Coffee, Cigarettes, and Revolution: Cuba on the Verge of Change

By Wes Newbury
The coffee is strong and sweet, served in a white plastic cup no bigger than a shot glass.  The man behind the counter collects my change and sits across from me on an old barstool with a torn leather cushion.  He pulls a cigarette from the pack with his lips and strikes a match.  He looks like he is about to say something, but he’s interrupted.
A vintage American car rumbles down the partially paved road and the driver manually rolls down the passenger side window to yell something I can’t understand.  The man across the counter from me exhales a cloud of smoke as he laughs, ra...