Rosa Martinez’s Diary

Like a ‘Cuban with Italian Eyes’

Many of us on the island have gotten used to seeing only the thorny side of our society: woefully inadequate pay, the critical situation of transportation, which puts all of us in a bad mood; the need to be a magician to keep food on the table, as well as other problems that exist in any society on the planet.

For one reason or another, things we don’t recognize are admired in a special way by many foreigners who visit us every year. They see beyond the difficult economic situation in which most of us Cubans live.

A Guantanamera Cheering for Villa Clara

I’m a faithful follower of Cuban baseball. Ever since I was little, going to the stadium has constituted one of my most enjoyable pleasures – with the music, the shouting before each home team hit, the songs mocking our opponents, and those ever-friendly disputes with the referees.

‘What a Scare’: Quake in Eastern Cuba

Though several days have now gone by since the earth tremor that shook Santiago and Guantanamo residents, I still feel a bit nervous even recalling the event, one of the two most intense earthquakes on our island in more than 50 years.

Cuba’s Press & Telling the Truth

I’m not a faithful follower of the popular Brazilian soap operas shown on Cuban TV. However, a character in the current soap, La Favorita, has inspired me to spend a few minutes watching that series at least once a week. I admire Ze Bob, a young journalist who constantly criticizes the corrupt legislator Romildo Rosa, and who doesn’t fear being beaten or murdered in the defense of his ideas.