I still remember the question put to me when I applied to become a history teacher, right after finishing the twelfth grade: “Do you maintain any type of contact with relatives living abroad?” It still pains me to have written a “NO” in the questionnaire. What hurts most is that it was actually true…
Read MoreIt seems to have become something of a habit: every year, at around this time in the summer, I head over to Havana’s Otto Parellada club, where my son, Rogelio Jr., and I enjoy a good swim at the coast. Then, ingrate that I am, I write some harsh criticisms about the place.
Read MoreCuba’s Association for the Physically Impaired (ACLIFIM) recently held an important congress. According to the association’s leaders, one of the main issues debated on during the gathering was the social integration and quality of life of disabled persons.
Read MoreA lot has been said about the Cuban press and its journalists on social networks. Those employed by Cuba’s media have criticized the press they themselves work for, where they feel they are denied a true, active role.
Read MoreAn old proverb says that, when God denies you children, the devil comes along and gives you nephews – and this so that one may experience the joy of children, human beings who, many a time, see things more clearly than adults, plagued as we are by fears and the traumas of our education.
Read MoreThe carnival area has been reduced considerably because half of the broad ocean drive has been blocked off and fitted with grand stands, where, for a price, you can watch the floats, masquerades or any other artistic attraction, enjoying the show away from the boisterous crowds that populate Cuba’s carnivals.
Read MoreThe review and discussion of Cuba’s draft labor bill began in July and will continue until the month of October at all workplaces around the country. Organized by the union sections, these discussions are aimed at gathering the opinions, suggestions, and all items which the workers feel should be added or removed from the document, before it is debated and approved by the National Assembly.
Read More“Every time I’d defend the Cuban revolution, people would retort: if you like it so much, why don’t you go live in Cuba?” Spanish actor Willy Toledo tells me, adding: “now that I’ve actually moved to Cuba, they’re going crazy, because there’s nothing they can say to me anymore.”
Read MoreI don’t have any personal experience with what it means to have a disability, nor would I ever want to. I’ve been sick a few times and I’ve had surgery more than once, requiring the care and attention of my family members, but these were all situations that I knew wouldn’t last for more than a couple months, nothing like being incapacitated permanently.
Read MoreIn one of the scenes of Coriolanus, a film based on Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name, a Roman general chastises the people for being devoid of honor and for having opinions that change with the winds.
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