"I have a twin brother and grew up in a Cuban family that was very old school and traditional and quite a bit machista. Having this person that was the same age - the same everything made me aware when my brother got more liberties than I did. And at a young age I would tell my parents that it wasn't fair and they acknowledged what I was saying- and it changed them. There was no room for argument because we were twins. That shaped me. I was able to to stand up for myself in a very concrete way." - Cristina Tamayo works for parallel18 and is pregnant. She is expecting a girl.
Maria Lopez Pega
"I left school in the 6th grade. When I was young I fought with my father a lot and he didn't take care of us. We were 16 siblings in all and we sort of raised ourselves. Ten of us are still alive. I have three sons and two daughters but they don't take care of me. I am just trying to survive." - Maria Lopez Pega is a street vendor in Havana, Cuba and sells candy and chicharrones.