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LATEST ARTICLES ( 90 )

• Laugh, Shrug, Cry, Struggle: Cuba, Spring 2022

  Yesterday some friends and I were talking about banking in Cuba; the (in)famous “ordenamiento” of the economy and “re-ordenamiento of the ordenamiento” (I... Read more

  Posted on 13 April 2022 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• The Toby Saga: Venting on Vets in Cuba

  

  Some call him Tobito. Tobilongo. Tobikins. Others call him Jineperro, El Mimao or Señor Tobes. On any given day, we might call him The Cutie Patootie,... Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2022 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Your Live Donkey, Reporting from Havana

  

  Remember the good ole days of the ‘coronacoaster,’ riding the ups and downs of 2020-2021 and looking forward to better times ahead? That was some aspirational... Read more

  Posted on 04 January 2022 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Cuba August, 2021: It’s Not Funny

  

  This post was slated to be a synthesis of a game I call ‘Dodge the Russian.’ It’s what I’ve been playing since I began my re-entry quarantine, in a Varadero... Read more

  Posted on 12 August 2021 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Unpacking the Protests in Cuba

  Recent events compel me to post sooner than I otherwise might. First, I’ve received so many questions, including in my professional capacity as a journalist,... Read more

  Posted on 15 July 2021 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Party in the U.S.A.?

  Eight-hour blackouts roll through Havana, a bottle of cooking oil costs $12 on the black market, and everything from salt and cigarettes to laundry detergent an... Read more

  Posted on 01 July 2021 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Surviving Cuba with FE*

  (*Familia en el Exterior) I used to tell people when I’d be traveling—give them a head’s up in case they needed something from a fuera. That was when I first go... Read more

  Posted on 10 June 2021 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Cuban Dumpster Fires #42-46: COVID & The Blockade

  Things aren’t going well in Cuba In fact, the situation is peor que nunca. Rolling blackouts, the antiquated aqueduct system busted, leaving huge swaths of... Read more

  Posted on 24 May 2021 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Nuestro Vino Es Amargo…

  I’m baaaack! Not that I went anywhere. Not physically, anyway. In fact, I haven’t ventured farther than 30km from my apartment in a year. But... Read more

  Posted on 11 February 2021 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• COVID in Cuba: Havana Monkey Wrench

  Let’s talk more about coronavirus!…No one said ever. Personally, I’m fucking sick of it and I’m guessing you are too. In addition to the ad nauseam data,... Read more

  Posted on 14 August 2020 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• COVID-19 & Cuba: May, 2020

  Greetings readers, I hope you’re as well as you can be given the shit show that is Planet Earth, 2020. In my first chronicle about the coronavirus in Cuba, I le... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2020 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• COVID-19 & Cuba

  Some of you have noticed that I’ve taken a long hiatus from here. The reasons are tragic and painful and pre-date this pandemic de mierda. For those readers... Read more

  Posted on 01 April 2020 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• The Not-So-Slow Leak

  Almost 18 years living here and to some things I cannot adapt. The Farmer Hanky. Public zit popping. The heat. Other things I’ve been forced into accepting and... Read more

  Posted on 13 October 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Travel to Cuba, Trump Style

  I’ve got some shit to get off my chest so best buckle up. Pour a stiff one, bust out the vape or tuck in with a nice, hot chai – whatever helps you chill and... Read more

  Posted on 25 June 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Twisters & Twinks: Mobile Data Mobilizes Cuba

  

  Confession time. I’m something of a Luddite. If you know me, you know I was one of the last to relinquish my flip phone. I still rely on a pocket digital... Read more

  Posted on 09 June 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Periodo Especial: The Sequel?!

  I don’t know how the Special Period felt coming on, but I do know how it manifested once in full swing. Transport was so scarce and overcrowded, passengers... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Jail, Cafe Closure & Strawberries?!

  Usual excuses aside (overworked; procrastination; writer’s block), the transition from 2018 to 2019 was, as we say here, ‘de pinga’ – and not in a good way. Read more

  Posted on 21 February 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Cuba Libro – In Peril?

  I’ve always had an inkling, but now I know up close and personally why people shun and malign journalists. This new knowledge is particularly ironic given the... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2018 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Inside a Cuban Prison: Part IV

  It’s dark, a bit damp, the birds aren’t awake or even singing, let alone my neighbors. I rush to make coffee and walk Toby before the horizon lightens over... Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2018 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Hogs & Dogs: Extreme Camping in Cuba

  

  Our summer vacation plans were simple and cheap: strap the camping gear onto the 1946 Harley-Davidson and plunge deep into the mountains of Pinar del Río,... Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2018 SOCIETY, TRAVEL