The Universal Flavor / Rosa Maria Rodriguez

I am not going to talk about the flavor most in demand by everyone, but rather about the local ingenuity, which manufactures, in the midst of difficulties and shortages, the gastronomic inventions that make it possible to find tons of things, water “in paper money,” to satisfy one’s thirst and survive. In my Havana, where … Continue reading “The Universal Flavor / Rosa Maria Rodriguez”

About Pushcarts and Pushcart Vendors / Miriam Celaya

A few days ago, a pushcart vendor in my neighborhood was complaining about a new government measure that will apply to his trade: soon, street vendors selling agricultural products, already proliferating throughout the city, will be forced to get a regulation cart from the State measuring one square meter, two levels to show the merchandise, … Continue reading “About Pushcarts and Pushcart Vendors / Miriam Celaya”

Cuban Fast Food / Ivan Garcia #Cuba

Lacking McDonald’s, Burger King or Kentucky Fried Chicken, fast food par excellence in 21st Century Cuba is fried foods and croquettes made from unknown ingredients. All over Havana there are thousands of cars fitted out with rustic kitchen, dedicated to frying and selling fried food and croquettes by weight. There are those like Ignacio who … Continue reading “Cuban Fast Food / Ivan Garcia #Cuba”

The Making, and Translating, of Generation Y / Translating Cuba

Introduction to Yoani Sánchez’s book Havana Real, published in 2011. By Mary Jo Porter In 2004, Yoani Sánchez returned to Cuba two years after emigrating to Switzerland, where she and her family had planned to start a new life in a free and democratic country. Explaining a condition of her return, she said: I promised … Continue reading “The Making, and Translating, of Generation Y / Translating Cuba”

The Hookers of La Palma / Iván García

Even before nightfall, under a blazing sun that in the afternoon turns the central area of La Palma into an open air industrial over, the poorer class of jineteras decked out in the cheap clothes strut the four corners of Arroya Naranjo, the poorest neighborhood in Havana, declared on red alert for its high crime … Continue reading “The Hookers of La Palma / Iván García”

People with HIV Have the Right to the Best Possible Physical and Mental Health / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada

By Ignacio Estrada Cepero People affected by HIV/AIDS have the right to the highest possible level of physical health and mental alertness among other things “the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic illnesses” and “the creation of conditions that assure medical assistance and services to all in the event of illness” In order to fulfill … Continue reading “People with HIV Have the Right to the Best Possible Physical and Mental Health / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”

People with HIV Have the Right to Not be Subjected to Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada

The right not to be subjected to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or penalties should be addressed in several ways in the context of HIV in Cuba, for example in the treatment of prisoners who are sick. The penalty of imprisonment should not provoke the loss of those rights or of dignity. In particular, the … Continue reading “People with HIV Have the Right to Not be Subjected to Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”

What Was I Doing Before? / Lilianne Ruíz

I have been many Lillis, and all are me, one of those Lillis tried to escape from a confinement to which my mother condemned me, at age 22 at the Fajardo Hospital, really depressed after an abortion and drugged by one Dr. Justo against my will, I jumped without knowing what I was doing from … Continue reading “What Was I Doing Before? / Lilianne Ruíz”

Images of Education… / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada

For many, education in Cuba remains one of the most important pillars in support of an ill-fated revolution. The reality of a number of educational schools is that they are very far from what the government boasts about. The photos show the terrible sanitary hygienic situation found in some schools, leaving the students who come … Continue reading “Images of Education… / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”

Havana: Hookers a la carte / Iván García

When Roman, a tall, skinny guantanamero, who has spent three years living clandestinely in Havana, feels a burning sexual desire, he plans his binge. After working 12 hours selling trashy textiles and pirated tennis shoes in a street fair on Galiano, which brings him daily earnings between 20 and 30 dollars, he goes to the … Continue reading “Havana: Hookers a la carte / Iván García”

Cuba: Children No, Abortions Yes / Iván García

For Ricardo, 32, the worst business one could have in Cuba is to have kids. “I have two and I know what I’m talking about. If my old lady didn’t get rid of them it’s because the gynecologist told us that if she had another abortion she could be left sterile. After pulling our hair … Continue reading “Cuba: Children No, Abortions Yes / Iván García”

The Corner of 23rd and M / Regina Coyula

“23rd and M” is a Saturday program on Cuban television, which takes its name from the downtown corner where the TV studios are located. A massive building that also houses offices, a cinema, food service, a hairdresser and barber, and, until recently, just at the lower corner, a pharmacy. Cuban pharmacies attract the attention of … Continue reading “The Corner of 23rd and M / Regina Coyula”

EROS AND THANATOS / Miguel Iturria Savón

Wednesday, September 8, the painter Orestes Carreras Alarcón opened an exposition of his paintings, Eros and Thanatos, at the Fernando Boada gallery in the municipality Cotorro. There are 12 mixed media paintings worked with charcoal, graphite, acrylic and blended with textures. In them, the painter subordinates color to figuration, focusing on the relationship between eroticism, … Continue reading “EROS AND THANATOS / Miguel Iturria Savón”