Jorge Dalton

Happiness is Cuba’s Path

With the death of Fidel Castro and amid so many blind passions, I’m driven to call for peace among us. Because if I don’t, I’ll consider myself riffraff, a comfortable and miserable spectator who doesn’t give a crap about the fact that Cubans are bleeding to death in the dark and thorny sea that divides us.

Read More

Tribute to Juan Formell and Los Van Van

I knew about the Los Van Van from the very beginning since the orchestra was formed in December 1969, when their songs started to become part of the daily life of Cubans on the island. Back then, I was a skinny little kid, all head and teeth and nothing more. The name of the group came out of the popular enthusiasm generated by the challenge of harvesting 10 million tons of sugarcane in 1970.

Read More

The World 25 Years After the Wall

Twenty five years ago, the Berlin Wall fell under the blows of the sledge hammers and pent-up longings of the people. The wall, an expression of the diabolical mentality of Soviet leaders, had been built between 1961 and 1968. I have to acknowledge that the new world that began to flourish after the fall of that shameful wall has engendered other terrible ills and that other walls that will take long to demolish have been built since. We continue to live in an explosive world marked by increasing inequality, an inhumane world that is full of uncertainty.

Read More