English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Death is step and journey in the essence of life. Archbishop Pedro Meurice Estiu course, retired archbishop of Santiago de Cuba has ended his fruitful and suffering journey for the time he lived. Cuba has lost one of its greatest pastors of all time and has gained one of the holy intercessors who has known … Continue reading “Pedro Claro Meurice: Cuban, Pastor, and Faithful Friend / IntraMuros”
… I should introduce to you the nation that lives here and lives in the diaspora; Cubans suffer, live and hope here and also suffer, live, and hope out there. We are a single people that, navigating the seas on logs, continues to look for unity… Mons. ++ Pedro Claro Meurice Estíu 24/1/98 (Words of welcome to … Continue reading “Rest in Peace Monsignor++Pedro Claro Meurice Estíu / Ricardo Medina”
Photos by: Luis Felipe Rojas On numerous occasions I have said that this is not a news blog. Here I can only hope to accumulate my travel reports, to make a map (for me) about the days lived, and on many occasions to be in places but not be visible due to my double condition … Continue reading “Meurice, the Friend / Luis Felipe Rojas”
In memoriam for Pedro Meurice Estiú Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago de Cuba They called Archbishop Pedro Meurice Estiu “the lion of the East” for his more-than-proven bravery in the face of the arbitrary and authoritarian. That January 24, 1998, in Antonia Maceo Plaza in Santiago de Cuba, his face is serious, deep in thought. Pope … Continue reading “Meurice’s Roar / Yoani Sánchez”
When Cubans find themselves struggling with personal problems they usually prefer to visit a babalao so that they could toss their shells instead of confessing to a priest in the church. Catholicism has the most followers on the island. But the beliefs brought over by former African slaves of the XVI and XVII centuries also … Continue reading “Meurice, Cuba’s most Beloved Priest”
To many mothers “God seems deaf” because they don’t see a way out and they become desperate 14ymedio, Havana, 16 June 2024 — Leandro Naun, a Catholic priest, ministers to a handful of rural communities in Santiago de Cuba. With the end of the month fast approaching, word is spreading that delivery of the basic … Continue reading “Leandro Naun, a Priest in the Mountains of Santiago de Cuba”
14ymedio, José Conrado Rodríguez Alegre, Trinidad, Cuba, 24 May 2020 — When the Covid-19 pandemic was declared in Cuba, it was precisely in the city of Trinidad, where I lived and worked as a Catholic priest for just over seven years, where the epidemic began: three Italian tourists and one North American were the first … Continue reading “What The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Taught Me”
Fernando Damaso, 21 August 2018 — In the current project of the new Constitution one finds the original sin, which has been present in Cuba since the year 1959: confusing Homeland with Party and Nation with Revolution. The bishiop of Santiago de Cuba, Monsenior Pedro Meurice, warned of this publicly during Pope John Paul II’s … Continue reading “The Original Sin / Fernando Dámaso”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 January 2018 — Three Catholic priests have addressed a letter to President Raul Castro in which they ask the president to let Cubans “choose in freedom,” not vote. In this way, the priests warn, the island will have “different” political options to “prevent that one day, given whatever circumstances, Cuba is submerged in … Continue reading “Three Priests Ask Raúl Castro For Real Elections To “Avoid Violent Changes””
To Raúl Castro Ruz on the 20th anniversary of the Mass for the Homeland celebrated by Saint John Paul II and the words of Bishop Pedro Meurice at Antonio Maceo Plaza in Santiago de Cuba, on January 24, 1998. On the first of January, the 59th anniversary of the triumph of a Revolution was commemorated. A … Continue reading “Letter to Raul Castro from Three Cuban Priests”
Luis Felipe Rojas, 20 December 2016 — Today I am going to tell you something you absolutely are not going to believe. But I don’t care, the military dictatorship violates human rights in cold blood and many don’t even want to know. Great is the fool who defends them. The brothers Geordanis and Adael Muñoz Guerrero are two … Continue reading “Pagan, A Very Bad Man With a Cuban Ministry of the Interior ID / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Ivan Garcia, 24 September 2015 — The best news for Celestino Cabrera, retiree, who lives in a neighborhood of low-rise houses and steep streets, was the arrival of half a kilogram of chicken per person at his area butcher shop. “For a week now we’ve been waiting for the ration-book chicken. Lots of Pope, but … Continue reading “Many Cubans Were Indifferent to the Pope’s Visit / Ivan Garcia”
Ivan Garcia, 17 September 2015 — For Nicolás Sarmientos, 73, making his usual rounds between the farm market, the bodega and the carters who sell fruits and vegetables in Havana is almost an extreme sport. Although in theory we are knocking on the door of autumn, in Cuba the thermometers are soaring. The Meteorological Institute announced … Continue reading “Cuba Awaits the Pope in Record Heat and Repression / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 25 August 2015 – A philologist by training, a dissident by passion, and an activist with the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) by choice, Yusmila Reyna (b. 1976) is today one of the most important figures in the opposition. She speaks slowly, moves easily through technology issues and seeks perfection in everything she … Continue reading “Yusmila Reyna: “UNPACU’s Challenge Is To Turn Sympathizers into Activists” / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
14ymedio, Juan Carlos Fernandez, Pinar del Rio, 26 March 2015 – “How much everything has changed! How gorgeous the Cathedral is with those add-ons!” exclaimed a Catholic layman on returning to visit his native Pinar del Rio after three decades of exile. The improvement of the infrastructure of the diocese, which started with the arrival … Continue reading “Rise and Fall of a Diocese / 14ymedio, Juan Carlos Fernandez”
