In Cuba, the sun is always shining. And even when it’s not, a sheen of sweat still covers you from head to toe, courtesy of the ever-present humidity. Your skin feels sticky – a mixture of blanketed exhaust, Havana’s population density, bumping into sweaty bodies on the street, and flesh flush on flesh in too-crowded […]
Navigating Feminism Within a Machismo Culture Pt. 2
I learned a new word in Spanish class: piropo, which loosely translates to a flirtatious comment or catcall made on the street. Apparently they originate from roman era and brought to the Americas by Spaniards who thoroughly spread it around as piropos are everywhere in Havana: down the street, around the corner, sitting on a […]
Paris Hilton, Cuba and you
Paris Hilton was just touring Havana, Cuba. Before you blow this off as a trivial care of American celebrity culture, hear me out: Celebrities like Paris Hilton and Beyonce Knowles, with their close proximity to powerful individuals and large fan bases, have the opportunity to make a political statement regarding the ineffective embargo against US-Cuba […]
Las Cuevas
Last weekend we went to an awesome little town called Viñales. The group chose to go in a bus, it was filled with tourists. The journey lasted four hours, we passed through varying scenes of Cuban countryside. As we got off the bus, we were greeted by a mob of women aggressively asking us if […]
La Locura
Each of us here are required to write an ethnography (or, un investigación) about something in Cuba. The topics are diverse, ranging from the culture surrounding car ownership, to renewable energy, to race and tourism. I have chosen to study the mental health care system, both because the health care system here is fascinating to […]