For one reason or another – and through one means of another – several of my young cousins, nearly all of my friends from university (most of them close friends), some neighbors and even acquaintances from my junior and senior secondary days have left the country.
The situation of nearly two thousand Cubans who are stranded in Costa Rican territory is not news to virtually anyone. It’s not worth talking about whose to blame, but if I did, I would have put my name first on the list…
Anyone who says Cuba today is no different from what it was 10 or 15 years ago are deceiving themselves. Though some changes are barely perceptible for the average citizen, the truth is that the country has gradually changed, at the pace its leaders have seen fit.
Every country – every culture – has its own customs and traditions, its important and memorable dates. Without a doubt, September 1st is one of Cuba’s most significant dates. It matters little that people speak of the declining quality of education…
The water was running across the sidewalk unchecked. Several people worriedly looked at the fatal spill, wondering, perhaps, where in our draught-stricken city it could be coming from. The sight was just one more worry we Cubans deal with every day.
Television can either be very good or very bad for children – it all essentially depends on how we use it and the times during the day when we allow our little ones to sit in front of the small screen.
The widespread tendency to blame the government for all the bad things that happen to us may be owed to having lived – for many years – in a social system filled with obstacles where some leaders take advantage of their positions to live comfortably.
“Cuba is one, endless summer.” This old saying, though a bit hackneyed, happens to be true, particularly towards the country’s eastern end, where low temperatures are more and more rare.
My neighbor has told me about a man who died here right at the outset of summer. He drowned at a beach on the south coast of Guantanamo province. It happened when summer had barely begun.
Who hasn’t felt lonely at one point? Who hasn’t cried over the distance of a loved one, who hasn’t personally experienced the suffering caused by the loss of someone we hold dear?