Cuban reality

The regime of Hugo Chavez that held power in Venezuela for 15 years brought some interesting people to work with the country. The Venezuelan government had links with other left-wing countries such as Russia, China, and yes the beautiful Cuba. Cuba, as well as the other countries, has been under a dictatorship for at least 50 years. Fidel Castro was the president at the time when he and Hugo Chavez decided to send Cuban "doctors" to Venezuela, so they could be part of "Barrio Adentro" one of the social helps that the government gave to people in exchange for petroleum. 

Barrio Adentro or inside the hood was a mission that sent Cuban doctor to the poorest communities, where very often they were murdered or robbed by the criminals of these communities. As result of these crimes against them, the doctors started to desert and leave to Colombia.   

"No Venezuela neither Cuba huh? I always had that question in my mind, what is wrong with Cuba? the government talks marvel about the island but why people escapes from it?"

One day my father invited some of these doctors to eat at home, one man and one guy, her name was Maria and the guy name was Juan, but he liked to be called "Magic Juan" as the merengue singer who actually really looked like him.  My dad offered them a banquet and these people ate like they had never eaten before, actually like they never seen food before. While they ate, the woman who was according to her a nurse, never stop talking and making jokes. She offered me to go to Cuba and marry her neighbor's daughters that as she said, "She got the biggest butt in Havana, you will love her," she also kept making jokes and talking what would have happened if the Bolivarian revolution never got in Venezuela. I noticed that Juan was quite, just eating as much as he could and laughing about his fellow Cuban jokes, that is when I felt the need to ask him about Cuba. Why to him and not to Maria? well, she was clearly biased in favor of the Cuban government and there was a reason why Juan was not talking in front of her. Maria as any Cuban woman offered to help my mom with the dishes, at the same time my dad invited Juan to the back yard to enjoy a bottle of rum he brought from the Dominican Republic. I thought that was my opportunity to ask Juan about the life in Cuba. 

After three cups, I asked him, "Juan why are people escaping from Cuba? with those big butts, I would never go anywhere," He looked at me and with a sarcastic smile, 

"Porque la vida en Cuba es dura caballero, puedes vivir pero no sonar y yo soy un sonador (Because life in Cuba is tough, you can live but not dream and I am a dreamer)." 

That helped me to understand what was going there. A year after my father told me Juan was a deserter and was captured trying to escape in the border with Colombia and sent back to Cuba...