Opinion Archives - Page 313 of 504

The Cubans Who Couldn’t See Obama

Ultimately, Barack Obama’s full speech was never rebroadcast on Cuba’s evening news, at a time of day when most Cubans could see it. The original, live broadcast was in the morning of a working day.

Trying to Plug-in at a Havana Cafe

I was in Vedado and urgently needed to get some writing done but my laptop battery was discharged. At a hard-currency coffee shop, all of the outlets were covered up with green tape. I headed down to the Hotel Vedado, willing to buy anything to be allowed to plug in my laptop there.

Cuba Faces New Challenges in an Old Conflict

Obama should be grateful for Cuba’s hospitality: no journalist asked him any difficult questions and no one engaged him on the subject of the embargo, the Guantanamo Naval Base, the prisoners kept there without trial, financing given the island’s opposition or the propaganda spread by Marti Radio and TV.

Fidel Castro Takes a Shot at Obama

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.

May I Please Read Cuban Writer Angel Santiesteban?

I 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.

Putting the Cuba Puzzle Together

US 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.

Ortega and the Nicaragua – Colombia Row

The 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.

Neo-Colonialism Arrives In Cuba

Raul 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?

Cuba After Obama’s Visit

President 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.

The Rolling Stones Cuba Concert and Blackouts

I’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.