It is a mesh bag, a reddish woven net with five mandarins inside. They've been carried here -- from Europe -- by a reader who discovered where I live thanks to the tracks left in the blog. After I brought him a glass of water, he took the citrus fruits out of his backpack -- a little embarrassed -- as if he'd come to give me something too common on this island, even more common than the invasive marabou weed, or intolerance. It's inexplicable, then, why I grabbed the bag and buried my nose in every fruit. Within a few seconds I was shouting for my family to let them know about the orange globes I was already beginning to peel. Sinking my nails into their skin and smelling my fingers, I have a celebration of orange zest on each hand.
A trail of peels covers the table and even the dog is enthusiastic about the scent that is wafting through the whole house. The mandarins have arrived! The almost forgotten scent, the extravagant texture, have returned. My niece celebrates their appearance and I have to explain that once these fruits did not arrive by boat or plane. I avoid confusing her -- she's only eight -- with the history of the National Citrus Plan, and the large expanses on the Isle of Youth where oranges and grapefruits were harvested by students from other countries. Nor do I mention the triumphalist statistics thrown out from the dais, or the tropical island juices that started out with pulp extracted from our own crops and now are made with imported syrup. But I do tell her that when November and December rolled around, all the children in my elementary school smelled like oranges.
What days those were! When no one had to bring us, from a far off continent, what our own earth could produce.
Yoani's blog, Generation Y, can be read here in English translation. Translating Cuba is a new compilation blog with Yoani and other Cuban bloggers in English.
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In 1959 Cuba exported 5.0 million tons. In the years just preceding the 1959 Revolution, Cuba has been the larger exporter of sugar cane in the world. Who would have imagined a few years ago that the world's largest exporter of sugar would have to resort to external supplies to meet its needs?
It's called capitalism.
Besides, the island has some great culture.
No tyranny has fallen by “bombing” it with millions of dollars. What you are proposing is simply to support castrofascism. What the world has to do is to join the USA and transform the couple of sanctions still actives in a real and working embargo in order to rid out this criminal tyranny out of Cuba.
Cuban people problems will not be affected by the lifting of the sanctions. Cubans had same hunger, repression and difficulties when regime received 5000 millions dollars yearly from USSR the first 30 years of tyranny. We now lift the sanctions and Cubans life conditions will no change but will get worst because tyranny will feel free to repress, kill and incarcerate. Tyranny will feel then that it has the world approval for do as it please against the Cubans.
By the way….. who wins the Cuban exiles votes are other Cuban exile, who maintain the sanctions are we the Cuban exiles through the exile Cuban politician we votes. We have 2 senators and 6 congressmen that works hard enough with both republican and democrats partners to keep the sanctions against castrofascism.
PS the cuban exiles also worte in the law provision to allow them to help their families (traveling to the island and remitances permits) while other suffer in the name of defeating comunism. Once castro falls the i believe the cuban exile community will NOT be seen as heros nor the embargo will be seen as effective or mercifull.
The bans on other issues related in the embargo law are long before lifted, including medical supplies that arrive to Cuba almost exclusively from USA making USA the biggest supplier of medical devices and medicines to Cuba. As early as 1975 US gov. lifted bans to export automotives and other industrial production fabricated for American corporations in third countries. It was famous the ridiculous and close relationship created between castrofacism and the fascist regimen of Videla in Argentina after huge commercial exchanges of both countries that includes the production of Chevrolet factories in Argentina.
The success of the embargo on South Africa was not in the amount or quality or directions of the sanctions but in the world unanimity. As long as exists countries in the world that does not join the embargo castrofascism will have the idea that it has the right to kill, to imprison, to beat, to repress
The people of China, North Korea or Myanmar have not a strong and active voice in USA acting to avoid the unmoral relationship with such criminal regimes. We Cubans have it….. and we will not allow US gov. to get in unmoral relationships with the assassins of our people. You and others like you better use your time criticizing US gov for acting as a simply criminal accomplice when supporting regimes like China.
Look to Haiti for a glimpse of what Cuba would look like without the Revolution.
Reading the post “Havana, A City Seasoned By The Old, Increasingly Distant From The Modern” in this very page you will find that almost the whole Havana was built from 1902 to 1959. This statistic and this model of Havana shown in this post were presented in a museum by castrofascism ….. I mean, it is not “disinformation propaganda presented by freak right winger of Miami”
You all believing castrofascism has done something in Cuba or built there something that does not existed are just people fooled by castro’s propaganda.
BTW, can you define fascism? I mean without parroting Glenn Beck?
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/columnas/lectura/2007-06-17/propietarios-ii-y-final/
http://cubalpairo.blogspot.com/2007/12/categoras-1-y-2-libro-post-anterior.html
What’s the difference between batista and castro???
Both were helped to the power by USA, both were backed by Cuban Communist Party , Both had among theirs ministers the 2 leaders of Cubans Communist Party, both started their political life as revolutionaries, both ended as dictators, both killed Cubans, repressed, jailed and abused Cubans, there is no differences between those criminals. Of course castro wins the competition for long, very long space……
Please, if you don’t have enough knowledge about Cuba’s history do not try to deny above related facts…. You can look very ridiculous when I start to produce proves.