English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 15 January 2015 — The new regulations on travel, insurance, the import of goods, remittances and telecommunications that the United States will put into effect with respect to Cuba as of Friday, have already provoked the first reactions on the Island. Although the evening news barely mentioned it at the end of the show, the … Continue reading “Cubans Euphoric Over the New Regulations / 14ymedio”
[From the New York Times] HAVANA — In one of my earliest memories, I am in a schoolyard before a campfire. The kids are screaming and jumping around it while the teacher stokes the flames, where a ridiculous Uncle Sam puppet is burning. This image came to mind on Wednesday, as I listened to the … Continue reading “Goliath Opens His Wallet / Yoani Sánchez: A New Era for Cuba and the United States”
14ymedio, Santiago de Cuba, 18 December 2014 — The news of the reestablishment of relations between Cuba and the United States has been embraced by opposition organizations in Cuba with optimism and hope that this agreement may facilitate the establishment of a dialogue between the Government and civil society on the island. The Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), in … Continue reading “The opposition hopes that a dialogue will open between the Government and civil society / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 17 December 2014 – A source from the US State Department has told 14ymedio that now begins the most difficult work, that there will be a lot of criticism, but also that many are feeling optimistic with this Wednesday’s achievement since the announcement of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United … Continue reading “Reactions from Cuba to the Obama-Castro agreements / 14ymedio”
Former Polish President Lech Walesa and Dagoberto Valdés by Dagoberto Valdés Hernández A year ago I was able to realize one of my lifelong dreams: to visit Poland, a country that remained loyal to its faith and liberty. This past October 20, I had the honor and joy of my second encounter with President … Continue reading “Poland’s Solidarity With Cuban Civil Society / Intramuros, Dagoberto Valdes”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 28 August 2014 — Henry Constantin is a native of Camagüey province, born in Las Tunas on Valentine’s Day, 30 years ago. He has been expelled from university three times for his ideas, but still believes he will obtain his journalism degree. This slender, plain-spoken young man has founded two independent publications … Continue reading “University (for the Tenacious) / 14ymedio, Henry Constantin, Reinaldo Escobar”
14YMEDIO, Havana, 28 August 2014 – In an escalation that started weeks ago, another member of the editorial board of Convivencia (Coexistence) magazine has been summoned by the police. This Wednesday Javier Valdes received a citation for the following day at 5:00 PM, at the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) station in Pinar del Rio. Other … Continue reading “Another Member of the Magazine ‘Coexistence’ is Cited by Police / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 August 2014, Reinaldo Escobar – Pinar del Río born and bread, and a member of the editorial board of the magazine Convivencia (Coexistence), Karina Gálvez has made some important decisions in her life. She wants to continue to live in Cuba, to help change the country from civil society and some to … Continue reading ““I am optimistic I will see prosperity in Cuba” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14YMEDIO, 22 July 2014 – On 22 July 2014, the opposition leader Oswaldo Payá and the activist Harld Cepero died. Payá led the Christian Liberation Movement and promoted the Varela Project, which managed to collect some 25,000 signatures to demand a national referendum. Freedom of expression, of association, freedom of the press and of business, … Continue reading “The Political Legacy of Oswaldo Paya / 14ymedio”
Journalists and intellectuals sign a statement of support for 14ymedio. 14YMEDIO | 21 May 2014 “Today we welcome a new communications medium, a digital daily that is born in a country without freedom of the press: Cuba. “The creators of this risky enterprise, directed by blogger Yoani Sanchez, share our democratic values. In their declaration … Continue reading “A Newspaper is Born in Cuba / 14ymedio”
A woman hits a child, who appears to be her son, on one corner. The passersby who see it don’t get involved. A hundred yards further on, two men get in a fight because one stepped on the other’s shoe. I arrive home thinking about this aggressiveness, just under the skin, that I feel in … Continue reading “Violence and Public Discourse / Yoani Sanchez”
On the 15th of February 2008, with the uploading to the internet of Issue 1 (January-February), the magazine Convivencia was born in Pinar del Río. Since then, six years have passed of uninterrupted bimonthly publication. The new publication invited one to live on a horizon at once broad and intimate, democratic, heavy with possibilities and … Continue reading “The Experiment of Hope / Francis Sanchez”
HAVANA, Cuba, 14 January 2014, www.cubanet.org.- How has the Cuban political scene changed for human rights activists and leaders of the political opposition who have left and returned to Cuba? Is the day after the fall of the Castro regime close? To answer, Cubanet contacted some of the protagonists of this story. Miriam Celaya (blogger … Continue reading “A Year Without the White Card (Travel Permit) / Lilianne Ruiz”
This past March 23, the prize-winning essayist, critic and literary investigator Roberto Zurbano, who up until this moment functioned as the director of the Editorial Fund of Casa de las Americas, was dismissed from the position. This measure was taken a few days after the US newspaper “The New York Times,” published an article under the … Continue reading “On Racism There is Still Much to Discuss / Dimas Castellanos”
“Notes for a History of Pinar del Rio” is now, after the hard work of almost five years in the hands of reviewers and a reward to Wilfredo Denie Valdés for the work of his lifetime, a gift for all natives of Pinar del Rio on the island and in the world. Under the label … Continue reading “Presentation of the Book “Notes for a History of Pinar del Rio” / IntraMuros #Cuba”
