Veronica Vega’s diary

I belong to the analog generation. The generation that watched Russian cartoons in black and white and lived the boom of the videotapes. I only received letters every three months and a birthday card from my father who had emigrated.

Walking down a street in Alamar, I heard a young woman say to another: “An old man fell from the 5th floor trying to get in through the balcony because he had left the key…”

I recently took part in a debate that gave me a glimpse into what Cuba would be like after the much-dreamed, feared and avoided transition comes about.

Not getting mixed up in politics is a premise of the majority of citizens in any society. Because ordinary citizens only aspire to live within a social framework that works the best it can, not relying on their active participation. Cuba isn’t an exception to this rule, in fact, it takes it to the extreme instead.

A friend suggested I write about a comment one of his acquaintances made: “Black and shit is the same; may the good black people excuse me.” If I had been the other person in that conversation, I would have turned my back on him, because with such a precedent, the likelihood of having a reasonable debate would be zero.

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.

Alternative art projects on the island has been treated worse than a bastard child. And not exactly by Cuba. People embrace them and are thankful. For every natural event, there is also a natural audience that identifies with it.

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.

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.

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)