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Quotes by Cuban Authors

"I do not believe in inspiration, but I must have a title in order to work, otherwise I am lost."

"The relationship between reader and characters is very difficult. It is even more peculiar than the relationship between the writer and his characters."

"Fits did not go over well in my house. There was a lot of discipline and obedience and you had to be very ladylike. Ladies didn't curse and I still don't curse in front of my parents."

"I began revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action."

"Oh, yeah, I've always thought of covering some of my influences like Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder."

"It is nasty. You can think that you know someone in this business and you really don't. You can be stabbed in the back very easily. You can be praised very easily. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do."

"When I testified in front of Congress, I know that I was testifying under oath and I told the truth."

"I studied harmony and composition in a very spontaneous manner."

"I wrote for a weekly magazine and then edited a literary magazine, but I did not really feel comfortable with the profession of journalism itself."

"The revenues of Cuban state-run companies are used exclusively for the benefit of the people, to whom they belong."

"You know, my family stood for something that they believed in, and I wasn't about to turn my back on them."

"I don't much believe in the idea of characters. I write with words, that is all. Whether those words are put in the mouth of this or that character does not matter to me."

"My secret? A desire to work, years of dedication and loving what you do; I can't live without music."

"Yes, but I - you know, it's been such a long time, I'm sure that I've got cousins and uncles that I've never met before, you know, that I've left behind."

"There's something about prime time television and the way the song is going to come off on the air. I'm very concerned, very self-conscious about that."

"I would not vote for the mayor. It's not just because he didn't invite me to dinner, but because on my way into town from the airport there were such enormous potholes."

"So, when I got the contract for my album, even though it was an English record, my manager insisted on making sure we would record in Spanish as well, and it worked out really well for me."

"You will in the future hear me on a pop album, but that's just the experimental side of me."

"My main point in this regard was to compete for my country and my people and to receive the support of the entire Cuban society, to carry my flag in whatever competition I was in, the Olympic Games, Pan-American Games."

"I know that many writers have had to write under censorship and yet produced good novels; for instance, Cervantes wrote Don Quixote under Catholic censorship."

"Everything shapes you to be the person you are today. Sometimes hard lessons pay off dividends."

"If I don't work, I'll be sitting on the couch watching TV, eating popcorn and getting like a cow."

"Mike Patton is a genius... It is definitely the hardest music I've ever played."

"Freedoms, like privileges, prevail or are imperiled together You cannot harm or strive to achieve one without harming or furthering all."
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