Empedrado St. in Old Havana is now home to a private business that attests to the inventiveness of Cubans. D’Brujas (“Witchcraft”) is a shop that sells handmade soaps, produced with natural materials and without chemicals. The owner, Sandra Aldama Suarez, one of the makers of the soap, has a degree in special education. (13 photos)
My ninth-grade physics teacher is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had, and I am not comparing him to mediocre instructors or those who haven’t had a serious education. I belong to a generation of Cubans who had the fortune of having good teachers, teachers who were not only well-versed in the course contents they taught and the teaching methods they used to do so, but who were also extremely passionate about their work.
While still a supporter of the Revolution, William Potts is not happy with the changes taking place in today’s Cuba. “There is a rush towards capitalism. It seems the government has no socialist solution to the problems in their heads. After two generations of sacrifices, of doing more for less, and their great solution now is taxes?”
US citizen William Potts, 56, named Abdul Majeed as a Muslim, has spent half his life in Cuba. In 1984, he hijacked a plane and came here seeking military training. Contrary to what he expected, he was sent to prison for fifteen years. However, he has remained a supporter of the Revolution.
I’m afraid to go to Old Havana. Not because the police might ask for my I.D., or the Cubans might take me for a tourist, but because of the disabled, the lame and the mutilated who have begun to form part of the landscape all along Obispo street.
Two months ago, I interviewed Heidi Ponce de Leon for my article “The Good Life in Cuba.” During our conversation, she told me that one of the activities of her studio (Estudio Cleo) was organizing was a workshop for kids, scheduled for the month of July. I ended up going with my 10-year-old niece on July 20th. (9 photos)
I person who commented on my post “A Cuban Contemplates Her Past (1)” talked about the experience of a friend who had long idealized the past of his ancestors in Nigeria, only to be disappointed when he learned that they had slavery there before the white man came.
My interview with Emma Christopher, director of the documentary “They Are We”, and the film’s still photographer, Sergio Leyva, not only satisfied my curiosity regarding their personal experiences during the filmmaking process, it also awoke an interest in those four Cubans involved in the project. (10 photos)
A few weeks ago I met Dr. Emma Christopher, director of the in progress documentary “They are We” and author of the article “Cubans visit their ancestral home in Africa” published in HT. I asked her how an academic ended up directing a documentary. My students belong to a generation that has grown up with the Internet and with multiple audio-visual resources and they respond very differently to images than to written materials.
The ancient world was limited to Greece and Rome. In terms of Africa, I was taught only something about Egypt. Black Africa is a black blur in my mind. The history classes we received at school here in Cuba and during my life as a student, showed me no more than this.
