Andres is a lucky man these days. He has the opportunity to buy items at a hard-currency store with a certain amount of money that’s paid to him on his job. He’s fortunate. The vast majority of workers in the country receive their wages only in national currency, and in many cases they get paid less than 500 pesos a month (less than $20 USD).
Read MoreAfter living in my Guantanamo neighborhood for almost 40 years, I shouldn’t have so many questions; rather, I should be able find more answers. I shouldn’t be surprised that Adela left her house again, after her husband Julio got drunk and hit her and their child in front of the entire neighborhood.
Read MoreHere in Cuba there’s not a single store where one can buy a simple board to fix the dinner table or replace a roof beam. This means that the only alternative left to people is the black market. To top it all off, though the authorities have just begun allowing self-employment by carpenters, they don’t sell them any wood.
Read MoreDespite the proclaimed “national pride” that we Cubans show through thick or thin — as well as our obsession with looking at the world as a sphere that rotates around our problems — perhaps no other country in the world has been subsidized for a longer period of time and with so many resources.
Read MoreSo let’s see: Why the hell do I have to feel affection for an ex-Nazi who is against condoms, birth control, divorce, mothers with jobs, homosexual heads of households and sexually active LGBTI individuals?
Read MoreI met Andres two months ago. We would often catch the same bus and eventually started talking, or — more accurately — I listened; being in his sixties, he has a lot more to tell. He’s an engineer; he taught during times when there were teacher shortages; he served on nine international missions for Cuba; and he came up with production innovations that saved the country tons of money.
Read MoreI’m one of the many Cubans who when getting out of bed in the morning, the first thing I look for is a cup of coffee. However, for months, the coffee that’s bought with our ration cards hasn’t tasted like coffee.
Read MoreAgainst all predictions, this law has neither unleashed rage nor triggered a booming housing market. People are taking it calmly; it’s completely new territory and they need to study carefully what they’ll do – because like a mother, we only have one home.
Read MoreWith great ease, many people inside and outside the island criticize Cubans who they see forced to jinetear (hustle), prostitute, lie and even commit crimes to meet their basic needs.
Read MoreThe decree authorizing the sale and purchase of homes in Cuba ends or at least gives a good breather to the discussion around private and public regulation of an issue as sensitive as real property.
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