Food Rationing, A Temporary Measure Now in its 48th Year

Yoani Sanchez, 01.07.2010

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

The new ration book surprised us at the end of December, just when speculation was growing about the demise of this booklet with its grid-paper pages....

Spoof Predictions for 2010 and Beyond

Bill Baker, 01.06.2010

Author of "Endless Money"

With levity the object, we provide herewith an implausible alternative to the usual fare from the financial establishment, which disturbingly seems possible in these unsettled political and economic times.

Terrorism State Lottery Winners: Not Welcome in the Secure Homeland

Denis Campbell, 01.04.2010

If you hold a passport from countries considered to be "state sponsors of terrorism" or "countries of interest," don't plan on making your connecting flight to your final destination inside the USA.

Roadside Checkpoints... Looking for Shrimp, Lobster and Cheese

Yoani Sanchez, 01.02.2010

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

While the purchase of thousands of Yutong buses, some years ago, was intended to solve transportation in Cuba, moving from one place to another on the Island is still an odyssey.

Fidel Castro, Behind the Ramparts (Part II of III)

Norberto Fuentes, 12.30.2009

Author, "The Autobiography of Fidel Castro"

In the whole of my experiences with or close to Fidel, this was the most pathetic. Here was a man who knew solitude was an impossibility, yet seemed happy to have the illusion of it.

What Did You Do When They Came For The Nonconformist?

Yoani Sanchez, 12.29.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

Cubans are not living through a return of the cultural inquisitors, but rather the tightening of the screws of a dying system that has run out of arguments.

The Significance of the Diaz-Balarts' "Un-Endorsement" of Charlie Crist

Sergio Bendixen, 12.29.2009

President, Bendixen & Associates

Call me naïve or an idealist, but endorsements should be based on merits, issues and convictions, not political favors. Our country and community deserve better.

To All, Happiness, Luck and Perseverance for 2010

Yoani Sanchez, 12.25.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

For a long time we had a New Year's ritual, we met with several friends at Camilla's house. Seated on the floor with everyone talking at once, we wo...

Open Letter to Cuba's Vice Minister of Culture

Yoani Sanchez, 12.23.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

Considering that everyone knows I am a writer and you are the Vice Minister of Culture, I would say that an atmosphere of terror doesn't agree with you, and that the image of your delivering a beating is unfortunate.

Saturday Night with Fidel Castro (Part I of III)

Norberto Fuentes, 12.22.2009

Author, "The Autobiography of Fidel Castro"

I felt very close to Castro, but my admiration for him and his achievements didn't seem to be enough. He was desperate to be fussed over. For me to fuss over him, over Fidel Castro.

Two Castros Decide Everything, Our "Representatives" Simply Applaud

Yoani Sanchez, 12.21.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

"The impasse is the dynamics of deterioration," my friend said, part philosophic part pessimistic after listening to Raul Castro's speech in the National Assembly yesterday.

The Coca-Cola of Forgetting or The Cane Juice of Nostalgia

Yoani Sanchez, 12.19.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

The only thing that will end this oneiric sequence of being shut in and forced out, is the end of the immigration restrictions for Cubans. I want to have the right to travel.

Poetry Without End, No Matter What [PHOTOS]

Yoani Sanchez, 12.17.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

I know them from forever, since I ventured beyond my neighborhood of dirty facades to a Havana that never ceases to surprise me. You could say they re...

Trying to Control Our Thoughts With Bricks and Mortar [VIDEO, PHOTOS]

Yoani Sanchez, 12.16.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

The Big Bad Wolf or the Boogieman was called something else in my childhood: The Urban Reform. Raised in a house for which my parents had no papers, ...

The Free Blogosphere Takes Off in Cuba

Yoani Sanchez, 12.15.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

The alternative Cuban blogosphere continues to propagate itself. It is no longer like the bleak wasteland that displayed -- if anything -- a few pseudonymous pages in April 2007.

US - Brazil Relations Desafinado

Eric Ehrmann, 12.14.2009

Writes on sports and global issues from Brazil. He is a member of PEN.

Christmas season marks the 50th anniversary of Brasilia, the futuristic capital city designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, and magazines and online media are celebrating the event.

The Demons of Intolerance Partied on Human Rights Day

Yoani Sanchez, 12.13.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

On December 10 a mob assaulted women who had only gladioli in their hands. Fists raised they surrounded these mothers, wives and daughters of those imprisoned since the Black Spring of 2003.

Even Saying Goodbye to the Dead Is Hard In Cuba

Yoani Sanchez, 12.12.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

On behalf of the pain and impotence of a family that has gone through the difficult experience of losing a child, I wanted to tell this story.

The Impossible Obsessions of Underfed Teenagers

Yoani Sanchez, 12.11.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

Many of my generation knew certain flavors by hearsay, described by those whose memories have stored the tempting taste of the loquat, the star apple, the maranon or cashew apple, and the guava.

Three Month's Wages for a Can Opener

Yoani Sanchez, 12.09.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

The store is located at the corner of Galiano and San Rafael streets. It's like an alien spaceship that landed in a neighborhood that has seen its businesses turned into homeless shelters.

Maybe Next Year

Yoani Sanchez, 12.22.2009

Award-Winning Cuban Blogger

I keep thinking about the massive assistance provided to each film, a product of the strong Cuban film culture, and also about the absence of other entertainment options at affordable prices.