The people who surround me are increasingly serious. Their faces contract increasingly. They spend increasingly more time with unfriendly looks. They remain increasingly silent. Their silence is interrupted only by laconic comments in whispers.
Read More“Equality, I don’t know who the lunatic was who invented that idea!” I heard that statement while on my way to a friend’s house. It managed to shake me completely out of my thoughts. It came from the back of a mechanic’s workshop, whose front I was happening by.
Read MoreMay is the month of rain in Cuba, and also the month in which the temperature begins to go up. It’s when the habits of Cubans begin to change; we substitute hot water for cold showers, lukewarm milk for ice-cold juice, and the evenings at the cinema for trips to the beach.
Read More“The money I earn myself is enough to buy and do things that are impossible for a wage worker. I’m not rich, but I do feel privileged; I mentioned that it’s very difficult to get one of these licenses? The worse thing is the stress that we’re sometimes subjected to due to the contradictions of this type of work.”
Read MoreWhen I recently heard the lyrics of Son de la loma (They’re from the Hills), that classic of Cuban son, I begin to think about migration – about how people leave their native homes in search of better opportunities.
Read MoreThough over the last several years there have been major changes in terms of how homosexuals are treated in Cuba, still present are elements of the backward ancestral machismo that we have cultivated along the course of our history. This is visible in homes as well as in the street, as much among everyday people as in the offices of State institutions.
Read MoreWhen I heard the word “computer” for the first time, I was only six. Of course I didn’t know what it meant so I asked my mother, who told me that she wasn’t really sure either. However, she had heard that it was a device that “answers anything that someone asks it.”
Read MoreThere are many types of voices, and the city is full of them. Thus, life doesn’t take place here like in some European cities, where people go down the street looking in a kind of lateral way. Here it’s just the opposite; looks bounce off each other, and very interesting visual encounters take place. Sensuality is in the air.
Read MoreCubans are always looking for reasons to celebrate. It doesn’t matter if it’s a birthday or a “non-birthday.” Common reasons for celebration include the victories of sports teams, the birthdays of saints, job promotions or getting together with friends you haven’t seen in a long time.
Read MoreI grew up listening to Fidel’s frequent speeches. I remember them invading the two sole TV channels that existed, as well as all of the radio stations – except Radio Reloj [literally a ticking “clock radio” station]. The newspapers were responsible for announcing these engagements beforehand and echoing them afterwards.
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