Soy Paquito - El de Cuba... y Soy Yasmin - La de Cuba...

I just discovered two fascinating new Cuban blogs. The first is called, Paquito, el de Cuba, and is written by the proud Cuban journalist, communist, gay, sero-positive, father, Francisco Rodriguez.

Read below for my translation of his provocative profile. I discovered Paquito while reading a recent article at IPS/Havana Times by Patricia Grogg, "Home Internet, Distant Dream in Cuba," which quotes him as saying:

“Any measure to improve connectivity and expand Cuba’s capacity to access the internet is positive, because it will allow more voices on the island, both institutional and individual, to be heard worldwide.”

Grogg also quotes him as saying:

“Greater (internet) access for civil society, including institutions and individuals, would contribute to demonstrating that the (Cuban) revolution isn’t as bad as some people make it out to be, nor as perfect as others would like to think. To do this, we need technology, but also training in diversity of thought and viewpoints.”

On the other hand, Grogg also cites another blogger, the Marxist, feminist blogger Yasmín Portales (a woman with a sharp tongue and a sharper mind, originally affiliated with Bloggers Cuba, whom I recently met at LASA in Toronto) who told Grogg that she did not believe that the newly announced [fiber optic] cable [from Venezuela] would increase residential connections, “because that’s not where the state’s interest lies.”

Readers are encouraged to check out Yasmín's blog. There she describes herself this way:

"Soy cubana. Mi vida es un fino equilibrio entre el ejercicio de la maternidad, el feminismo y el marxismo crítico."

These clearly are not your mother's (or grandmother's) communists or marxists!

I am Paquito, the one from CUBA;
Follower of Marti and a journalist;
Communist and gay;
Convinced atheist and occasionally superstitious;
Father of a boy whom I adore and partner for 7 years of a sero-negative man who loves me;
AIDS patient since 2003 and cancer survivor for more than 5 years;
University professor and student of life;
Follower of the Cuban economy and passionate consumer of world literature;
Incontinent giver of opinions and moderate belligerent;
Friend of my friends and compassionate with my enemies;
Often mistaken and never regretful;
Unfailing optimist and eternally enthusiastic;
Alive and bubbly;
In sum, just another normal, everyday guy who wants to share his story, opinions, and dreams with you...

Readers might also be interested in the blog Tomar la Palabra, which I also recently came across.