The student that had originally invited us on the bus burst into a very impressive rendition of a popular Reggaeton song. At this point the girl sitting next to me began doing the “ola,” similar to the American “wave” but with some variation.
Read MoreIf I couldn’t identify more with this film, it was because of the obvious gaps in the script. The weaknesses in the storyline couldn’t be saved even by the good acting. I was unable to discern a leading character.
Read MoreIn the market we divided up the purchases. Ana Maria was responsible for yogurt and eggs. While she waited in line, a more than seventy-year-old man struck up a conversation with her.
Read MoreMy friend, Cuban essayist and poet Victor Fowler, has discerned a dichotomy in Cuba between “the body of pleasure” and “the body of the Homeland.” I believe that explains why the bodies of the “Bratz” are popular among Cuban girls.
Read MoreThere wasn’t a soul left on the shore at this hour – an unusual situation – due to a cold front which had enveloped the city. We collapsed as soon as we reached the sand, overcome by fatigue and sleepiness.
Read MoreBorn in the economic crisis of the 1990s, at a time when the government was scrambling in its capacity as employer, they came to be known as “merolicos”, a word meaning “informal vendor,” which was added to the Cuban vocabulary from a Mexican soap opera.
Read MoreMy friend is much loved and his friends and family eagerly skipped work or other activities, or took their vacations to spend time with him going to parties, renting beach houses or traveling the island. I joined in two activities.
Read MoreI had never been in a courtroom before; it was quite small with long wooden benches, like in the movies. The judges and lawyers were dressed in long black gowns, which I imagine must be hot as hell in the summer.
Read MoreIn terms of getting permission to stay in Havana, we’re OK for now, in that we’re currently here legally as students. Afterwards -once we’ve finished our studies- that remains something we’ll have to take care of.
Read MoreAll these debates resulted in the inevitable; university professors told how they had studied using Russian text books, which falsified or distorted the ideas of the greatest Marxist thinkers, and how those books are still being used at the university.
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