English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2021 — In the second half of the year, a group turned the Cuban reality upside down, the Archipiélago platform, which was placed under the global spotlight after less than a year of its creation. The Cuban authorities had just announced with great fanfare the reopening of the country for November … Continue reading “Archipielago: Yunior Garcia, Saily Gonzalez, Daniela Rojo, David Martinez”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 December 2021 — The Cuban civic platform Archipíelago published this Friday a “declaration of permanence” signed by its coordinators as a result of the resignation in recent days of several of its members. “It’s hard to reinvent oneself every day in the middle of governmental hostility and anguish of a sick society; bring consensus … Continue reading “‘To Those Who Want to Divide Us, Let’s Not Give Them the Pleasure,’ Archipielago Coordinators Ask”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 December 2021 — The businesswoman Saily González, one of the most active coordinators of the Archipíelago group since its creation, announced this Sunday that she is leaving the Cuban opposition platform. She was joined this Monday by activist Magdiel Jorge Castro. “Today I am leaving Archipíelago, the most important undertaking to which … Continue reading “Saily González Leaves Archipielago and Calls to Accelerate the Fights for Rights in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 4 December 2021 — The lawyer Fernando Almeyda resigned this Friday as one the coordinators of the Archipiélago group. “Assuming this role implies a responsibility, which in the face of the latest events and decisions of the group I cannot assume,” he explained in a post published on his Facebook profile, in which he also … Continue reading “Cuba: Archipielago Coordinator Resigns Due to Political Disagreement”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 November 2021 — After the surprise arrival in Spain of Yunior García Aguilera and his wife, Dayana Prieto, on November 17, the Archipiélago platform, which the playwright helped create, is experiencing difficult times. The harassment and repression by Cuban State Security since the call for the Civic March of 15N, (15 November) … Continue reading “Repression and Internal Disagreements Cause Resignations in the Archipielago Group”
14ymedio, Madrid, 16 November 2021 — The image of Yunior García leaning out of the window of his apartment with a flower in his hand and dressed in white while a mob tries to block his view of the outside by lowering a Cuban flag over his window has become an icon of the civic struggle … Continue reading “Archipielago Considers Reasons for Cuban Protests Valid and Extends Them to November 27”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 November 2021 — On Thursday the dissident coalition Archipiélago released a list of recommendations for those who would like to participate in the Civic March for Change in Havana, which is scheduled for Monday. The group issued the recommendations in response to threats by the regime, which has indicated it considers any such … Continue reading “Archipielago Provides Participants with Guidelines for November 15 Demonstrations in Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, November 9, 2021 — Facing harassment by State Security and the local government, Archipiélago in Santa Clara announced this Tuesday “replacing the initial proposal” of a march on November 15th (15N). The new strategy proposed taking to the streets in “a decentralized manner from any point in the city.” The convening will still take place … Continue reading “In Santa Clara, Cuba, Archipielago Proposes Taking to the Streets in a Decentralized Manner on 15 November”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 October 2021 — More than 1,200 people risk being summoned by Cuban State Security for the mere fact of having signed the letters of support for the Civic March for Change called by the Archipiélago platform. According to the group’s complaint, the political police are summoning not only its members, but also … Continue reading “Archipielago Denounces Cuban Police Harassment of its Supporters”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 October 2021 — The Archipiélago collective has drawn up a list of instructions for those who want to join the Civic March for Change that it has been called for this coming November 15, a march that the authorities have refused to authorize. The demonstration will run through the areas indicated by … Continue reading “Archipielago Asks to Respond to Repression With Poetry During the 15N Marches in Cuba”
From the blog of César Reynel Aguilera, Montreal, 15 October 2021 Guest post from Yunior García Aguilera In the year 2022, the country of our birth will mark 70 years without democracy. My parents have never been able to freely choose their ideology, their party, or their president. They have had to resign themselves to … Continue reading “Message from Yunior García Aguilera of the Archipiélago Collective”
14ymedio, Havana, October 12, 2021–“On November 15th our personal decision will be to march civilly and peacefully for our rights,” responded Archipiélago to the Cuban Government’s decision to reject the Civil March for Change scheduled for that day, considering it “illegal” and a “provocation for regime change” on the island. “The regime’s response demonstrates, once … Continue reading “Cuba: On 15 November ‘We Will March Civilly and Peacefully for Our Rights,’ Responds Archipielago”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 12 October 2024 *Translator’s note: The title contains the author’s maternal last name, Infante, which in Spanish can mean either “child” or “young prince”. It is also a pun on the title of Maurice Ravel’s “Pavane for a Dead Princess.” ____________ COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious … Continue reading “Photo Series: Havana’s Cinemas No Longer Show Movies… Nor the ‘Dead Princelings’”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Madrid, 15 April 2023 — We went to see Jacuzzi, a play which premiered in Cuba. Our group was not at all majestic. It was four people: Linda (my wife), Gina (our daughter, also a journalist) and Rogelio Quintana, an illustrator and painter, who escaped from Cuba and has lived in Spain … Continue reading “Cuban Catharsis in a ‘Jacuzzi’”
14ymedio, Havana, 29 November 2022 — On Tuesday, Cuban activist and opponent, Carlos Ernesto Díaz González, known as Ktivo Disidente, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for disobedience and contempt. Díaz González had spent almost seven months in Ariza prison, in Cienfuegos, after he asked for freedom for political prisoners while … Continue reading “Ktivo Disidente, Sentenced to Jail for Asking for Freedom for Political Prisoners in Cuba”
