SOCIETY

Shortly after the military revolt that overthrew the populist government of General Juan Domingo Perón in the Argentine Republic, the Cuban magazine Bohemia – then one of the most influential on our continent – included, in its first two editions in November 1955, a poll entitled Opinion on Perón. and on his overthrown regime, through which opinions were gathered from various personalities of our country. Among those voices was that of a priest, Father Ángel Gaztelu, who wanted above all to be the lamp of his own house before lighting that of the other, because having the house to sweep, he was concerned about that interest in dust that of the near. However, he did not stop giving his opinion on the matter in question, and assured him that he was not interested (as a simple citizen) in any policy other than that of a government with all and for the good of all. And as a priest he confessed that he aspired to no more politics than the essential and broad one of the Quevedian concept: “The politics of God and the government of Christ”. […]

What will be the brand of gastronomy in this gap of time? Prevented from going to restaurants, pizzerias and coffee shops, Cubans are forced to buy to go, or order by phone, with the corresponding increase in the price of the latter option. It would have been the time of luxury for online shopping, but the poor quality of the local internet, and the high costs of the product and the messaging, make it a minority service, not popular. So what will typify the gastronomy of these pandemic years? In any case, food as a feast of the senses is not present, it is an absence. We only feed ourselves – as we can – to stay alive. […]

In Cuba, the circumstances that hinder the full exercise of human rights have become clear, since they restrict their own and public freedoms, and without the free exercise of these, what freedom can be discussed? Obviously there are many things in our society that must be provoked, but in a profitable way, to highlight their flaws without undermining the fundamental and necessary values without which full human fulfillment is absurd. The first step has been taken, and a new Cuba has awakened. We must pray insistently so that arms are laid down, so that never again will a Cuban raise his hand against another Cuban, so that this freedom that made an entire island vibrate is a reality, and then we can build a nation with opportunities for all. […]

Any human being needs a town, even if only to leave it, because a town means not to be alone, to know that in the people, in the plants, in that land where you were born one day there is something of yours, that even when you are not is there, waiting for you. […]

When conversing with mutual friends, former classmates found by chance, most have the same common dominator: son outside the country, grandchildren born overseas. The main cause is easy to find: the emigration of young people in search of better opportunities. The self-imposed exile in search of economic improvements has led to the division of families, the loneliness of parents and the fact of depriving them of the company and affection of their grandchildren. […]

Staying in Cuba, in addition to day-to-day efforts, also generates spiritual consequences. In a rapidly aging population, more and more households are experiencing the so-called empty nest syndrome. Parents and grandparents, whose ages do not allow them to go to fight and work in other skies, stay here, with some of the children, or with none, because the young people leave. The empty family chairs every Sunday, not infrequently hurt more than any material lack. In some text, the writer Leonardo Padura said that our country suffered from a permanent exceptionality. That state of perennial tension, which with strokes of humor and irony we try to forget and navigate, seems at times never to abandon us. The desire that, sometime, normality, calm, some peace finally touch our island doors and settle on the side here of the waters that surround us, is one of those hopes that should not be extinguished. Perhaps like this, leaving or staying to live in this beautiful land, would not be extraordinary decisions or designated as a solution to many needs of all kinds. […]

A story that is startling, perhaps because it can be the reality of many Cuban homes. At first glance it is a Havana family like any other; marked routines, consistent hierarchies, and poor social life. […]

The reading of this text by Dr. Rolando Naranjo, neurologist and anthropologist, on the loss of illusion is simple and timely. The specialist assures that “nothing is absolutely guaranteed in society, everything requires courage, sometimes daring”. […]

The sharp humor of maestro Héctor Zumbado […]

Perhaps in our country, as perhaps in few places in the world, the choice to move to another place, or to stay there, has had multiple and complicated connotations, especially in the last six decades. A universal, natural process, such as that of emigration, in Cuba has been, at times, the same silenced or rarefied as even sought or celebrated. Some time, some hope, some horizon, should come closer from time to time and convince us that one day, perhaps the comings will become less necessary, or perhaps, less painful and definitive. Who knows, maybe, by then, maybe even all the comebacks will be more possible. […]