There's No Place To Skate So You Have To Adapt

"There's No Place To Skate So You Have To Adapt" / Cubanet

There's hardly anyplace left to skate. You can walk around here and the
only thing you can find are parks, which are really useless and
sometimes we bother people. Old people scold us. I have friends that
practice in the middle of the street because the ramps and installations
that once existed are in ruins and no one bothers to fix them.

I'm not a professional; those who are more involved with skateboarding
skate around Prado. I skate more often in Paseo. I do it as a pastime or
as a hobby, like they say in English. Sometimes before coming out I
watch extreme sport videos. There are even kids who win competitions
with incredible technique.

I don't know if there are competitions here in Havana. I don't think so.
It's difficult because there's no place to skate so you have to adapt.
My favorite athlete is Tony Hawk, one of the toughest skaters I have
seen. But personally I've never dreamed of skating seriously, I mean
professionally.

I am in 10th grade and there is not much entertainment here, or anywhere
else. While other kids my age are listening to reggaeton or, I don't
know, wasting time talking nonsense and telling lies, I grab my
skateboard and spend a few hours in the afternoon riding it.

Translated by Cynthia Vasquez Bermeo, Josselyn Lopez, Natalia Pardo

Source: "There's No Place To Skate So You Have To Adapt" / Cubanet –
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/theres-no-place-to-skate-so-you-have-to-adapt-cubanet/