Ernesto Perez Chang

As a mechanism for ideological control, censorship is not unique to totalitarian regimes. The fact censorship exists nearly everywhere should not, however, be used by governments to justify its practice as an unquestionable right, nor as a kind of consolation for those whose right to dissent is curtailed.

No one calls them jineteras, not even prostitutes. To their customers and those who disapprove of them, to all of us who know what they do for a living (even police officers), those ragged women one sees soliciting at the side of the road are quite simply chupachupas (“lollypops”).

Finding a good job in Cuba is no easy task. On many occasions, having been “vouched for” (that’s to say, recommended) by an important person, a member of the Communist Party is far more important than being able to demonstrate one is qualified for a certain type of work or position.

Alexis graduated from a Cuban tourism school. He studied to become a chef for years and graduated with honors. In a number of competitions, his teachers praised his dexterity and good taste, as well as his cleanliness and ability to improvise and innovate. Alexis, however, hasn’t had much luck finding a job.

Havana is a city of loud people. No sooner has the sun risen (before the roosters start to crow) than yelling begins to be heard over every other city noise: the voice of the neighbor who wakes up those who have no alarm clock, the mothers getting their kids out of bed on school days, the street cries of the baker and screams of an elderly woman asking someone on the curb to turn off the water pump.

Trumpeted as a gathering of major importance, the 8th Congress of the Cuban Writers and Artists Association (UNEAC) to be held in April this year points towards the complete failure of the organization.

While Holguin, one of Cuba’s eastern cities, continues to be known as “the city of parks”, Havana will soon be known as “the city of parking lots”, one of my neighbors jokingly told me. Let’s have a look at this logic.