HAVANA TIMES – As I descended the stairs at the Loma de la Cruz on one of my morning walks, a poster on the front door of the House of Stories Cultural Center caught my attention. I decided to come nearer and take a picture with my cellphone. When I turned around to resume my walk, a pair of police officers – a man and a woman – were standing in front of me. I said hello. They wanted to know why I took that picture. They asked for my ID. I gave it to them. I explained my reasons. They allowed me to continue on my way.
The second time I was stopped for the same reason was at the San Jose Park. After asking them for permission, I was taking a photo of some friends who suffer from extreme poverty and alcoholism, and who were sitting on the ground there near the church. Like the other time, when I looked up there were two police, again a man and a woman, asking for my papers. They wanted to know what I was carrying in my bag, in addition to why I was taking the photo. After the woman communicated by radio and read off the details of my ID card that she was holding, they let me proceed.
The third time was when I observed an enormous line at the pharmacy on the corner of Mace