English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Desde Aqui, Havana, 6 November 2021 — A few days short of 76, the Cuban poet Raúl Rivero has died in exile. We were classmates in the University of Havana’s journalism school, and we shared a time at Cuba Internacional magazine, but above all we were friends. In the early 1970s, while we were … Continue reading “The Raul Rivero I Will Remember”
Ivan Garcia, 23 November 2015 — On these hot nights in Havana, when nostalgia, that silent thief that robs you of strength, strikes without warning, Raúl Rivero, the poet, sneaks through my window and offers me a workshop specifically on the latest news from modern journalism. The art of teaching still doesn’t accept journalistic lectures … Continue reading “Press Workshop with Raul Rivero / Ivan Garcia”
Three memories of Angel Santiesteban Miguel Iturria Savon On September 2, 2011, I published on Cubanet the article SOS for Angel Santiesteban, then harassed by the political police of the Cuban government in spite of being a writer who had been awarded multiple prizes by the regime’s own institutions. At the end of 2012 Angel was … Continue reading “The Legal Farce Against Angel Santiesteban Reminds Me of the Celebrated Storyteller Reinaldo Arenas and The Poets Heberto Padilla and Raul Rivero”
14ymedio, Raul Fernandez Rivero, Caracas, 28 March 2016 — I’m a little confused. Many analysts, commentators and journalists claimed that Barack Obama would visit Fidel Castro. That did not seem logical. And it did not happen. Others said he would not speak with dissidents. Even some opponents said they would not go if they were invited. He spoke with a few … Continue reading “The Difference Between A Democrat And An Autocrat / 14ymedio, Raul Fernandez Rivero”
14ymedio, Clara Riveros, Miami, 14 January 2023 — The complicity between drug lords and the political leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly Cuba, was key to the rise, positioning and expansion of the Colombian cartels in the decade of the 1980s, as extracted from Vida y muerte del cartel de Medellín [Life and Death … Continue reading “Former Colombian Drug Trafficker Carlos Lehder Recounts His Meeting with Raul Castro in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 July 2021 — The Cuban virologist based in Brazil, Amílcar Pérez-Riverol, criticized the performance of the act of “revolutionary reaffirmation” organized by the regime this Saturday, in Havana, calling it “disastrous from the health point of view.” He warned that the government’s mass demonstration was called when the Island is the “fifth … Continue reading “Cuban Scientist Perez-Riverol Describes as ‘Disastrous’ the Official Rally During the Full Rebound of Covid”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 2 March 2017 — Otto Rivero directed the most powerful entity in Cuba at the beginning of this century, the Battle of Ideas, but was ousted by Raúl Castro a few months after the latter assumed the presidency. Now, the former youth leader has emerged from his “pajama plan” – as such … Continue reading “Otto Rivero’s March 2nd / 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata”
After the jubilation over the arrival in Cuba of the three spies imprisoned in the US comes to an end, when the campaign of tributes in the official media is over and the lights installed on the stands for government agents to hear the people’s applause are turned off, the government of Raúl Castro will … Continue reading “Raul Castro’s Pyrrhic Victory / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Havana, 30 May 2023 — The denunciation of numerous intellectuals against Nancy Morejón — headed by the Cuban Jacobo Machover — has achieved its objective: the organizers of the Paris Poetry Market, a prestigious literary event held annually since 1983 in the French capital, will withdraw the official writer’s status as honorary president, although she will continue … Continue reading “Cuban Writer Nancy Morejon Withdraws as Honorary President of the Poetry Festival in Paris”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 May 2023 — The Cuban writer Jacobo Machover criticized the election of the official poet Nancy Morejón as honorary president of the Poetry Market, an important literary event held annually in Paris since 1983. Through a review of the history of support for the regime that has characterized Morejón, the professor also … Continue reading “The Choice of the Official Cuban Writer Nancy Morejon To Preside Over the Poetry Market Is Criticized”
14ymedio, Havana, March 15, 2023 — The Madrid-based Betania publishing house has issued a catalog containing a collection of thirty-seven Cuban-themed e-books that can be downloaded for free from its website. The volumes are available in PDF format and were released by the publisher between 2011 and 2023. As stated in its introduction, Betania began … Continue reading “Betania Is Offering Readers Thirty-Seven Cuban Books as Free Downloads”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Madrid, 18 February 2023 — There is a rhetorical way of referring to Spain: “The Motherland.” But sometimes that fits reality and is said without hypocrisy. Especially, when it involves some sacrifice and a certain price has been paid. The socialist government of Spain, contradicting its minority partners in the coalition … Continue reading “When the Motherland is Really a Mother”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Madrid, 12 February 2023 — In Cuba there will be elections in March for the National Assembly of the People’s Power (ANPP). These are potentially the most important elections the system provides. Ricardo Alarcón, former President of Parliament, realized this and Raúl Castro dismissed him and did not allow him to … Continue reading “How to Enthrone Democracy and the Market in Cuba in Just 365 Days”
14ymedio, Madrid, Havana, 19 October 2022 — Cuban journalist Luz Escobar, member of the editorial staff of 14ymedio and winner of the Press Freedom Award of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, declared on Wednesday night that, thanks to independent reporters, Cuba has “its own voice.” The award ceremony of the XX International Journalism Awards, chaired … Continue reading “‘Thanks to Independent Reporters, Cuba Now Has Its Own Voice’”
14ymedio, Madrid, 26 May 2022 — The twentieth edition of El Mundo International Journalism Awards celebrate freedom of expression and the free flow of information by awarding prizes to two reporters who, from different parts of the globe, are an example of the fundamental values of the profession: courage and rigor. In the Best Journalistic Work category, … Continue reading “Cuban Luz Escobar and Russian Alexey Kovalev, Win ‘El Mundo’ Journalism Awards”
