By Lien Estrada
HAVANA TIMES – On 26th Street in the Libertad neighborhood in the city of Holguin, a variety of goods has been offered for a long time. Birds, fruits, meat, medicines, bicycles, meals, plants, herbs, jewelry, and whatever else we could imagine… All illegal.
A customer overhears a conversation between a woman and a man, book vendors, about a topic of interest. He apologizes for intervening and says, “May I join the conversation…? It’s evident that you are educated people, even if you haven’t been to university,” and continues with his comment.
He never suspected that the woman selling those carefully organized books on that sack on the ground, a meter from the sidewalk, holds a technical degree, a bachelor’s degree, and two master’s degrees in her drawers. The elderly gentleman, also with his books next to the others, graduated in Medicine before the Revolution from the University of Oriente, Santiago de Cuba, and spent decades in laboratories, so he has profound knowledge of biochemistry. But he can also recite extensive passages from Martín Fierro, poems by José Martí, and is a pleasure to talk to about philosophy, art, and literature. Of course, no one interrupted the customer to clarify about their diverse educational backgrounds. They just politely listened to what he wanted to say.
However, this opinion is not exclusive to this gentleman who stopped to observe the texts lined up on the ground. It is possibly a criterion of the majority of the population. Perhaps because it is part of the imaginary construction of that Cuba that has somehow imposed itself on our society.
Professionals, trade workers, intellectuals, creators, workers in general, are devoted to centers and institutions that respond to the common good. Because in our Cuban socialism, we have a well-organized society. Where everyone knows their place and understands their duties and rights. Only those misfits like alcoholics, social misfits who need rehabilitation at some point, engage in activities outside the law, in various places. So go
