From “White Udder” to the seven-legged bull / Yoani Sanchez

Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 5 May 2015 – For a long time the extraordinary, the unusual, was our hope. On this Island which must have been Atlantis, the reincarnation of Alexander the Great was born and there lived a cow who gave the most quarts of milk in the history of humanity. Like all … Continue reading “From “White Udder” to the seven-legged bull / Yoani Sanchez”

The Black Udder Under the Bedrock / Reinaldo Escobar

Remember the cow named White Udder? I look back now on those headlines where her milk-producing exploits were reported. I forget the number of daily liters, 100, 150, but that’s not important now, what I can’t get out of my mind is that illusion that we would multiply the production of that Holstein cow through … Continue reading “The Black Udder Under the Bedrock / Reinaldo Escobar”

Even Honey, Cuba’s Star Product and a Great Source of Foreign Exchange, Suffers a Collapse

14ymedio, Havana, January 30, 2024 — Despite the declared optimism of the Cuban authorities about the potential of beekeeping, honey production is no longer free from the general collapse of the national economy and registered data lower than official forecasts in 2023. According to the information published by the newspaper of Las Tunas, this province … Continue reading “Even Honey, Cuba’s Star Product and a Great Source of Foreign Exchange, Suffers a Collapse”

In Matanzas, Cuba, Alarms Go Off for Milk and Sugar Unfit for Human Consumption

14ymedio, Havana, 14 November 2022 — It’s a bad weekend to talk about food sovereignty. Matanzas residents, los matanceros, have been the first to complain to the authorities about the future law that aims to protect the right to food, after several days of new trouble in that area. The neighbors went to bed this Sunday … Continue reading “In Matanzas, Cuba, Alarms Go Off for Milk and Sugar Unfit for Human Consumption”

Marrero, Fidel Castro and Nazareno: The Return of Moringa

14ymedio, Elias Amor Bravo, Economist, August 14, 2021 — More than a hundred references to “Fidel” swamp the official communist press on a day like today, his birthday. This blog will not be offering any remembrances or testimonials to the work of this communist dictator but, among the jumble of information we have found, one article … Continue reading “Marrero, Fidel Castro and Nazareno: The Return of Moringa”

From Ubre Blanca to the “Bici-agro”, the Absurd News of the Revolution / Ernesto Perez Chang

Cubanet, Ernesto Pérez Chang, Havana, 13 August 2020 — They invented the bici-agro in Ciego de Ávila, the local press announced, and the TV National News repeated it in spite of how ridiculous the news item was. In essence, the “great invention” is nothing more than an ordinary tricycle to market food on the streets, … Continue reading “From Ubre Blanca to the “Bici-agro”, the Absurd News of the Revolution / Ernesto Perez Chang”

The Village Presidents / Fernando Damaso

Fernando Damaso, 26 June 2018 — As I understand it, the presidents of countries deal with the main problems of those countries, and do not waste their time on matters that, at most, are the responsibility of their ministers or lower levels of the administrative apparatus of the State. The case of Cuba is different: … Continue reading “The Village Presidents / Fernando Damaso”

"I’ll Die As I Lived: Standing in Line"

14ymedio, 23 January 2018 — It’s two o’clock in the morning and on San Carlos Street in Cienfuegos all you can hear are the crickets. For Jesús, it’s a late night like any other. He retired from his job as a bus driver almost a decade ago, and at 75 he has enough energy to take … Continue reading “"I’ll Die As I Lived: Standing in Line"”

Fidel Castro’s 13 Most Notorious Failures / 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata

14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 30 November 2016 – Cuba’s official press and, oddly, a good part of the international media, never stop repeating that Fidel Castro brought Cubans free education and healthcare for all. Cuba was already, however, one of the most developed countries on the continent before the Revolution, much more so even than … Continue reading “Fidel Castro’s 13 Most Notorious Failures / 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata”

Children Without Milk / 14ymedio, Boris Gonzalez

Moooooo (White Udder) 14ymedio, Boris Gonazales, 7 October 2015 – My son will be seven years old this Thursday, October 8. For decades, seven has been the age chosen by Fidel Alejandro Castro and maintained by his brother Raul Modesto for Cubans to stop drinking milk. Every ten days a Cuban child under age 7 receives 2.2 pounds … Continue reading “Children Without Milk / 14ymedio, Boris Gonzalez”

The Cow That Would Change Cuba / 14ymedio, Ignacio Varona

14ymedio, HAVANA, Ignacio Varona, 4 August 2014 – When she died they erected a life-size marble statue of her, and when they milked her she liked to listen to music. The entire country lived attentive to the milk given by Ubre Blanca (White Udder), the most famous cow in Cuba. She was an animal that … Continue reading “The Cow That Would Change Cuba / 14ymedio, Ignacio Varona”

Enrique Colina: Utopian Obstinacy Turns Dreams into a Nightmare / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada

Taken from OnCuba, by Cecilia Crespo In November last year, the French channel France O aired the documentary “The Marble Cow” by the renowned critic and film producer Enrique Colina. It was only shown once in Cuba, during the last International Festival of New Latin-American Cinema held in Havana. Some days ago, a Spanish friend … Continue reading “Enrique Colina: Utopian Obstinacy Turns Dreams into a Nightmare / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”

Jorge Edwards in Cuba: A Spy in the Land of Slogans

14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 9 April 2023 – The apathy of Cuban intellectuals after the death of Jorge Edwards contributed to the fact that the regime’s censorship managed to render him invisible. The machinery of the Cuban press lives by a certain law of fiction, and that fiction selects, redacts, patches over and twists the … Continue reading “Jorge Edwards in Cuba: A Spy in the Land of Slogans”

The Reclusive Poet / Carlos Manuel Alvarez, Regina Coyula

By Carlos Manuel Álvarez, published in Univision News, 19 May 2016 Published in Malaletra, a Blog Made in Cuba, Regina Coyula, 11 July 2016 He looks like a god but is a heretic. He seems carved in stone, but is a nervous wreck. He looks like the first among men, but is just the last … Continue reading “The Reclusive Poet / Carlos Manuel Alvarez, Regina Coyula”

Proust’s Madeleines and Artemisa’s Cheese

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Generation Y, Havana, 31 August 2020 – We all have a mouthful that is the best we have ever eaten, a moment when all the taste buds explode with joy and leave an indelible mark on our memory. Mine was in Juchitán de Zaragoza, on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in Mexico. He … Continue reading “Proust’s Madeleines and Artemisa’s Cheese”