Playing in the neighborhood 

I occasionally enjoy recalling memories of childhood and reconstructing those first happy moments. Remembering, for example, going out to play around the neighborhood and hearing the cry of grandma, or mom, demanding we return home to eat or bathe.

In Cuba this retrospective exercise is still possible. Just visit any Cuban neighborhood and you will see that even with the technological revolution – which often bolts even the smallest of us in front of a TV or computer – you still feel the excitement that groups of children create in neighborhood patios, streets or parks. This island phenomenon is popularly known in Cuba as “mataperrear”, loosely translated as hanging out and making up games. It’s a phenomenon that should be studied because unfortunately some say that games like hide and seek, four corners, jump rope, pick-up sticks, blind man’s bluff, and other childhood pastimes are endangered in many corners of the world.

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