“Utopia is on the horizon, and I know very well that I’ll never reach it. If I take 10 steps forward, it moves 10 steps away. The more I seek it, the less I’ll find it, because the closer I get, the farther away it is….” According to Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, this was the answer that Argentine filmmaker Fernando Birri gave to a student who had asked him, “What good is utopia?” And Galeano added, “That’s what it’s good for—for moving.”
Always moving in search of utopia, even when we know it’s unreachable, makes us try to be better, to do something useful with our lives, and to set our sights on collective happiness, which is surely the most worthy form of happiness.
In this issue, we bring you the stories of Cubans who are fighting for their dreams: We have an exclusive interview with CuCu Diamantes, a woman who thinks nothing is impossible; the story of Ianeya Borrego, who left her law practice behind for an enduring passion—making bread; the ups and downs of Yunier Carracedo, mechanic, in reviving the famous old cars that troll Havana’s streets; and a look at the work of Velázquez, one of a long line of ceramicist.
We especially would like to highlight our interview with Jorge Fernández, director of the Havana Biennial, Cuba’s top visual arts event; we invite you to take a tour of the lovely hills of the Escambray; and we provide you with a well-known expert’s analysis of the Cuban economy’s performance in 2014 and projections for 2015.
I like to think that we are moving the horizon of utopias, pushing it back so that those who come after us will go even further. At OnCuba, we are trying to do that every day, and you have a standing invitation to join us.
