I couldn’t help asking myself what the fight against homophobia has to do with the Cuban Five, as they are known around the world. The words pronounced by Rene Gonzalez on receiving the award appear to answer this question: “We’re involved in a struggle against attitudes that have made many people suffer. The suffering over being deprived of our freedom unites us. All forms of discrimination and of depriving people of their freedom must be eliminated.”

I am even more bemused by those who affirm that legalizing same-sex marriages and accepting homosexuality as “normal” sets a bad example for young generations. I wonder if they are just as worried by the violence in the movies these young generations are watching. (34 photos)

I must apologize to the readers of Havana Times for my recent article, “Who Did Cuba’s Ladies in White Speak For?” The title, I now see, ought to have been “Who Profits from the Cuba Blockade?”, for, that is what the issue is ultimately about: who stands to benefit from the petition made by the Ladies in White?

On Friday, I read that the Ladies in White had asked the government of the United States to continue dealing with Cuba with a firm hand. I can’t say I felt disappointment because, for that, I would have had to harbor expectations about the Ladies in White. What I can say, however, is that I’ve been going over this piece of news in my mind ever since.

I was too startled to ask myself what was happening, I just felt panic. I think I may have even blurted out a cuss word. After the second loud bang, we knew we were hearing shots: a war exercise, one of those defense simulations meant to prepare Cubans for the invasion that has loomed over the country for over fifty years.

“When we saw the call for participation, we were thrilled by the idea of taking our performance out to the street, to public spaces far from the stage, without charging admittance,” said Cyntia Moya, director of the Chilean theater troupe ‘Cyma’ at Havana’s City in Motion event.

’ve never understood people’s addiction to coffee. I love its smell, and I find it delicious with milk or cream, but it’s almost impossible for me to drink it by itself. No matter how much sugar I add, there’s no way for it not to be unbearably bitter to me. That’s what I thought until this past Sunday.

Like many Cubans, over the past few weeks I’ve been following the Third World Baseball Classic being broadcast on Cuban television. Like many, I was sorry to see the elimination of our national team by Holland. However the Classic showed me more than just spectacular plays, high quality teams…

The movie “No”, by the Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, is circulating in Havana these days from USB flash drive to flash drive, as well as being screened in alternative venues. Its theme: The referendum that removed the dictator Augusto Pinochet from power in Chile.

“Next week I’m going there with my old lady to hang out a little, eat some chicken and look at a few books.” That was what I heard a man saying to his friend recently on the bus. We were en route to downtown Havana and passed by the Morro Cabaña Complex, the main site of the Havana International Book Fair.