I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the case with you, but for me, the approach of September brings the sensation that I\u2019m about to embark on something. It might be the first day of school effect, which lingers from an enduring memory; every time September rolls around I feel like I should be starting something or setting a new goal, no matter how simple or difficult. Otherwise, I don\u2019t feel complete.<\/p>\n
In this issue of OnCuba, we bring you the stories of people who have taken on real challenges: an interview with Rub\u00e9n Cortada, a young Cuban who has become one of the most successful actors on the Iberian peninsula; an article on the F\u00e1brica de Arte Cubano (FAC), or Cuban Art Factory, a cultural project led by musician X Alfonso and one of the forms taken by the economic opening in Cuba; a look at the artwork of the always-defiant Pedro Pablo Oliva; the story of three people who were born in three different points on the globe but have made Havana their home; and an exclusive interview with artist Sandra Ramos, who\u2014now in Miami\u2014continues to develop the theme of immigration in her work.<\/p>\n
We especially recommend an analysis of Cuban exports, provided by a researcher with the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy; the latest news on self-employment in Cuba, brought to us by two professors from the University of Havana\u2019s Faculty of Economics; a statistical analysis of the main indicators for the export of professional services, the most important line of the Cuban economy, by journalist M\u00f3nica Rivero; and an investigative piece by Fernando Ravsberg on what is known in Cuba as the \u201cweekly package,\u201d a local way of passing around information in a digital format.<\/p>\n