Regina Cano’s Diary

In my neighborhood, at certain times of the year, it’s common to see people dressed completely in white. This is because “Iyaboraje” sanctification rites in Cuba were unbanned after the economic crisis of the 1990s. People no longer conceal these; instead, they openly display the attributes of the religion and the “Santo” (saint, also called Orisha or God) who consecrates them.

I wrote the previous article (A Kids Passion) with the intention of telling a story about the same topic as this, but from a different angle. I have to admit that it was such a shame seeing the boy I described earlier dedicating so much anguish and adrenaline to entertainment that I felt bad about criticizing him.

Seeing my 12-year-old cousin obsessed with the new treasure that he handled daily piqued my curiosity. I found out it was a collection of cards based on stories from Japanese “manga” comics. The much-desired cards are permeated with magic.

I’ve always heard people older than me use the expression, “They say that…” and from there they start telling about some novel fact that was confirmed by others or, on occasions, by the official press.

Let’s not allow ourselves to be swept away by passion. Let’s not treat nonviolence with ingenuousness, if this was indeed ingenuousness. I insist on the need for training to be carried out, that conscious action be taken.

These are occurrences that the multitudes experience daily: catching public transportation, buying food, purchasing a postage stamp, making a call on a public telephone or going to see a doctor. All these acts build up pressure that impact on you more frequently than you would like and are evidenced in our manner of speaking, walking and even dancing.

All that has constituted this long process to get our homes rehabilitated has allowed me to better understand the different levels that govern and move the domestic economy here in Cuba, where we enjoy the “the power of the people” as owners and lords of all in sight and everything we can touch with our hands.

Presently, ordinary Cubans don’t totally understand what has happened, but they perceive that a crisis in values exists among the last two generations. They also find an evident reference around which all fingers point: the crisis of the 1990s.

The expression “Formal Education” brings to my mind a concept that was stated and re-stated during my adolescence and young adulthood. Schools and the mass media communicated it, mass organizations and political groups monitored it, and the people – of course – reflected it.

As the affected residents, we agreed to follow up on our complaints through three neighborhood committees that would attend to each phase of the complaint process, leaving an appeal to the Central Committee of the Communist Party as our ultimate step.