All posts by: Francis Sánchez

My Respect and Support for the New Alternative Media

Today one of the most interesting phenomena in Cuban society is the proliferation of alternative, independent media, including those that neither take orders from the government nor from the opposition. This wealth of articulated voices, which can be seen, rather than heard, especially in electronic formats, is a significant improvement of the efforts and experiments […] Read more

Unapproved Pictures

My dream of earning a Master’s Degree in Latin American Culture almost ended the day my professor of Cuban Film, when evaluating my oral presentation on the history of Cuban cinema, rebuked me for having dared to mention works from the 1990s and the 2000s that were not produced by the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic […] Read more

THE PRISONER AND THE LIGHT

He preferred to sit on a bench at the back. He never missed the Sunday Mass. He had a habit of narrowing his eyes, but his face was serene and emanated a sense of security based on the truth coming from the inner strength. His humble and energetic appearance was clearly perceptible and couldn’t be […] Read more

Fidel and Raul, My Brothers

JUANITA, THE “REBEL” SISTER In the context of Fidel Castro’s life, it’s been quite common to keep quiet about women. The anonymity seems neither accidental, nor should it be simply regarded as a manifestation of gender discrimination, since there are a number of other things that haven’t been included in his public image, such as […] Read more

I got to Know Prague

One of the weirdest feelings I have ever had was when I took a peek out of the Prague airport shortly after I arrived on the afternoon of March 11, 2014. It was my first trip to Europe and my first big escape from Cuba. After over nine-hour-long flight across ocean and land I finally […] Read more