The fact that the Havana International Book Fair is dedicated to Russia makes my hair stand on end. I fear they’ll again try to establish the same aristocracy here that existed back then in the former Soviet Union, but one with a Russian essence. I’m afraid they’re the ones who will attempt to impose their aesthetics and prices, in both the State market and the black market.
Read MoreSince a little over a month ago, I’ve been learning how to camouflage myself; I didn’t want to write. Around me was death and hunger, more than what was printed in the papers.
Read MoreMany youth will be motivated to join the workforce due to the critical economic situation of their families, though they haven’t thoroughly considered the fact that concurrent studying and working can negatively impact on their academic performance.
Read MoreThis past New Year’s I visited my parents in Santiago de Cuba, and —like I always do— I went another 25 miles to my grandmother’s house in the municipality of Palma Soriano. There I regained contact with a figure that’s very close to my emotional memories and which is also one of the most interesting in eastern Cuba: the radio.
Read MoreLiving my young adulthood outside of Argentina and the contact with Cuban society had made me feel closely attached to the island: to its happiness, progress, frustrations and future. The time it was taking to resolve my passport problem was eating away at the roots of my decision and making me question my returning to Argentina.
Read MoreI was walking along one of those long roads, walking just to walk, looking calmly at things we hardly see when speeding by, squeezed together and paranoiac inside a city bus.
Read MoreBeing a veterinarian can be quite lucrative profession in Cuba. I know several of them who are good people, but there are others who think only of their businesses (be they legal or informal) and not of the animals.
Read MoreI’m not a faithful follower of the popular Brazilian soap operas shown on Cuban TV. However, a character in the current soap, La Favorita, has inspired me to spend a few minutes watching that series at least once a week. I admire Ze Bob, a young journalist who constantly criticizes the corrupt legislator Romildo Rosa, and who doesn’t fear being beaten or murdered in the defense of his ideas.
Read MoreWhen I first began to write for this website, I published a diary entry about stray dogs. The problem of the abandonment of our loyal companions continues – so a question tormented me: loyal to whom? To be honest, I believed negligence was an incurable evil rooted deep inside many human beings. But a recent experience has given me a hope that once again lights up my days.
Read MoreIn my daycare center, and later in all my schools, all of the teachers were in one way or another fond of this same dictatorial method. This was the most effective way (they believed) for controlling brats, of which there were plenty in the classrooms of marginal neighborhoods like mine.
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