Veronica Vega’s diary

Unlimited Reggaeton in Cuba

As well as dengue fever or Zica, Cuba is suffering the scourge of another unknown virus that has become a plague: reggaeton. You mustn’t underestimate the power of noise. It travels through space like an overwhelming invasion and it doesn’t need to ask for any bureaucratic red tape or permits.

The World Doesn’t Have Extremes

I’m sure that Cuba’s experience is already enough to find a path that can make Marti’s dream (“for all and for the well-being of all”) a reality without committing itself to any “-ism” and only using what works, ignoring parts of the world that only check minds and maps.

Bribes and red carpets

A friend told me about an ethical conflict: he had managed to get a medical appointment for his wife who has problems with her thyroid. He was even given the “gift” he’d have to hand over to the specialist.

US-Cuba: Bridges vs. Walls

A bridge manages to unite something that has been divided by geography, politics or prejudice. In the case of the United States and Cuba, it’s a pressing need rather than a symbol. (10 photos)

The Value of Life

Hurricane Irma ripped a coconut palm out from the roots in front of my building. It was a blow to see it the next day, taken down lying on the grass, but it was worse to see another that had managed to survive being cut down.

Waking up with Hurricane Irma

I vividly remember the vision that they used to give me at school about the excessive poverty that ate away at the island before 1959 and that feeling of pride when faced with a dream of accomplished justice: “that’s all in the past now.”