If there’s something a control freak can’t stand, it’s being unable to control something. Till recently, the only voice Cubans heard was the voice of Fidel Castro. Other members of the leadership barely said anything and they appeared devoid of ideas and initiatives. Everything came from and was conceived by the great, gifted leader.
Read MoreI want to interview Cuban writer Angel Santiesteban. It’s not a new idea. I’ve wanted to for a long time, ever since reading that great short story, La Puerca (“The Pig”), set in a penitentiary-like system, which earned him the Cesar Galeano Award in 1999. I sent him a text message.
Read MoreUS President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba has been interpreted in the most varied ways. In this post, I try to offer a reading that I feel necessary and has been conspicuously absent from all analyses to date.
Read MoreThe favorable ruling at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the matter of Nicaragua’s dispute with Colombia reveals both a flagrant contradiction and holds a lesson for us.
Read MoreRaul Castro reiterated that “patience” is needed. The question is will patience indeed allow Cuba to take precautions to not let multinational corporations reinstall the colonial practices of the past that are still prevalent all over Latin-America today?
Read MorePresident Obama’s speech had a profound impact on the Cuban people. It was a powerful act of demystification. We had spent decades seeing US presidents only as part of bad news and suddenly seeing one, in the flesh, here in Cuba, telling us he was our friend, was an unforgettable experience.
Read MoreI’m desperate for the Rolling Stones concert in Cuba to begin and to end. I have nothing against rock’n’roll, quite the contrary, it is one of the few rhythms that I can dance with a minimum of expertise.
Read MoreThe US government isn’t looking to bring about a regime change in Cuba. It wants to get ahead of developments to avoid problems for both ends, an economic crisis on the island that could spiral into chaos…
Read MoreObama definitively does away with that omnipresent enemy that every authoritarian power needs to maintain collective paralysis and to justify its actions. The government can no longer turn to the image of a besieged fortress as a means of doing politics.
Read MoreThe US president didn’t arrive in Cuba with convincing arguments but to aim straight at the hearts of Cubans. Without a doubt, his aim was good. He was capable of earning widespread sympathy among the population, even before setting foot on the island.
Read More
