I’ve always heard a phrase which, in socialist Cuba, held a lot of weight: “The power of the people, this is real power.” I don’t know very well, nor am I very interested in, who the author of this idea is, but what I do know is that it was constantly used in every aspect of our daily life.
Ever since I was a little girl, one of my recurring dreams involved traveling, it still does. I went to Egypt and saw the extraordinary pyramids as well as the Nile’s magic waters. I also went to France’s most important and the world’s most visited museum, the Louvre…
Since I was a little girl, I’ve been forced to watch the official National News on Cuban TV. “You have to be informed,” my father used to say; “we should know what is going on in the world so nobody can fool us,” my mother used to add.
My dad would always tell me that, when I was small, I would constantly put him a hard spot with difficult questions at inopportune times, and that, many a time, he didn’t know how to handle these.
The average worker has to work miracles; either by stealing from their workplace or having an extra income so that their loved ones won’t go hungry. There’s hardly any variety of products, even though we live in a tropical country.
Without a doubt, the Cuba we have today is not the one most Cubans dream of. This is true of Cubans living here and even more so of those living abroad. Monthly salaries aren’t even enough to cover the most basic human needs.
Without the past, there’s neither present nor future. That is why it is important to know where our nations come from, the history of our peoples and families. The foundations of a nation’s customs, culture and traditions are to be found in its history.
The first black president of the United States had mentioned his interest in coming to Cuba several times, but many, including myself, thought that would only happen if the transition longed for by Americans and some Cubans happened.
Amanda is a 26-year-old woman from Guantanamo who lives with her parents, her grandparents, her older sister, her husband and her two-year-old child. She continues to dream of having her own place, where she can live with her husband and daughter, alone.
For some time now – around two months, I would say – my younger daughter, who recently turned seven, has developed an obsession with the issue of the rich and the poor. It all began in a class at school…