Mari Rodriguez Ichaso - Diario de Vida - Life's Diary

This blog is to share my life, and especially my memories of my life in Cuba, before and after the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. As well as my comments and thoughts. It will be written in either English or Spanish. But not in Spanglish. You will find thoughts and chapters of my books, etc. which I will post regularly. Scroll down and look into the Blog Archive on the right side of the page, filed by month, and clic in the stories you might like.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Is 'Freedom' such a hard word to say?

Watching the much antipated and much discussed Juanes concert from Havana on TV...

All the artists talk about "peace".."por la paz"...and so far not one of them has DARED to mention the word "freedom". How coward can they be? They must be so scared to say it...It would have been be so logical...There is no 'peace' without basic freedoms. And in Cuba there are no basic freedoms! 2 and 2 make four....in this case 2 and 2 make 8....

This is proof that it was very 'careful' concert. They did not want to ruffle the government feathers! So it was a coward concert. Dictatorships have that power over us.

And at the end, we must accept the fact that in Cuba there is no freedom, not even for Juanes, Miguel Bose, Aute --- and all those who performed.

Welcome to my bilingual blog!

I love having a personal blog!...Is a fun experience and almost a ' liberation' ! Like having my very own newspaper, where to talk freely about what impacts me, worries me, kicks my curiosity, surprises me --and about the many, many things that give me infinite pleasures. And -above all- about growing up and later having to leave Cuba! I am writing a book with many of the small chapters I will be posting --and this is a good way to show them to you.

Living in New York City I am also surrounded by so many things that grab my attention -- from very small and subtle ones, to enormous and grandiose moments or things.

This is a city that holds me tight and embraces me with a very warm feeling. I have never felt like a 'foreigner' here. It's like my Havana in the North!

And every time I fly into New York, coming from one of my many trips, seeing the gray buidings of the city makes me feel that I have returned to my home --where I have belonged for over 40 years. And I immediately feel happy to know that soon I will be inside of my apartment, my daily life, my routine, my 'refuge' on the 20th floor of a grayish building --where I have lived more years than I lived in Cuba!

And what will I post in this blog?....What am I to talk about? There are so many things I would like to comment! Politics. Movies, People....And above all my memories of a Cuba that does not exist anymore --nor will it ever exist again. A place that had many more good things than bad ones -- and it was mainly a gentle and decent place where to be born and raised, Thus I invite you to share my memories and the adventures of my life.

Mari Rodriguez Ichaso

I love the 'raptured' expression of my cousin Cristy Alfonso Ichaso, who -with her inseparable 'compinche', my brother Leon (wearing a suit and tie!) -snuck into the altar area during our cousin Marylin´s wedding. In the center is our aunt Mary Caballero de Ichaso, while Nena Garcia de Morató kisses her son, the groom Alberto Morató. This was on Dec 21 1958, the last time in our lives that the entire family was together. Ten days later the Revolution had started, mayhem took place -and we all ended up living in different parts of the world,

My aunt Fela Ichaso de Alfonso was my role model in many matters. She loved beautiful things and always left a trail of Miss Dior as she walked. Her bedroom also smelled of Miss Dior and her house at Havana's Country Club neighborhood had murals painted by Portocarrero and one of the first huge paintings Mijares ever did. She was very bright and rebellious, like all the Ichaso sisters. She would buy me copies of her favorite books and tell me great stories about her life, etc. --so ever since I was a little girl we were very close. She died in Miami, still very young --so I could not share with her so many important things that later happened in my life!

Mari Rodriguez Ichaso - Diario de Vida - Life's Diary

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Is 'Freedom' such a hard word to say?

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