In elementary school we had to draw a lot every day. The first thing I learned how to sketch was the sun – big, round and yellow. One day I didn’t have that color on hand to fill in the circle that I’d made in the far left-hand corner of my paper. I had no alternative but to begin crying.
Read MoreDays later my friend Dr. Raquel insinuated to me that Conrado was one of those doctors that graduate “by the skin of their teeth” and that are very self-serving, because they spend their time negotiating gifts from patients instead of giving them medical treatment – as they should.
Read MoreEvery time I take the bus, I take a close look at the other passengers. If I am seated, I try to see if there is an elderly person, someone with disabilities or a pregnant woman close by to give them my seat. Sometimes I am tired and do it reluctantly.
Read MoreSome who come to the beautifully restored neighbourhood of Old Havana might find that the only Cubans they see -other then the security guards, park wardens and street cleaners- are blonde or brunette with skin that is, apparently, white.
Read MoreIt is no less true that I am bitter with living under an oppressive and paternalistic régime that wants to control everything and that removes from people the possibility to develop themselves as the protagonists of their own lives; that’s how I see things.
Read MoreRecently, I’ve been hearing an increasing number of heard Cuban leaders, journalists and citizens referring to the need to reduce state expenditures on the country’s social programs. The debate is centered on the long-serving, meager and (in my opinion) now irreplaceable ration book.
Read MoreI realize that all these changes are controversial (in addition to their not getting at the root of the problem), but I’m pleased that they’re taking place. I believe that the key is the diversification of the educational system in conformity with the interests, aptitudes and motivations of the students.
Read MoreFinally, after three hours, my wait bore fruit. The doors that had allowed so many people step through had opened for me. I was received by Conrado, an average looking man except for the clothes he wore. Instead of the usual doctors’ coat, he was dressed in a santería “iyabó.”
Read MoreEl Salvadorian poet Roque Dalton once commented that poetry brought him closer to the revolution. In my case, the coin landed on the other side; it was the “revolution” – as a struggle of social contradictions – that drew me to political science, and through that I came closer to poetry, revolutionary literature, the exact sciences and social sciences.
Read MoreThe few examples of democracy that have been given to the world have in fact occurred – and not without reason – under the danger of foreign attack; that is to say, foreign aggression is not an excuse for refraining from the call for self-government, but just the opposite.
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