The Cuban State Has Gone AWOL

The Cuban state left the country. I don’t know if it took the opportunity to stay with some sports delegation at a competition somewhere or if it dared to endure the odyssey of volcanoes and jungles, or if it abandoned a medical mission in Africa or South America. However, I know it didn’t leave on a raft because it hasn’t been sent back. It left, and it didn’t say goodbye.

My Days with Oropouche Fever

Actually, it’s better not to die in Cuba either. In the worst moments of my illness, I read a news item from Holguin, asking the relatives of those deceased to bring in the gas cylinders to cremate them, because the crematorium didn’t have the fuel to do it.

Happy Birthday, Comandante!

The comandante eterno continues to consume his people beyond his grave, while a very corrupt political class isolated from the people moves forward with their bloodbath.

The Sparrow from a Non-Existent Country

Behind the house where I live is a lake, as in many parts of Miami. At times, when I’m fed up with the daily stress, I sit by that lake for a while and take a pause.

Is Venezuela Going to Change After July 28th?

On July 28, 2024, something will change in Venezuela; it is defined and practically nothing can prevent it.

Why Are We Still Waiting in Cuba for Another July 11?

On July 11, 2021, Cuba changed. It changed its history; the conceptions about the character of Cubans; the domestic and international understanding of our people’s “immobility”; the way the State, the Government, and specifically, its repressive forces related to the citizenry.

Impunity in Cuba Will Also Expire

Similar to the days that passed, and the memories accumulated under the afternoon heat of a defining day, innocence in Cuba is imperishable; but the impunity of totalitarian power, like the expiration dates on jar labels, also expires.

Cubans’ Willful Blindness

One of the most evident results of the total collapse of Cuba has been the tremendous increase in street crime, and the sustained violence we find ourselves subject to at every step.

The Repressor I Could Have Been

I have never liked uniforms; they never suited me. Twice I was close to becoming a repressor. Both times I was in uniform. I didn’t want to be there, but I was. If I had received the order, perhaps today, I would be a repressor.

The Cuban State Does Not Have a Woman’s Name

The Cuban state does not have a woman’s face, but Cuba, the homeland, the motherland, does. Cuba has the face and name of a woman.

Dissidents or Opposition, All Roads Lead to “Villa Marista”

On April 26, 2024, independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada was arrested in Havana and taken directly to the State Security headquarters: Villa Marista. More than 72 hours have passed, which is an alarming sign.

Cuba and the Curse of the Substitute

The real, the very painful thing, is that the substitute country, little by little —without an immediate solution in sight— is replacing the country that should be; which, logically, does not seem to lead to anything edifying.

Cuba: “The Enemy Attacks, but the Revolution Resists”

The government’s response to the protests of March 17th

Goosebumps in Cuba. Why and Until When?

#MiraSiMeErizo (Look and see if I get goosebumps) is the latest challenge on Cuban social media. Its origin is linked to the statements of some residents of Rio Cauto after the visit of Miguel Diaz-Canel to that locality in January 2024.

Smiles on Pause: My Battle Against Facial Paralysis

"It is said that the body speaks when the mind is silent. In my case, my body screamed to be heard. It took drastic measures to force me to pay attention to it."

A Hunger in Cuba that Swallows Us All

"Cuba is a hungry country. Not only of food, of medicine, of the most basic of dignities, but also of freedom". From Managua, Havana, Adriana Normand speaks of impoverishment and despair.

The Stove Top Expresso Maker that is Cuba

Perhaps the moment is not so far away when the national coffee refuses to keep on brewing under the name of socialism and, definitively, explodes. Live to see.

I’m Neither Left nor Right

Cuba does not need one side to impose itself on another by force. Cuba does not need one half of itself defeated and subdued and humiliated. Cuba needs no political agenda to be more important than the agenda of freedom.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel’s Missing Apology

The IV Conference The Nation and Emigration was another missed opportunity for the Cuban government to achieve a real reconciliation and rapprochement with the majority of the Cuban community abroad.

Without a Homeland and with a Hopeless Owner

José Martí, who was too honest and poetic to survive as a politician, was certain that he would die "without a country, but without a master". We, saving the distances, suffer the same sorrows.

Time to Quit, You Haven’t Been Up to The Task

The Cuban Government should surrender to its people. Drop their authoritarian weapons and surrender unconditionally.

PhDs Galore, Doctoral Summits and Other Nonsense

"What need is there in this country and at this time for our leaders and other public servants to want to be PhDs?"

Cuba’s Central Bank Doesn’t Understand Demand for Cash

The Cuban government has decided to implement a forced bankarization and an accelerated digitalization of the payment system in just six months. They expect this to happen in a country with one of the most backward telecommunications infrastructures and one of the least developed banking systems and payment instruments in the region.

New US Measures for Cuba: Content and Timing

In the official Cuban discourse there are enough examples of this segmentation, which has created a barrier not only between Cuba and a part of the world, but also among Cubans themselves.

Is Dialogue and Understanding Possible in Cuba?

“Understanding comes from talking things out.” This is what grandmothers say on balconies, in front of the TV, advising their grandchildren to be calm, understanding and tolerant of differences. Young people are no longer interested in cakes, just like our ovens, which haven’t seen cakes in a year. New generations haven’t been trained in the […]