Rosa Martinez’s Diary

Among the most frightening moments I’ve ever lived, when I felt like I was on the brink of death, was when I was in 11th grade and had gone to spend my summer holidays with some relatives in Santiago de Cuba.

A few months ago, and after a lot of looking around, I got a new job at the Medical Sciences University, in Guantanamo. This institution has given me a lot of anecdotes to share with HT friends, but I’m a little disheartened right now, so I’ll write them slowly over time.

I have already told you some stories about my neighborhood and its people, which give you an idea more or less of how we live here. Living in a ghetto, like everything in life, has its advantages and disadvantages.

Cuba, reached World Water Day this year suffering one of the most intense droughts in the last 100 years, severely affecting over 80% of the population. Out of the country’s 168 municipalities, 141 are affected and 53 have been declared in extreme drought.

There are days when, for no apparent reason, you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and even another person’s smile can annoy you. You don’t understand why exactly, because of course there are lots of things which we don’t understand.

Getting to work or school on time is one of the most difficult challenges we ordinary Cubans face, due to the serious complications that exist in public transport across the country. Nevertheless, we go to great lengths and make a lot of effort to do so.

If you ask any Cuban about the most interesting novelties of the last two years on a national scope, they will surely mention the Wi-Fi service, which has been very useful for a mostly disconnected population.

It’s around 5 AM, the neighbor’s skinny cockerels begin their singing at about 3 AM; at that time though, I never hear them, luckily, but at 5 AM they do disturb my ears.

Paco Canon is one of the eccentric characters we have here in my neighborhood and I want to share some lines and histories with friends at Havana Times. According to our eldest neighbors, he was a primary school teacher…

The year 2017 already looks like it’s going to be a much more difficult one for the Cuban people. The national economy had negative growth last year, in spite of the 4 million tourists – a record number – who visited the country.