Ukraine should occupy no more space in my brain than Uzbekistan or Xinjiang but for the whims of fate, in particular my living in Chicago for 30 years, where I made some Ukrainian friends, and the Cuban diaspora after the communist takeover, including two close relatives who wound up in Ukraine. Those connections now fuel my …
Tag: Cuba
Moments and teachers that changed my life
Wednesday's Guardian newspaper carried a moving testimonial by famed Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart to Cecil Dormand, a high school English teacher who "spotted" Stewart's talent and essentially put him on the path to a brilliant acting career in Britain and the United States (Remember Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation"?) In the testimonial, effectively …
End Cuba's endless tragedy
A month ago, spontaneous and angry demonstrations erupted along the entire length of Cuba, as people took to the streets to protest the lack of food and basic medicines, daily blackouts and other miseries that have beset the island for over 60 years, and have been recently aggravated by a rampant Covid-19 pandemic. If the extent …
May 20, 1902: Cuba's unresolved independence
Twenty years ago, when I worked for the Chicago Tribune, I maintained contacts with a few genuine Cuban communists, in particular a comely young couple who fervently believed everything Castro had ever said, thought or done. Any attempt at debate with them was about as pointless as arguing with one of Trump's disciples today.Once they …
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Dr. Zhivago visits Havana and feels at home
A few days ago we watched Dr. Zhivago on Amazon Prime, a three-and-a-half hour whale of a movie that calls for at least two bags of popcorn and multiple trips to the bathroom. Omar Sharif, as Zhivago, was at the height of his hottie-ness when the movie was made 55 years ago. That far back …
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Long lived Fidel—for way too long
I won't pretend to add anything to the torrent of obituaries marking the death of Fidel Castro, Maximum Leader Emeritus of Cuba, at age 90. For the definitive good-bye, read Anthony DePalma's piece in today's Times.I can add some very personal reminiscences, though, because for nearly 58 years I've lived with Castro's words and deeds …
Great day for Cubans, especially me
Yesterday Stew yelled urgently during the NBC Evening News broadcast, for me to watch an important video clip: Three Cuban honor guards solemnly marching toward the flagpole at the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C. to raise the Cuban flag for the first time in more than fifty years.My own celebration yesterday. The choreography was a bit …
How to bring back Havana's faded beauty
Media coverage of Cuba is so intense and breathless nowadays you'd think the island had emerged from the bottom of the Caribbean six months ago.Even Gentlemen's Quarterly, in its current issue, has a fashion feature—spectacularly vapid even by GQ standards—showcasing some Cuban-American actor I'd never heard of, modeling clothes no normal man can afford, against …
Cuba Fixr Upprs, Bch Vus, Rstricts Apply
In its May 29 edition the Washington Post reported another chapter in the seemingly inexorable unraveling of the U.S. embargo against Cuba: Cuban-Americans living abroad may now be able to buy property on the island.Three years ago the Cuban government did away with a thicket of laws banning the private buying and selling of property, …
Cracking the door open on Cuba
The announcement that after nearly 54 years the United States is re-establishing full diplomatic relations with Cuba has been cheered by most countries around the world, particularly in Latin America.That’s no surprise. On October 28, 188 members of the U.N. General Assembly voted in favor of a non-binding resolution urging an end to the American …
El Rancho Santa Clara 