Alexis Valdés is interviewed by Camilo Egaña on CNN

July 2, 2019

The Cuban artist Alexis Valdés was recently interviewed by Cuban journalist Camilo Egaña on his CNN program.

The comedian recalled his childhood and adolescence in Cuba alongside his grandmother as a happy period. "In my house I had a bed, an iron chair and some books on the windows so that light wouldn't come in," he assured.

Valdés acknowledged that "ignorance" and "lack of knowledge" can be "a source of happiness," while at the same time admitting he was happy during those years of scarcity. "It was all I had and I was very happy," he stated.

"I don't know if it was because of having or because of being young, which also influences it. At 18 years old you don't have responsibility or worries and, besides, I was starting to be successful. I had many girlfriends and I was also happy because of that," he added.

"As you start having things that you can lose, you can also lose a bit of your peace of mind," he explained.

In the interview he stated: "I never felt exiled, neither when I lived in Spain nor when I live in the United States. Obviously I feel some nostalgia for my neighborhood in my Havana, for the happy days I spent. But I know they are memory tricks, which erases bad memories and only leaves the good and also varnished in gold. It is a survival mechanism of our species," he wrote some time ago on his Instagram profile.