With people pushing me from behind, suddenly I was on the bus and pressed against a sweaty man, in fact my entire body was against his. There was no space to move and my hands were full, plus I couldn’t ask the man to move aside because he didn’t have any room either, and it was I who was standing pressed against him.
Read MoreThe political prisoners who began the strike with Coco have already changed their minds and have all begun eating again. He, however, is continuing. He has already gone into shock one time and it’s possible that by the time this posting is published he will be on the verge of suffering a second attack.
Read MoreCuban authorities have created uncertainty in the tourism market due to a new regulation announced earlier this week that all visitors must have a travel health insurance policy approved by or purchased from the Cuban government.
Read MoreThe most frustrating thing is not being subjected to a law that one doesn’t know about, but being subjected to it even after finding out it doesn’t exist. Yet the immense majority of people in our country don’t ask where the laws appear. It’s enough to tell them: “You can’t do that” or “You can’t go into this.”
Read MoreBoth the Cuban and US governments have seen it in their interests to continue their adverse relationship. For decades Cuban leaders have ranted against the US blockade and used it as a catchall excuse for internal problems of all sorts. Sometimes the justification is accurate, other times it’s a cover for a poorly designed economy and harsh internal controls. Meanwhile, back in the USA, countless US politicians have received and continue to receive campaign donations from the powerful Miami exile community.
Read MoreI returned to my house this past Monday after a meeting to nominate candidates to become delegates (municipal authorities) and reread an interview with sociologist Aurelio Alonso. He pointed out that the great challenge Cuba faces is institutionalizing the Revolution, making those institutions work, seeing that each person plays their role and moving the country forward as a united whole.
Read MoreTo emigrate is a painful process in general, but in the case of Cubans it also means taking a trip with no return. As if they’ve committed a serious crime, the State robs them of all their belongings.
It doesn’t matter that these were legally acquired goods; everything will be confiscated, from one’s house and car to even the furniture. If you refuse to turn them over, you will not receive your “Permiso de Salida” (Exit Permit) from the all powerful Office of Immigration.
Read MoreThe person who told me this story is an acquaintance who I occasionally run into at the bus stop. When I told him that I write for an Internet site that doesn’t belong to the country’s official press and I then requested he go into the details of the story, he got scared.
Read MoreUndoubtedly, General Raul Castro is a man of few words, so much so that journalists must remain on the prowl hunting for some loose phrases, new facts or rumors to piece together our “puzzles” as to what has happened here over the past two years.
Read MoreA black and white photo from the early 1980s shows us a group of Cuban youths confident of a seemingly imminent future. Though this is not the first image in the documentary “Costas extrañas” (Strange Coasts) competing in the 9th Exhibit of New Film Producers— it was the first one that caught my attention.
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