Not long ago, we were visited at home by a 13-year-old boy who had gone through six years of elementary education and was in his first year of junior high school (seventh grade, in other words). The young boy surprised me by his deportment and good manners.
Read MoreThroughout Britain these last few days hundreds of thousands of people are celebrating the death of Margaret Thatcher, in their hearts or on the streets. They were drinking champagne today Saturday in Piccadilly Circus, London and elsewhere in the towns and cities throughout Britain that Thatcher left blighted by her policy reforms and her desire to crush the unions.
Read More“I swear to you Chavez, my vote’s for Maduro!” With these words and other songs in support of Chavista candidate Nicolas Maduro, a red tide overflowed seven avenues in Caracas. If anyone still doubted the way the Venezuelan people support their interim president, they couldn’t have after having seen this massive march.
Read MoreIn the middle of Beyonce’s dash across the city, runnning here and there, I got a phone call from Ulises Aquino, the director of the “Opera de la Calle” (Opera in the Street). He was informing me that they would be reopening their space because Beyonce had asked to see their show.
Read MoreCarpentier spoke of “magical realism,” just as people had spoken of this earlier in Europe. Similarly, Stalinists defended their grim “socialist realism.” Now, Cuba — a country with restricted internet access for its citizens — is showcasing to the world the island’s most famous blogger who is giving us “virtual realism.”
Read MoreThe other day, I was going to visit my mother and by chance I decided to get off the bus that was going to drop me at Fraternity Park. From there I could see an agglomeration of people on the ground floor of the Saratoga Hotel, and since I’m curious, I decided to go over there. The stir was over the supposed presence of Beyoncé.
Read MoreThis April marks a decade since one of the most depressing moments of recent Cuban history: Black Spring. It was a time when Fidel Castro, excited about what he recognized as a revolutionary wave in Latin America and the arrival of the first Venezuelan subsidies, decided to eradicate all signs of discontent and opposition.
Read MoreIn Cuba, when you do something completely out of place, with no justification, and erratically, we simply say “te has cagado” (you screwed up). Simply, anyone equipped with common sense knows that Korea would disappear from the face of the earth without anything serious happening to the Americans.
Read MoreI carefully read some articles in Havana Times that referred to alleged racial discrimination in Cuba, an opinion I disagree with completely. Nor is it true that Cuban society is viewed as a white society. Quite the contrary. Emphasis is always made on our African roots being an important element in the formation of our nation.
Read MoreSome people just rub you the wrong way the first time you see them. It’s like falling out of love at first sight. It doesn’t matter if what they do or say is good or bad, of if they’re for or against you…the thing is that you simply can’t stand them.
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