Diaries Archives - Page 626 of 635

At First Sight

From the very beginning contact with Cubans was smooth. The sympathies were mutual, and one could note a special appreciation for Argentina; there was always the comment that we came from the “land of Che.”

View from another Balcony

I’ve lived in this neighborhood for more than a decade. Barely three blocks from my house there’s a modern six-story building, probably from the fifties. This cold, or rather chilly morning in February, the aristocratic penthouse balcony and I met each other for the first time.

Will We Ever Do it Right?

Those like me who have spent years working in culture know that this is not the first time such a situation has happened. We also know we haven’t -like the song goes- ‘tripped on the same stone twice,’ but a million times.

My Leap into a Mexican Soap Opera

The next leap came when I finished my military service and decided to leave home to try life in the northeastern Cuban province of Holguin. My hope was that being in a province far from the capital, the competition in the art world would be less, and that perhaps I could develop my skills as a writer.

My High School Days

We experienced the incomparable pain of losing a mother, the infinite happiness of the birth of a brother, the uncertainty of the first sexual relationship, fear before the immensity of discovering homosexuality, and the exquisite certainty of unconditional support.

The Wedding

A female friend, tired of fighting with her family to make them understand and accept her sexual orientation, decided to marry. The chosen groom was my boyfriend. At the time he wasn’t comfortable with his life at home since he hardly had any privacy.

Balustrades

The balustrades are part of the new constructions undertaken on their own initiative by many Cubans. The chief materials are cement and at times plaster, the form is kitsch, and the aim is to reclaim a concept of beauty, and at the same time serve as a status symbol.

My Days at the Book Fair

Participating as a worker at the Cuba International Book Fair has given me a different view of the event than as a visitor. Before, I came every year just like the public, buying books that interested me, always the ones that were in regular Cuban pesos.

Blogging: a Complicated Trade

You have to be careful, and that means that you can’t just simply say whatever you want. We are writing from inside Cuba, not from an ideal neutral location, and that brings with it a certain responsibility and commitment to what is right and also a certain personal danger that cannot be avoided.

Visa for Cuba

First, they asked for the per capita income of my family and second, they made perfectly clear two commitments I had to make: I must return to my place of origin upon finishing my studies to serve those in most need and I must not in any way interfere in the political affairs of Cuba.