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Tag Archives: Cuba
Cuba 20 Feb, 2009
Buena Suerte Cuba. Nos Vemos 24 Apr, 2007
My day of air travel out of Cuba began early this morning as I struggled to keep my eyes open in the endless airport check-in line. I had trouble discerning when I was awake and when I was asleep on my first flight, a groggy state of mind that wasn’t helped when I opened the […] Read More…
Almost Gone 13 Apr, 2007
As I get ready to leave Cuba, it’s time to say goodbye to some things I didn’t write about, but which nevertheless I’m fond of. I’ll be leaving behind Roberto’s fantastic Creole cooking. The dinners he produced with a seemingly inherited ability to create amazing flavours were always a high point of my day. I […] Read More…
Welcome to First Grade 9 Apr, 2007
There’s an American building along the waterfront in Havana, possibly the only one in all of Cuba with the exception of those at Guantanamo Bay. Named the “Building of American Interests”, it’s where Cubans go for any US-related business — for example, to wade through the long process of getting a visa if a relative […] Read More…
A Different Way to Unwind 9 Apr, 2007
Here’s something new I learnt tonight: take a Cuban coffee — strong, black, served in a tiny espresso mug — mix in some cream rum, add a cigar, sit out on the balcony of a house overlooking the street, and relax and talk. You now have a combination that’s a lot tastier than a night […] Read More…
Discontent 30 Mar, 2007
“No es fácil.”This phrase of indirect criticism — “it’s not easy” — is one I’ve heard often in my time in Cuba. This time it was spoken by Romina, one of the two doctors I was sitting opposite of on a beautiful warm night. They had been talking about a variety of topics, one of […] Read More…
Regarding the Name 25 Mar, 2007
I took the name for this blog from a wonderful short novel about an Englishman in the ’50s making a living in Havana with a tiny struggling vacuum cleaner business. After being pushed into spying for the British government, he finds himself with nothing to report on, and so starts inventing stories to justify the […] Read More…
A Tough Question 18 Mar, 2007
It’s getting harder and harder to see Cuba as communist in anything but the label the government gives itself. What does it take? Everything — property, business, income, even freedom of speech. What does it give back? Education, medical care, yes. And also pensions of US$6-US$8 per month, enough to pay part of the electricity […] Read More…
News with a Twist 12 Mar, 2007
I picked up a newspaper at the book fair to get a sense of what news is like in Cuba. The front page had an article about the launch of the first Cuban search engine. The developers seem to have done their homework as the logo comes complete with a beta tag, a necessity in […] Read More…
Touchdown in La Habana 12 Mar, 2007
When I first set foot in Cuba I saw something I read as a sign. As I was standing in line at passport control, I noticed all the officers in their booths wearing olive green military-like uniforms. Like seeing shotgun-toting guards in wealthy markets in India, there’s something slightly unsettling about the power implied by […] Read More…