One of the most common disorders among Cubans who have been or are builders is sacrolumbalgia, followed on the list of importance (not in order) by lumbar deviations, vertebrae separations, shoulder dislocations and others.
Humans exist in this world without actually being able to compete with the rest of nature. If not for the coats, umbrellas, metal tools and such, we’d hardly make it from one season to the next.
A few weeks ago I visited a family in the Luyano neighborhood that’s dealing with a tick infestation. Every day, more than once a day, a family member in the house has to remove ticks from their dog (a mutt mixed with a Labrador).
Since that period when Cuba ran into “La Desgracia” (the hard times of the 90’s), I’ve heard and seen how people grouped around different faiths in Havana, and possibly throughout all of Cuba.
More often than even he himself would have liked, he would repeat a phrase that always prompted the curiosity of anyone who heard it. He would say, “My neighbor, the master of the ritual,” which sounded as cryptic and mysterious to many Cubans as the secret Abakua sect to which he associated.
“When Cubans try to get close to a foreigner, it’s not to make friends. It’s always with the intention of getting something in return.” These were more or less the words of a Latin American woman who lived in Cuba for several years.
“Auntie’s Houses” is what they used to be called to cover up the real names of brothels here in the city. These days other polite terms have been adopted to identify these places of amorous encounters, rendezvous and dalliances.
The love of the mother for her child is unconditional — according to Cubans — as are the child’s feeling toward its mother. Yet in more than an insignificant percentage of instances nowadays, this image is broken and the pieces of the picture go flying.
Living with other people in a community on this island always involves patience, consideration, respect and understanding, qualities that are difficult to maintain where there are mixed social groups with diverging interests.
The falling of a 13-year-old girl from the fourth floor of her school building has shocked everyone who has heard the story (though I think relatively few people have).