Category: Generation Y

Following the idea that names reveal little or nothing about the soul of the things,  the name of the hurricane Paloma [dove] fits well.   Its dreaded flight—Category 4—has more of the carrion-eater in pursuit of prey than of white wings flapping.  Cyclones are given tender epithets that are later added to the vocabulary of destruction. … Continue reading Vulture

The illusory solutions that were once called, the “Ten Million Ton Harvest,” the “Havana Cordon,” or  the “Food Plan,” have been transformed today into other utopias such as the Energy Revolution, Managerial Development, Oil in the Gulf Waters, or Exporting Human Capital.  They all encompass the same infantile delusion of wanting to cure the crumbling… Continue reading Short-cycle crops

The street is not the same, nor are the neighbors who usually gossip in the lines at the markets; today they speak of universal themes.  They raise their eyebrows and point towards the north, while they make predictions about who will be elected at the polls in the U.S.  I don’t remember having lived through… Continue reading Something could begin this Tuesday

Contrary to secrecy and false identity, some of us alternative bloggers have put our identify cards next to the texts we write.  In the midst of so much self imposed disguise, showing my ID reminds me of the exhibitionist who opens his coat even though everyone knows what’s inside. My fingerprint, my two last names… Continue reading Identified and exhibitionists

“Twenty-three years and four abortions,” she’s telling everyone who wants to hear.  On her slim figure, maternity would wreck havoc, she tells me, while adjusting her short skirt around her hips.  For many years the termination of a pregnancy was the most common method of birth control for thousands of Cuban women.  In the eighties,… Continue reading Terminations

Hands emerging from well-cut suits at the UN pressed the red, green or yellow button today to rule on the blockade/embargo *.  Over the last few weeks, television has thrown at us the entire collection of statistics, testimonies and analysis on the ravages of the trade restrictions affecting Cuba.  The issue has been so manipulated… Continue reading The green button

This blog, public square, cockfight pit, exorcism and personal nightmare for the boys of the Cybernetics Response Brigade, is nominated for two prestigious awards.  Right now, Generation Y is listed as a finalist for the Bobs Awards granted by Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle.  We are proposed (notice that we use the plural because this… Continue reading Nominated

I don’t know what’s going on with the intolerant and hair, which they focus on more viciously than the rest of the body.  They have a special fixation with what sprouts from other people’s heads, whether it’s hair or ideas. In the seventies my father wanted to grow hair down to his shoulders, but the… Continue reading Scissors

A large madman kicks the cars in the middle of Ayestarán Street.  His clothes are ragged and on his arms you can see the “answering” scars received from some vehicles.  Another lunatic walks around Central Havana offending the president and his brother, while a nutcase spits her dissatisfaction against three impassive police officers. They make… Continue reading The impunity of the insane

Putting things in drawers and sorting and labeling them is not a task only for officials and bureaucrats.  There are some who take a special pleasure in hanging tags on citizens.  The art of listing us by categories has been a common practice in recent decades in Cuba.  One day you’re in the directory of… Continue reading Labels and lists