Benoit Pelopidas (Bristol): We All Lost the “Cuban Missile Crisis”. The introduction to Fighting over Fidel: The New York Intellectuals and the Cuban Revolution by Rafael Rojas (and more). When Castro took power, Americans fled Cuba and left a lot of property behind; now the claims on these contested holdings — land, buildings, cars and more — are exciting speculators and could stand in the way of reconciliation. The story of America’s reconciliation with Cuba is one of near misses, crossed wires and unexpected challenges that could have changed the course of history. Esther Allen on Cuba: We never left. Gerard-Francois Dumont on Cuba: History of an exodus. The other migrant crisis: Cubans are streaming north in large numbers. A socialist vision fades in Cuba’s biggest housing project: Inequality is growing in Cuba, threatening the legacy of Castro’s revolution.
Opening for business: A former Marielito positions himself as an entrepreneur in the new Cuba. The changing face of Cuba: Amanda Mattingly says with the thawing of its relationship with the U.S., Cuba is weighing how it can allow U.S. investments and tourists while maintaining its unique culture and socialist ideals. Don’t worry, Americans: “Old” Cuba isn’t going anywhere just yet. Cuban artists still condemned to silence: Dissident artists are no better off post-Fidel, and renewed relations with the US haven't helped as many hoped or claimed they would. Staff at Granma, the official newspaper of Cuba’s Communist Party, are facing a new challenge: How to embrace the openness of the internet while still pleasing ruthless censors.
