As 2023 comes to an end, the year in which we celebrated Babalú’s 20th anniversary of being an island on the net without a bearded dictator, we look back at the top five posts this past year. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, both our new readers and those who have been with us for years, for your support of Babalú and the cause of freedom in Cuba,
Here are the top 5 most read articles on Babalú in 2023. You may have read some, and if not, here’s your chance to check them out. (Click on the image to open the article):
Coming in at #5, Dr. Carlos Eire reports on the expulsion of priests in Nicaragua, all of them Jesuit, who got a taste of “liberation theology” so popular among Jesuits in Latin America.
#4 is Carlos once again on how Fidel Castro’s socialist revolution and communism destroyed Cuba’s tobacco industry, allowing the Dominican Republic to become the Cigar King of the World.
At #3, Asombra introduces us to Lissette Oropesa, a Cuban American opera singer whose incredible talent has elevated her to international stardom.
The #2 post for 2023 was a report from Havana by Cuban independent journalist Juan Diego Rodriguez on how Havana’s most famous ice cream parlor, Coppelia, ran out of ice cream.
And coming in at #1, we have the heartbreaking story of a Cuban who was arrested and subsequently beaten to death by the National Revolutionary Police for possession of powdered milk.