Stan and Kim in Cuba

(blog by Stan) The big news shifted this week, from our daily doses of what the Cuban news labels the "Interminable US Election", to at least a couple of days focused on the death of Maradona. Everyone has a Maradona story. Here's mine: I am not a soccer fan, never have been. So four years ago, when Fidel Castro died, I was here in Cuba guiding a church group from Charlotte. We were with some friends in Varadero, Nashla and Joel, and they were talking about all the various world dignitaries/presidents who were arriving in Cuba for the funeral. Joel said, "Maradona flew in from Argentina today." I (mis)translated: "The president of Argentina arrived today." Both Joel and Nashla quickly corrected me, "No, not the president, Maradona. Diego Maradona." I translated the correction, and asked them, "who is Maradona?" Both they and my Charlotte friends stared at me in disbelief. Joel said, "You, know, the hand of God!" I did not ...

Oh, to have Hunter S. Thompson with us in this election season. The gonzo journalist was my portal into politics, first via a subscription to Rolling Stone in my teenage years and later through his books. I think he would be having a blast covering the current campaign trail. If he thought there was fear and loathing in the Nixon years, he'd surely find that to be child's play compared to what we have on our hands now.   Cubans are no strangers to fear and loathing in the political sphere. While there are many Fidelistas here (adoring fans of the late comandante en jefe ), there are also plenty who lean toward loathing when the subject of Castro comes up. I would guess, from my limited experience and exposure and with no surveys to draw on, that those on the adoring side are in the majority. But there's no guesswork involved when it comes to the Cuban-Americans residing in the Miami area; it's safe to say that virtually all of them loathe the historic leader of the Re...