My ninth-grade physics teacher is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had, and I am not comparing him to mediocre instructors or those who haven’t had a serious education. I belong to a generation of Cubans who had the fortune of having good teachers, teachers who were not only well-versed in the course contents they taught and the teaching methods they used to do so, but who were also extremely passionate about their work.
Read MoreI have always respected the opinion of those who honestly express their dissatisfaction or disagreement with the socialist system and who prefer capitalism, even with all its evils and inequality. Some of my friends have left Cuba for capitalist countries (in search of a dubious prosperity) and have not ceased being my friends because of this.
Read MoreAn authoritarian system that draws very clear limits for public expression comes at a high cost for society as it hinders the maturation of the ideologies that will be called on to take Cuba’s future political stage. And an ideology is not simply a corpus of more or less interconnected ideas. It is also an interpretation of society, a way of interacting with the subjects the ideology is aimed at.
Read MoreI recently read an article by a fellow Havana Times blogger which mentions how the renowned Cuban actress Ana Luisa Rubio was beaten up as part of a government reprisal. When I first read her name, I had the impression I didn’t know the actress. After doing a Google search and seeing her photos, I immediately recognized her and felt profound pain.
Read MoreCuba’s is a multiracial society. This issue, however, is nowhere addressed in the country’s study programs. This holds for junior, senior secondary and higher education. The issue isn’t only passed over in silence at the different classes and lectures students attend.
Read MoreI recently saw a rather unusual film: Flatland. It made such a deep impression on me that I went out and read the novel it was based on. Written by Edwin A. Abbot, it was first published in 1884.
Read MoreRecently, I made use of my Cuban medical insurance for the first time. The medical attention I received at the hospital was excellent: in a couple of hours, I was seen by a physician and two other specialists. The problem came up afterwards….
Read MorePart of the international Left, the Old Left that never managed to get in step with the times, fails to understand that the Cuban leadership has slowly become a new Right.
Read MoreIf you were to ask the average Cuban why they wouldn’t consider becoming a teacher, they would most likely laugh in your face or limit themselves to replying that Cuban teachers are overworked and underpaid. The saddest part of that is that it’s true. In today’s Cuba, becoming a teacher is not at the top of anyone’s list. Could we reasonably expect things to be any different?
Read MoreIn the course of my five years in Venezuela, I undertook several journalistic investigations which allowed me to trail numerous criminals who, hiding behind their embroidered guayabera shirts and medical gowns, carried out all manner of illegal actions and turned Cuba’s internationalist medical mission into a veritable den of corruption.
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