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FROM
CUBA
Love story of the "New Man"
Luis Cino
HAVANA, July (www.cubanet.org) - Osiel
and Neysa met six months ago, dancing at
a disco in La Víbora.
They made love twice. The first time, in
the back seat of his car, after toking together
while listening to Ricardo Arjona in the
tape player. The second time, on the living-room
couch at her home before her parents came
home from work. Both times, they used a
condom.
They liked each other. They had a lot in
common. They haven't seen each other again.
There was no disagreement between them.
It's just that neither one of them "is
up for that sort of thing." Soon, they
won't remember each other.
He is 21. She will be 18 in November.
Neysa just finished high school with acceptable
grades. She worked hard, not because she
cared, but to please her parents. That was
the only thing they asked for: that she
go to college.
In three years of high school, the agricultural
work, the beastly food, the military training,
and the obligatory political mobilizations
seemed endless.
The best things in all that time were Mandy
and Alina's friendship. Neysa was 14 when
she lost her virginity. It was Mandy, one
night the lights were out, out in the basketball
courts. Mandy was the one that came up with
the idea that she and Alina should kiss
each other and "do things" to
him. He convinced them it had nothing to
do with lesbianism. He was also the one
that taught her to drink rotgut without
feeling dizzy or ending up with a headache
the next day.
Mandy was eventually kicked out for cheating
in a Chemistry test. About a year ago, she
ran into him in the Vedado. Nowadays he
is a male prostitute and keeps company with
old foreigners.
For Neysa, sex holds no secrets. She has
bedded males of all ages, sizes, and races.
Homosexual adventures don't particularly
interest her.
University authorities told her she could
study Economics. She would have preferred
Information Science or English Literature.
No matter. It's unlikely that she will obtain
a degree. Even less likely that she would
find a job related to what she studied.
The important thing is that it produce enough
money. Even better if it should be dollars.
Her parents try to please her in everything.
But Neysa always wants more. She has a preference
for skimpy blouses and hip-hugging jeans
which show the tattoo over her ass and the
pierced belly button, quite well-known in
the neighborhood.
Her mother tells her she is too loud and
foul-mouthed. She says her manners are not
feminine, that no man will take an interest
in her. But men in Havana seem to have a
different opinion.
Alina calls her materialistic and shallow.
She got to study liberal arts. She is happy
with her thin, near-sighted boyfriend, her
Chinese bicycle, her heavy metal cassettes
and her occasional lesbianism.
A week ago, Neysa met a guy who made her
a business proposition: take some sexy pictures
to post on Internet. He talked about a website
of Cubans who advertise for foreigners.
According to him, hundreds of girls have
done it successfully.
Neysa is waiting for propositions from
"over there." Her parents don't
know a thing. She thinks with a little luck,
her savior will show up. Any age. Paris,
maybe. Or Madrid, Rome, even Montreal.
Osiel is not doing bad. He is in "business"
and is not lacking for money. He is part
of the classless aristocracy in the neighborhood.
When he was a child, his father taught
him how to be a mechanic. After he left
technical school, he started repairing motorcycles.
Now he uses his father's car as a taxi.
It's a 1956 Chrysler with a Russian diesel
engine. They take passengers between La
Palma and the Capitol, at 10 pesos per.
Business is not bad; bus service gets worse
every day.
He wears his hair short and a Yankees cap.
Over his unruly chest hair a thick gold
chain and a St. Barbara medal. The tooth
he shows on the left side when he laughs
is also gold. In one arm, he had a dragon
tattooed, on the other, an eagle. Weights
and the gym keep him trim in spite of the
beer.
He's never lacking for "chicks"
to go out with. Everyone envies him. But
Osiel is not happy with his life. His goal
is to go to the U. S. He's been saving for
years to pay for a "Cigarette"
to take him out. It's all arranged with
his brother who lives in Miami.
Neysa's and Osiel's affair started as love
at first sight. It could have been different.
But they are up for something else. Their
thing "did not become love, nor history;
that was it." As most of the love stories
of the new man. They have, aside from love,
a lot to occupy their thoughts.
Versión
original en español
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