Fidel Castro is finally dead. It was an eventuality that Cubans have been waiting to happen for a very long time. I am not a Fidel Castro fan. Never was. Never will been. And I see empathize with the Cuban diaspora who yearn to be back to their homeland. However, […]
It is always difficult to grow up in the shadow a more illustrious sibling, especially one who demanded singular attention and adoration. That is what Raul Modesto Castro Ruz had to deal with all his life. One can only imagine how much it affected his psyche and ego in his […]
When does a simple handshake seem to be more than what it is? Much ado has been said about the recent handshake between US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro. Right wing critics bemoaned that Obama was legitimizing a brutal dictator. On the other hand, Obama’s left wing […]
I came across a headline in Miami Herald about an acquaintance I have met many years ago in Cuba: Pedro Alvarez Borrego now a house-flipping capitalist. I think Mr. Alvarez Borrego has always been a capitalist at heart. You’ve got to be one if you are working for the Trade Department regardless […]
Pope Benedict XVI came and went. No, he did not dance salsa nor chugged down a mojito (we don’t really know that), but he managed to momentarily rouse Cubans from the monotony of their vida cotidiana. He came and went so fast, but managed to leave a few lasting impressions, […]
Sunday,10 p.m., 11 December 2011, Cubans begin lining up at the Riviera Theater to attend the first recorded participation by a Filipino film in the Havana International Film Festival. The film they were lining up to watch is an indie flick entitled Lola (abuela in Spanish). Directed by the up-and-coming Filipino auteur Brillante Mendoza, the […]
Cyberspace was recently treated to a heated debate (if you can call it that way) between dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez and President Raul Castro’’s daughter, Mariela Castro Espin. Mariela has just recently joined Twitter to defend herself from unflattering comments quoted to her about her trip to Amsterdam’s infamous […]
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) routinely votes in favor of Cuba to condemn the unilateral trade, financial and economic sanctions being imposed by the United States on Cuba. This is an emotional issue which, rightly, majority of the UN member states including the Philippines have condemned. As history has […]
