Without a Hotel Reservation No One Can Now Get Access to Various Cuban Cayos [Keys]

14ymedio, Havana, 7 November 2022 —  The coastal keys of north Ciego de Ávila are to become a territory reserved exclusively for tourism. A new law will prevent access, for the majority of Cubans, to one of the most privileged areas of the Island and establishes that access will be limited “only to pre-booked tourist … Continue reading “Without a Hotel Reservation No One Can Now Get Access to Various Cuban Cayos [Keys]”

The Protests Extend to the Zapata Swamp, Showcase of the Cuban Revolution

14ymedio, Havana, 13 October 2022 — La Ciénaga de Zapata [the Zapata Swamp] in Matanzas, considered one of the showcases of the Cuban regime, which considers the place an example of its achievements, starred in one of the noisiest protests on Wednesday night. “Put on the light, dickhead, put on the light, fuckers!” they shouted … Continue reading “The Protests Extend to the Zapata Swamp, Showcase of the Cuban Revolution”

Chronicle of a Visit Postponed to Jagüey Grande / 14ymedio, Eliecer Avila

14ymedio, Eliecer Avila, Havana, 28 June 2015 — Last Friday afternoon, my wife Rachell and I were going to the city of Jagüey Grande in Mantanzas Province. Several friends were waiting for us there to spend a weekend together talking and discussing future projects. We were going to see Alexey, a motorcycle mechanic and computer … Continue reading “Chronicle of a Visit Postponed to Jagüey Grande / 14ymedio, Eliecer Avila”

So Nemesia Doesn’t Cry / Henry Constantin

Nemesia Rodriguez is the most famous person from the Zapata Swamp. She lives in Soplillar, which is nothing more than houses around a ball field near Playa Larga, in a simple masonry house with iron railings at the door and a comfortable sofa — a gift from by Fidel Castro — in the living room. … Continue reading “So Nemesia Doesn’t Cry / Henry Constantin”

The Revolution Over the Swamp Henry Constantin

I came to Cienaga Zapata — the Zapata Swamp — a few days ago, without housing or transportation or mosquitoes or crabs on the roads, only with guidance from a battered map and the goodwill of all the swamp dwellers I found along the way. I wanted to go to Giron (known to Americans as … Continue reading “The Revolution Over the Swamp Henry Constantin”

Forgotten Combatants / Miguel Iturria Savón

They are beginning to fade, the echoes of the insane propaganda about the challenge among the exiles who landed at the Bay of Pigs, April 17, 1961, and the policemen and militiamen who counterattacked in the name of the Revolutionary government, unaware that Castro’s interwoven dictatorship backed by the Soviet Union, whose tanks and machine … Continue reading “Forgotten Combatants / Miguel Iturria Savón”

Official Cuban Journalism: With a Glass Roof… / Miriam Celaya

With such discipline as my training provides, I am carefully reading, for the second time, an article published on page 3 of Granma (May 4th, 2011), in a section created to reminisce about the revolutionary liturgical and dated events of the moment, which they named Remember Girón. The referenced article, entitled “I was the youngest … Continue reading “Official Cuban Journalism: With a Glass Roof… / Miriam Celaya”

Cubans Are More Concerned About Hurricane Ian Than About Voting in the Referendum

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez and Herodes Díaz, Havana/Santiago de Cuba, 25 September 2022 — In the early hours of this Sunday morning there was a notably small turnout in the voting centers for the referendum on the Family Code, and the majority of the voters were elderly, according to 14ymedio reporters in Havana and Santiago … Continue reading “Cubans Are More Concerned About Hurricane Ian Than About Voting in the Referendum”

With the Blackouts, the ‘Temporary Situation’ Becomes Permanent

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 16 September 2020 — This Wednesday, September 16, the scheduled blackouts begin in Havana to reduce energy consumption and, according to the official press, stop “a tendency to overuse that the country cannot afford.” This completes prophecy made by the Government a year ago when Miguel Díaz-Canel announced, on September 11, … Continue reading “With the Blackouts, the ‘Temporary Situation’ Becomes Permanent”