English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
The crash occurred in Moa at around 4 p.m. 14ymedio, Madrid, 13 January 2025 — The collision between a van and a tricycle claimed the lives of six people on Monday in Moa, in the province of Holguín. Five of them died at the scene of the accident and another died at Dr. Guillermo Luis … Continue reading “Six Dead and Five Injured in Collision Between Van and Tricycle in Holguín, Cuba”
Holguín residents complain that the vehicles cover an unpopular route, instead of serving more central stops 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 4 May 2024 — Shining under the May sun, the 20 new electric tricycles that travel the streets of Holguín will began to provide service this Thursday. However, poor planning has already hindered the beginning … Continue reading “The Blackouts in Holguin, Cuba, Predict a Dark Future for the New Electric Tricycles”
Gasoline prices exceed 4,000 pesos per liter, driving up reliance on electric tricycles 14ymedio, Holguín, Miguel García, March 12, 2026 — In the streets of Holguín, there’s a strange mix of shock, anxiety, and anticipation. Conversations multiply at the bus stops, in the doorways, and on the electric tricycles that now dominate the urban landscape. … Continue reading “In Holguín, Cuba, Astonishment Mixes With Certainty That “This Can’t Go on Any Longer””
“If I work twelve hours, I can make more than 5,000 pesos a day, although it’s quite hard.” 14ymedio, Havana, Natalia López Moya, February 14, 2026 – In a city that is practically at a standstill, some people never stop. You see them crossing empty streets, dodging the potholes along the Malecón or pedaling uphill … Continue reading “Bicycle Taxis and Electric Tricycles Move Goods in a Havana Paralyzed by the Energy Crisis”
Economist Pedro Monreal points to the failure of the floating exchange rate created by the government a month ago in its latest attempt to revalue the national currency 14ymedio, Holguín/Sancti Spíritus, Havana, Miguel García, Mercedes García, and Darío Hernández, January 22, 2026 – Just over a month after the official floating exchange rate went into … Continue reading “In Cuba the Dollar Reaches 500 Pesos on the Informal Market in Holguín and Sancti Spíritus”
Patients throughout the province are left without transport to receive treatment, while costs, pain and the risk of fatal complications increase. 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, December 21, 2025 — The suspension of transport for haemodialysis patients in Holguín province has alarmed family members, patients and healthcare personnel, who describe the current situation as “unsustainable” and … Continue reading “‘It’s a Matter of Life and Death’: Transport Collapse Affects Haemodialysis Patients in Holguín, Cuba”
“There are always cars belonging to civil servants who come here every day for meetings; they don’t achieve anything, but they never stop having meetings.” 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, December 16 2025 –In the morning progressing along Valle road with an unforgiving rattle. Every pothole forces us to slow down, every puddle – thick, greenish … Continue reading “In Holguín, Not All Roads Are Equal: The Ones the Government Uses Have Priority”
The purchase of small vehicles, such as Foton minibuses, is a response to the shortage of fuel and foreign currency. 14ymedio, Havana, 25 July 2025 — We have to admit it: Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila seems to be the only minister in Cuba who is really taking action, even though his solutions are partial and insufficient … Continue reading “Chinese Ambulances and Funeral Tricycles, a Belated Response to the Deterioration of These Services”
The new fleet of vehicles partially alleviates urban transport, but the lack of electricity and inefficient journeys frustrate drivers and passengers. 14ymedio, Matanzas, Pablo Padilla Cruz, October 26, 2025 — The improvised stop in front of the pre-university school in Matanzas fills up quickly. A group of passengers are waiting their turn for one of … Continue reading “Matanzas, Cuba, Tries to Move With Electric Tricycles, But the Blackouts Slow the Route”
The graffiti appeared in a busy area where thousands of people pass by every day. 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 4 August 2025 — Residents in the Alex Urquiola neighborhood of Holguín woke up this weekend to find a word painted on a deep blue wall: “Freedom.” The graffiti, written in uneven and hasty letters, appeared … Continue reading “Cuba: An Eloquent ‘Freedom’ Painted on a Wall in Holguín Rekindles Popular Discontent”
Caribbean Electric Vehicles opens an assembly plant in Holguín 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 24 March 2025 — The Héroes del 26 de Julio Mechanical Company, a state firm of Holguín dedicated to the manufacture of agricultural equipment and implements, has a new line of business”: the assembly of electric tricycles. It is a project that … Continue reading “They Promised To Sell Them in Pesos, but the Chinese-Cuban Company Charges Dollars for Its Electric Tricycles / 14yMedio”
“Everyone knows that the Castros were born in this province and whoever controls Holguín controls Cuba” 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 8 February 2025 — If there is a name that these days is pronounced in Holguín with a grimace and biting your lip, it is that of Joel Queipo Ruíz, first secretary of the Communist … Continue reading “With His Crusade Against the Private Sector in Holguín, Queipo Is Making Merits To Succeed Cuban President Díaz-Canel”
“We Holguin residents are such that if they prick us we don’t even bleed” 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 25 October 2024 — Although the people of Holguín only have memories of October’s Hurricane Oscar, the El Nickel store, located at the intersection of Frexes and Máximo Gómez streets, still has its windows covered with panels. … Continue reading “In Holguín, Cuba, the Windows of Hard Currency Stores Are Kept Covered for Fear of Being Stoned”
The Municipal Assembly proposes forcing companies to lower their prices for their “essential” imported products 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, May 22, 2024 –Bleeding MSMEs [Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises], the only entities on the Island that remain afloat in the unstable Cuban economy, seems to be the new plan of the city of Holguín to … Continue reading “Holguín, Cuba, Increases Tax Pressure on ‘MSMEs’ and Threatens Other Measures”
A tricycle driver’s unexpected response to an inspector writing down names on his attendance list for Cuba’s May Day events 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, April 30, 2026 / A private driver in Holguín thought it was just another inspection. He was at the taxi stand near the surgical hospital when a transportation official approached him, … Continue reading ““I’m Not Going To Parade in Anything Related to Communism””