English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 28 December 2023 — Rarely has the regime licked its wounds with as much vigor as after the defeat of Team Asere in the semifinal of the World Baseball Classic. The propaganda had turned the match against the U.S. national team into a political crusade, and, as most sports specialists had predicted, the … Continue reading “Team Asere, Without a Homeland But With Love”
14ymedio, Rolando Gallardo, Quito, 16 March 2023 — I once heard an influencer, whose name I don’t want to remember, say that the “Cuban opposition was facing a scientific regime using improvisation.” This idea may have arisen creatively and spontaneously or come from the argument of Gene Sharp [an American political scientist]: “The idea that … Continue reading “Team Asere Does Not Belong to the Dictatorship, It Belongs to the Cuban People”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 March 20, 2023 — It was with long faces and forced smiles, that the return home of the members of the Cuban baseball team that lost this Sunday in Miami to the US team by 14-2 was “celebrated.” And not only did Team Asere suffer the defeat, but its catcher, Iván Prieto, … Continue reading “The Regime Tries To Ease the Sports and Political Defeat of the Cuban Team With an Act of Reparation”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2023 — If instead of choosing faces, at the end of 2023 we had compiled the objects that best represent Cubans this year, we would have included in the list a suitcase, some police handcuffs, a baseball, a judge’s gavel, a keyboard, a microphone and graffiti on some facade. Every presence … Continue reading “Cuban Faces of 2023: The 14 Faces That Marked the Year 2023 in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, November 16, 2023 — The Cuban baseball team was left out of the Caribbean Series, which will be held in Miami next February, a key event for regaining the prestige of the national team after a year marked by desertions and mediocre performance. The players of the Island “were not invited,” said the … Continue reading “Cuban Players ‘Were Not Invited’to the Caribbean Series, Admits the Regime”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 May 19, 2023 — The Cuban Baseball Federation will call for baseball players in the Minor Leagues of the United States to join the team that will represent the Island in the Pan American Games of Santiago 2023 in October. According to the specialized media Pelota Cubana, everything will depend on the … Continue reading “Cuba is looking for U.S. Minor League Players for the Pan American Games”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 April 2023 — The Cuban Yosimar Cousín, who in 2021 thought about “not continuing to play baseball” because the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) cut off a contract with the Mexican team Charros, signed this Wednesday with the Chicago White Sox. The agreement is “2,000,000 dollars for two years and he will have … Continue reading “Baseball player Yosimar Cousin, ‘Blockaded’ by the Cuban Baseball Federation, is Hired in the United States”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 11 April 2023 — Few phrases are as illustrative of Cuban voluntarism as the one that calls for “turning setbacks into victory.” Fueled by the whim of Fidel Castro, the maxim has summed up, since 1970, a way of doing politics in which boasting of victory was more important … Continue reading “Cuba: Putting Makeup on the ‘Setbacks in Victory’”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 April 2023 — Yasiel González was one of the eight players who did not appear a month ago on the list presented at the Pernik Hotel by the Cachorros de Holguín team for the 62nd National Series of Cuba. A journalist based in the United States, Yasel Porto, reported on Wednesday that … Continue reading “The Unattractive Salary Leads Cuban Baseball Player Yasiel Gonzalez To Resign”
14ymedio, Mexico, 30 March 2023 — The theft of his passport, with a U.S. and Mexico visa, in addition to his work permit, prevented Cuban baseball player Roel Santos from joining the preseason with the Olmecas of Tabasco. However, a source within the Mexican team confirmed to 14ymedio that the player “already received permission in … Continue reading “Cuban Baseball Player Roel Santos Stranded in Miami Will Be Able To Join the Olmecas of Tabasco”
14ymedio, Madrid, 29 March 2023 — The reaction of the Cuban sports authorities to Yariel Rodríguez Yordi’s breakup with his Japanese team, Dragones de Chunichi, and the Cuban Baseball Federation itself (FCB) has not been long in coming. The organization will avail itself of a clause in the baseball player’s contract to demand 10 million … Continue reading “The Cuban Baseball Federation Will Demand 10 Million Dollars From Yariel Rodriguez”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 March 2023 — The players of Team Asere, the Cuban team that lost its pass to the final of the World Baseball Classic to the United States, returned to the Island this Monday without the event’s cup but loaded down with purchases. Flat-screen televisions, air conditioners, car tires and many, many suitcases: … Continue reading “The Cuban Players Returned From Miami Without the Cup but With a Lot of Purchases”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 March 19, 2023 — Cuba’s official press doesn’t hide the tension before the semifinal of the World Baseball Classic, which will take place today in Miami when the Cuban national team faces the United States team, which beat Venezuela yesterday by 9 to 7. The day has already taken on political overtones, … Continue reading “High Tension a Few Hours Before the Cuba-US Semifinal in the World Baseball Classic in Miami”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 March 2023 — Cuba’s baseball players have already arrived in Miami. Since the 4-3 victory over Australia, everything has been “joyful.” The “dancing” spread to the clubhouse, said manager Armando Mandy Johnson. On the charter flight from Japan to Miami, the “shouting” never stopped. The team will play at the headquarters that … Continue reading “Discontent Among Miami Cubans Over the Outrageous Prices of Tickets to the Baseball Classic”
14ymedio, Miami, 15 March 2023 — The Cuban baseball team qualified for the semifinal round of the World Classic after beating Australia 4-3 in this Thursday’s game. The so-called Team Asere was among the four best teams of the tournament for the first time in 17 years, despite the absence of two of its star … Continue reading “Cuba Moves to the Semifinal in Miami After Defeating Australia in the World Baseball Classic”
