Diaries Archives - Page 602 of 634

Havana Can’t Bear Anymore

This whole situation has reverberated in areas such as Cojímar, which was a small community up until 15 years ago and has now become a large suburb.

There is no better evidence of the precarious health of this society than the oppressive reproductions of Fidel’s face on every corner, or the immortalized quotations by him and the rest of the commandants. There is hardly one thoroughfare in this city that is not overwhelmed with hulking posters that represent them at different stages of their lives.

My Thesis Gets a Boost (2)

“The End” is a story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges that begins at sundown and unfolds throughout the night. Its very name prepares you for something that will occur at the conclusion: in this case several things, among them daybreak.

Constitutional Order and the Cuban Constitution (I)

Recently, a bit of a controversy was initiated in Havana Times concerning an article titled “Respect for Constitutional Order” by our friend Erasmo Calzadilla. Here I only wish to clarify a few points.

The End of a Cuban Summer

They say that summers in Cuba are everything but mild. Prior to the beginning of this summer that is just ending, an announcement was made that electricity consumption was outpacing projections, which acted to ignite concerns about the return of residential blackouts.

Fresh Fish?

Commercial legislation in Cuba has established tremendous restrictions on private sales. These constraints practically exclude local suppliers (fishermen) from the marketplace, since they are prevented from setting up a genuine fish market, something basic in a historic fishing town such as Santa Cruz.

Cuba and Guilt

At the beginning, many saw the Revolution as no more than a solution to end a bloody dictatorship that was smothering a good portion of the population. But it became more ambitious, first declaring itself the enemy of imperialism wherever it went, and then declaring itself socialist.

Necessary Books

Thousands of writers, poets, novelists, essayists, young and not so young, who dedicated themselves to writing literature employing all dimensions of the word, with the freedoms and experiences we have gained or lost throughout life, wait patiently for their work to see the light of day. Meanwhile, political or historical texts are for sale, as if our people only had the right to read what someone determines to be politically correct.

My Thesis and Old Heads (part I)

Conflict between generations is like a snake that bites its tail. Throughout all times, everywhere in the world, this conflict has existed – demonstrated in the unwillingness of the prevailing generation to hand over power to its natural successors.

My Father’s Childhood (Part II)

There were other occasions in which the handouts were not so advantageous for my father. Those were times in which he found himself being taken in by families that were low-down, low-spirited, unfriendly and even abusive.