By Eduardo N. Cordovi Hernandez
HAVANA TIMES – That’s the refrain [Brazilian musician] Chico Buarque made popular decades ago, giving a melody to the new universal principle of life’s uncertainty. Lyrics remarkably in synch with the newer concepts of the not-so-recent Modern Physics, regarding the audacious discoveries of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity or the Uncertainty Principle, to cite just two examples.
The fact is that insecurity, hesitation, and indecision about almost everything have become the order of the day when it comes to defining any phenomenon during daily life. And this is true despite the imminence of any other event that might prevent it.
Just look at how global issues affect the little world of any city neighborhood. I say this referring specifically to my own world. Yes, to the small universe of my surroundings, my neighborhood in Havana, my beloved Lawton and its residents. And, as I said, the fact is that no one knows exactly what is going to happen, much less when. Even if they speak with all the certainty in the world, as if they knew.
Better said, it’s as if everyone knew what was going to happen, but not when or how, and this is what creates the sustained moment of anguished anxiety, fear, or confusion we are currently experiencing. Because, after all, Cuba has been living in a state of alert for seventy years, waiting for an imminent invasion by the United States. On the other hand, the Cuban government has been turning somersaults to avoid falling, while half the world has gone on asserting the same thing as now: It’s about to fall!
At this moment, despite everything, I know many people who yearn for an end to the type of socialism that prevails in Cuba, but who nevertheless think no one can unseat it.
Clearly, we know that what will be, will be. No matter what! Or at least, almost certainly. After all: there’s never been a rain so hard that it never clears. But none of this fends off the unease or the urgency of wanting things to happen NOW – right this minute! Even though the same urgent demand displays a face of apparent conformity and/or little militant commitment. Most people feel so unsure that anything will really happen that they don’t even dare to stand at their front door during a blackout and bang on a frying pan with a spoon, for fear of certain reprisals. Also, because they think that won’t solve anything.
The truth is that the still recent events in Venezuela have led to more and more voices being raised in favor of similar changes in Cuba. Confident voices, certain that such changes will take place within this year, within a few months or perhaps weeks, or just a matter of days…
Maybe because events now seem on the cusp of unfolding, given the declarations of the US President himself and his Secretary of State. And it’s very evident they’ve begun a series of maneuvers like the initial siege of Venezuela. In effect, many of us thought the construction of socialism was going to be halted due to the lack of materials, labor, fuel, transportation and other such circumstances of the first order. But mainly because you feel such assurance coming from the US power apparatus. However, apparently, it’s not so simple.
In my neighborhood, they are now setting fire to the corner sprawling garbage piles. I don’t know if this is a government directive due to the fuel problem, or if it’s a popular initiative to express the idea that everything is going up in smoke. I’ve been told the same thing is happening in other neighborhoods in Havana, and although I haven’t seen it, I don’t doubt it.
Between the city’s ruinous deterioration, the poor condition of the roads and transport itself – almost non-existent due to the lack of buses and fuel – it’s like people have gone a little crazy. With the warlike atmosphere and the sea of mosquitoes, a little smoke doesn’t even come close to venting the tension. I don’t know, I’ve also thought there may be a certain suicidal spirit at work, or some other spirit that wants to “suicide” others. Because preventing infections and/or pests by setting fire to garbage also poses a threat to health.
The smoke from printed paper, painted wood, plastic containers with traces of detergents, chlorine, and other substances, as well as electrical and electronic equipment, fluorescent tubes, and energy-saving light bulbs containing mercury vapor, not to mention lithium batteries or lead-acid batteries, drifts through the streets almost permanently, letting unhealthy fumes and danger roam loose, without a muzzle.
Meanwhile, it cannot be said that nothing is happening; the world has never stood still. Now, the daily situation is like sitting on a barrel with a lit fuse, while no one knows what’s in it.
Read more from the diary of Eduardo N. Cordoví Hernández aquí.