uba’s lion of the gulag, Fidel Castro, sure has been busy these past few weeks. Multiple appearances, an exclusive interview regarding his illness, and most recently, a visit to the Havana aquarium with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg and Julia Sweig of the Council on Foreign Relations. I hate to say it, but I’ve got a [...]

If there’s one aspect of Cuba today that really gets under my skin, it’s the sheer, unabashed ignorance displayed by foreign tourists who not only see no problem with hemorrhaging money into the dictatorship’s coffers, but see nothing wrong with the regime the way it is. Part of this indifference comes as a result of [...]

Nestled amid the crystal glasses and barware of a hutch in my uncle’s home, there sits a bottle of Bacardi rum. Not just any rum, mind you, but a bottle of real Bacardi Anejo. What makes it real? Look at the label. Instead of the phrase “Puerto Rican Rum” that so many connoisseurs have [...]

What follows is the first installment of a series of reports on my recent trip to Cuba.

“La Habana Vieja esta en candela!” My uncle Lazaro, sweaty, with his shirt untucked, had just returned from the city where he had witnessed what happens when one community is starved for the benefit of some good PR.
The island [...]

Satie’s Gymnopedies, that’s what I always here in my head every time my plane rises off the tarmac in Havana following a visit – be it for work in the old days when I was putting pen to paper as a wire service journalist, or on a family visit, as was the case this time. [...]

So, the Cuban government is about to release 52 political prisoners to appease the cries of the international community (ie: shut them up for a few months), without ever being held responsible for illegally imprisoning and torturing said individuals in the first place.  With any luck, the world won't take the pressure off the family [...]

UPDATE - 7/1/2010, 9:36 a.m. (EST): Thanks to a reader, I'm able to supply folks with the link to the original CubaWatch post outing Vicky Pelaez. I'll also be pulling out my archive CD of old CubaWatch posts in order to supply readers with the original text, as CubaWatch no longer exists. Without further ado, [...]

Yesterday, a massive blow was dealt to those in the business world who continue to see the Castro regime as a fantastic investment opportunity. Chilean businessman Roberto Baudrand was found dead in his Havana apartment after Cuban authorities prevented him from leaving the island as a result of an investigation into his business ventures there.
This [...]

everal years ago, during my first reporting trip to Cuba, I purchased a few paintings from a local artist in Havana. An old family friend outside the city milled up some picture frame stock from native Spanish Cedar with which to frame them. The frames weren't fully assembled but rather, milled lengths of wood that [...]

Well now, that's being direct.
The following letter to Cuban Vice Minister of Culture Fernando Rojas was penned by blogger Claudia Cadelo as a response to the recent ban on the performance art group, OmniZonaFranca, from performing in public places.
Open Letter to Fernando Rojas:
Fernando Rojas: I am writing to you with the intent to offer advice. [...]

It has been many months since my last post here at Babalu—six to be exact. In that time, I’ve made a rather significant career change, gotten married, moved, and begun to contemplate having children with my lovely, caring wife. It’s about time I explain my long absence here and perhaps begin anew.
For ten years, [...]

Most of you know where I stand regarding the United Nations. I worked the UN beat for a couple of years as a journalist, during which time, I came to realize how corrupt and ineffectual the organization is as a whole.
UN staffers routinely party through the entire night before major presentations on a variety [...]

A rogues gallery of bigots for your consideration. For an explanation, have a look at my earlier post of today. I'm through tiptoeing around. Those who wish to continue to condemn my family and yours to the nightmare that is the Cuban Revolution will be slammed - no holds barred.
Clockwise from upper-left: Rep. Laura Richardson, [...]

Well, it’s over. The Congressional Black Caucus wrapped up its junket down in Havana with statements ranging from “We’ve been led to believe that the Cuban people are not free, and they are repressed by a vicious dictator, and I saw nothing to match what we’ve been told” (U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver) – to, “In [...]

Blogger Yoani Sanchez has been accused of a "provocation" for her remarks, and those of many others, during the Havana Biennial this past Sunday.
Quite frankly, I'm surprised it took the regime in Havana this long to respond to the exercise of free expression that echoed across the Wilfredo Lam Center on March 29th. What comes [...]

I just stumbled across this on flickr. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. This was so simple, yet so brilliant!

Share

In parts 21 through 25 of journalist Oscar Haza’s interview with former Lieutenant-Colonel Juan Reinaldo Sánchez, Fidel Castro’s onetime bodyguard details the Cuban dictator’s financial holdings, luxury yachts and the fact that the future of the Castro children has been “secured.”
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25

Share

For years I’ve heard apologists for the Cuban regime marvel at the fact that Fidel Castro leads a life almost as austere as that of his subjects. According to those who believe the Cuban people aren’t worthy of the right to self determination, Castro has never involved himself in arms or drug trafficking, never illicitly [...]

Once in a while I’ll log into any one of a number of online photojournalism archives – Getty, Magnum, Life – in search of images depicting pre-Castro Cuba. The research is done in a bid to understand the complete disconnect I feel from the Cuba that once was. The only Pearl of the Antilles I’ve [...]

Indeed its true. My absence of the past week was due to a vacation - during which I proposed to my lovely novia. To my delight, she accepted!
I tend to be a man of tradition and as such, I value items of historical significance - particularly when they relate to my family. In keeping with [...]