Warhol P.

On November 2, Cuba’s Granma newspaper published a press note regarding the self-employed, demanding that 3D home theaters and computer game rooms be shut down immediately and claiming such businesses were never authorized (they cut people some slack, a lot of slack, and now they’re pulling in the reins).

A few days ago, Cuba’s Round Table TV program addressed the issue of what young people – and the Cuban people in general – wear these days. It’s true that the way some young people dress today is a bit curious, but this is not a question of right or wrong: it’s simply a way of dressing different from what was in style in earlier decades.

I recently read an article by a fellow Havana Times blogger which mentions how the renowned Cuban actress Ana Luisa Rubio was beaten up as part of a government reprisal. When I first read her name, I had the impression I didn’t know the actress. After doing a Google search and seeing her photos, I immediately recognized her and felt profound pain.

I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the reality show most watched and enjoyed in Cuba is Caso Cerrado (“Case Closed”), a Miami domestic court program hosted by Judge Ana Maria Polo. Many watch the show at home, thanks to illegal satellite dishes. Others, like me, buy or rent weekly packages on discs that include the week’s cases.

Those who read this article may accuse me of exaggerating, or maybe think that I’m stealing a scene written by the Spanish director Almodovar who is so given to mixing drama and comedy. Others might allege that I’m just a person with very bad luck; still others may believe that it’s all a fabrication and that I’m writing to get rich, or because groups from the Empire are sponsoring my articles. All of these allegations are very distant from reality.

As far as I know, Yoani Sánchez, the woman in question, has repeatedly called for the lifting of the blockade imposed on Cuba. I want to point out that I am not a follower of Sánchez’, or of any other blogger for that matter. I have only read two or three of her posts and they have struck me as accurate and sincere.

The other day, I was going to visit my mother and by chance I decided to get off the bus that was going to drop me at Fraternity Park. From there I could see an agglomeration of people on the ground floor of the Saratoga Hotel, and since I’m curious, I decided to go over there. The stir was over the supposed presence of Beyoncé.

My father died in 2000. His cancer started in his colon, a situation that led to an operating room where the doctors removed the polyps that had invaded that part of his body. After surgery they said the operation had been a success.