My Mother’s Trousseau: Havana, 1960
She stood in the shoe store holding the purse,
the first purchase of the trip
Poetry and Tragedy
My father wooed my mother in the summer of 1959, a few months after what the communists call El triunfo de la revolución (The Triumph of the Revolution).
Cuba’s Music
Music means many different things to the Cuban people: for some, it’s tradition, and for others, rebellion; for some, it brings joy, and for others, sorrow; in some, it incites a nostalgia for an idealized past, and in others, a desperate cry for change.
Stories That Survive Us
My mother died last month. She was ninety-seven, so I can’t say it was a surprise.