. You can feel a kind of volatility characteristic of times of change, although it’s subtle and probably wouldn’t be noticed by an unobservant foreign visitor.