Opinion Archives - Page 458 of 487

A “Friend of Cuba” Interprets the Reforms

A perverse tradition in the political culture of the island’s leadership (which has permeated the whole of Cuban society) is that the achievements are privatized and the costs socialized.

Finding a Way for Cubans to Help Cuba

Now is the time for the Cuban people and its institutions to develop a different approach to attracting investment and development to the island and shake off the asphyxiating stranglehold of a half century embargo/blockade.

Talia Says Goodbye to Cuba

The news had run around the whole university like a line of lit gunpowder. Teachers, services workers and even some students were all talking about it. It seems that those of us in my department were the last ones to find out.

Alan Gross for the Cuban Five?

Sending the Cuban Five home in exchange for Alan Gross would have saved the U.S. the embarrassment of the upcoming trial.

Cuba: Small Country, Big Name

It’s incredible that a country as small as Cuba — even tinier than Uruguay — can create such a racket in the world. Be it in politics, medicine or culture, or simply for its cigars, the name of the island always appears. The Wikileaks connection is no exception.

Supply & Demand Transport in Guantanamo

“You can go and complain to the government. I’m not to blame if the law of supply and demand now reigns, or for the fact that they raised my taxes,” said a driver.

A Recipe for Painting Demons

Miguel believed that his being accepted into the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) would finally release him from the curse of being a self-taught painter, meaning someone who couldn’t exhibit his works for sale in authorized galleries.

Imaginary Heroes

Our societies have always required heroes. But curiously, they have required them as ideological constructions, as imaginary figures based on a series of virtues, more than as real and concrete people. I’m sure that if our heroes came back to life they’d be very upset with the way we describe, imagine and supposedly want them to be.

What Never Happened

Although it was not the “appropriate channel,” it was in the street when we all gave our opinions. And it didn’t matter a great deal if we acted that way out of irreverence or wariness, because both are important qualities among journalists.

Don’t Skimp on Efforts for Life

The five survivors tremble with emotion in sharing their exciting and contagious stories that make viewers recall moments in their own lives when they could have been close to death. For our futures, this makes us reassess all the importance and significance of having made it to where we are now and everything that can be implied by our continued living.