Diaries Archives - Page 589 of 646

When You Won’t Talk to Me

This brief piece has its roots in an unpleasant impression that has filled me in recent days, fueled by three refusals to grant interviews for this site, the Havana Times.

A few years ago I met a man whose name I can’t recall although the story that he told still astonishes me. He was a man in his forties who was always dressed in shorts, with no shoes. He never cut his hair, and when he smiled, you could see that almost all of his teeth were missing.

Returning Home to Argentina

My re-adaptation to Argentina is slow; much more so when one observes the radical differences that distance this society from Cuba.

Early Lessons in Russian Egocentrism

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.

They Wouldn’t Forgive Me

Since 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.

Students and Work

Many 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.

Radio in Cuba’s Backcountry

This 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.

See You Later Cuba

Living 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.

No Fear of the Ugly

I 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.

How Things Should Be

Being 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.