Twenty-ten, this year of three hundred and sixty-plus days that many of us thought would be new, is ending. But 2011 begins and once again the battery of optimism is recharged.
Like every Cuban from the generation of the ’50’s, I started my adolescence with the illusion of a better country. The deadlines for meeting the promises passed, were renewed, and passed again, over and over. I came to maturity with no regrets or frustrations but with the overwhelming joy of having awakened from the hypnotic state into which I’d been plunged by the slander of false prophets and my pardonable innocence. Instead of becoming the guy who “no longer believes in anything,” I decided to become a part of the colossal task of awakening those who were still prisoners of the spell. For this I had to believe in two things: the value of truth and the intelligence of Cubans.
A commonly quoted phrase from José Martí says, more or less, that “an idea from the depths of the cave is more powerful than an army.” With no desire to correct the apostle, I dare to comment that just putting this idea on the internet will surely make it very powerful, but the presumed audience is those locked in the cave of disinformation and lacking connectivity.
I know I’ve abandoned this space “Desde aquí / From Here” a bit, and I would like to promise my three or four readers that as the year begins I will do my best to have at least a weekly presence. If by January 10 there is no new post on this blog, it will be because I have failed in my promise.
May 2011 be the year we have all been waiting for! Let more Cubans do everything within our power to make it happen!
December 31, 2010
