Veronica Vega’s diary

My Barren Land

I have the sensation that Cuba is changing at a much more frenzied rhythm than can be perceived by plain sight.
When I talk with friends and acquaintances, the twists in the conversation reveal a surprising and frightening panorama.

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Cuba and the Ability to Face Up to Adversity

If there is something we can reproach progress for is having weakened human beings in terms of self-control. The virtuosity of machines, our high-tech prodigies are useless if humanity does not come to terms with those things it cannot change: attachment, suffering, mortality.

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Cubans and the Advantages of Being Poor (II)

When the decades of the 70s and 80s in Cuba are termed the “innocent years”, I can’t help feeling a passing shadow, remembering the official “repudiation” of those who had the courage to confess that they didn’t feel satisfied with the shared poverty nor with the simulation of freedom.

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Drawing the Line in Cuba

I want to talk about this sensitive issue that people leaving comments mention: What have we ordinary Cubans done to get out of this mess? Why don’t we protest the low wages, price gouging, poor product quality, deteriorating education or medical care, lacking public transportation, etc.? Why is the solution still a raft or a visa?

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The advantages of being poor (I)

If I said that my country’s dysfunctionality has afforded me great opportunities for spiritual growth, most would think I’m being ironic. However, it’s true. The slings and arrows that daily put my patience to the test (and even my physical condition) vary from…

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The Price of Uniformity in Cuba

I am interested in joining the debate sparked off by the post “Uniformophobia” through this post – not because the author of the article in question is my son (who can answer for himself) but because of the criticisms one reader levels at his parents.

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The Cuba of My Mistreatment

What would humans be like without the ability to “edit” their memory, preventing neurosis and depression? Although, according to psychologists and psychiatrists, many mental disorders are caused by wounds buried in the depths of the subconscious.

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A Cuba Linguistic Dilemma

Lately, I seem to sense a light breath of optimism in the official slogans, something of an attempt at modernization, like this slogan that I’ve seen on several Havana billboards: “NEW CHALLENGES, NEW VICTORIES”.

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Cuba: The Country of Alzheimer’s

After watching Away From Her, a touching film about Alzheimer’s disease, that mysterious and devastating affliction whose depredations I’ve experienced up close, I can’t help ask myself whether everything else in life isn’t governed by a similar, fatal destiny.

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When Words Fail Us

While reading the article “Love in Times of Indifference” posted by my friend and colleague Warhol P, I find myself talking to him in my head because we live at opposite extremes of the city and neither of us has a home phone or a cell phone, much less internet service.

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