Notes on Cuba, literature and other tropical diseases. Thin-Slicing a Presidential Trip to Cuba. Sunday morning, when I saw on Facebook that President Obama had spoken to Cuban celebrity Pánfilo, I figured it had to be a joke. Then I learned that the video had been uploaded and was being shared. In those three and a half minutes of the sketch, the modus operandi of both governments became obvious. Obama wanted to show from the get-go his intention to speak to.

Nos reíamos de Gregorio Magno y su admiración por los bellos ingleses. Oh, Félix, tú siempre te reías. Donde quiera que estés, hermanito, que sepas que nos has dejado huérfanos. El mundo es un lugar menos bueno desde que no estás. Nadie se merece la muerte horrible que has tenido, pero menos que nadie tú.