I had already experienced 20 years of life when I entered the world of drugs for the first time. On days when there were parties among circles at the university, we all kicked in to buy chispaetrén (distilled home-brewed alcohol having the taste of kerosene).
Read MoreIt is a myth, a dream or a half truth. Movies, websites, books and all type debates have been generated concerning US government projects aimed at controlling people’s minds, to turn them into robots that obey the most senseless orders. Power is the obsession, the motivating force behind that idea.
Read MoreThis is an expression of solidarity with the drivers because people know that these workers —like themselves— certainly aren’t paid a wage that’s enough to live on.
Read MoreWhen I was just a boy, I had dreamed of being a college student. However, upon finishing high school, the stones of the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, impacting the center of life of those of us in Cuba.
Read MoreWhen I’m at the bus stop, I almost always see a number of buses fly by that don’t pick anyone up. These aren’t the vehicles that make up the public transit system, but ones that belong to certain State-run rental agencies.
Read MoreFew foreign cities have such a vital importance in the imagination of people in another country as the city of Miami has for Cubans. Always treated with hostility by the official State media, but often idealized by the average Cuban on the street, Miami today is for many Cubans on the island the closest thing to the “Cuban dream.”
Read MoreAs we entered the city of Matanzas, for me it was a completely new sensation and utterly different from what I’d imagined. I only knew that this province was a major producer of citrus fruit and henequen fiber, that it had a very intense cultural life, and that a large number of Cuban baseball stars had been born here…ah, and that it’s known as the “City of Bridges.”
Read MoreTo maintain both forms of partisanship (official and dissident) outside the electoral process and to prevent police interference in the community would be examples of respect for civic will and for the legitimacy of perhaps the only level in the nation where popular participation still plays a leading role (and not mere ornamentation).
Read MoreI don’t believe in the bureaucracy, and less still that somebody is capable of filling out a form to enter the United States admitting “Yes sir, I belonged to a terrorist organization that taught me how to plant bombs on commercial airplanes; in fact, once we did place one, and it worked.”
Read MoreIn front of my building are two benches where several youth from the block sit to talk. In these cool January days, when I’ve taken the dog downstairs for a walk, I’ve sat near them and have been able to hear their discussions.
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