English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
EFE/14ymedio, Havana | 1 February 2021 — The independent feminist collective Yo Sí Te Creo [Yes I Believe You] in Cuba lamented, this Wednesday, a new femicide on the island and once again called for “effective mechanisms to prevent gender violence.” In the absence of official statistics on sexist murders, the platform posted on Twitter that … Continue reading “‘Yo Si Te Creo’ Denounces Two New Femicides in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 10 May 2023 — The Supreme People’s Court confirmed on Tuesday the life imprisonment of two Cubans sentenced in 2022 for sexist murders against their wife and ex-partner respectively. The two convicts, Yadier Delvá Simón and Alexander Nápoles Téllez, had appealed their sentences, but the high court rejected both appeals. “Both individuals were … Continue reading “The Supreme Court of Cuba Confirms Life Imprisonment for Two Convicted of Femicide”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 15 April 2023 — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said this Friday that there will be “zero tolerance” for sexist violence, which he described as “an unacceptable act” on the Island. “This has to be a society with zero tolerance for violence and in particular for violence against women,” Díaz-Canel said in … Continue reading “Finally, President Diaz-Canel Recognizes the Existence of Femicides in Cuba and Asks for ‘Zero Tolerance’”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 March 2023 — The authorities of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, confirmed this Saturday the arrest in the municipality of Taguasco of Liván Reinaldo Mora Pérez ’El lento’, who is accused of stabbing Vanelis Macola to death on February 28 in the town of Tuinicu. According to information offered by the Head of the … Continue reading “The Man Arrested for the Murder of a Nurse in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, Has a History of Rape and Robbery”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 March 9, 2023 — Nancy Peña’s is the first femicide recorded in Cuba in March. The 49-year-old woman was murdered by her ex-partner last Sunday at her home in the Alcides Pino People’s Council, in Holguín, according to CubaNet. She herself, the independent newspaper documents, had published on social networks her fear … Continue reading “Nancy Pena Denounced her Ex-Partner and He Killed Her Four Days Later”
14ymedio, Havana, March 10, 2023 — Pablo, a Mexican businessman with an invitation to the Cuban Habano Cigar Festival, got more than he bargained for during his first trip to the island. Ready to enjoy a luxurious, weeklong vacation, Creole cuisine and the world’s best cigars, he boarded the plane with more than 2,000 dollars … Continue reading “In Cuba, Rising Prices and a Falling Peso Lead to Growing Popularity of Bill Counting Machines”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Miami/Havana/Barcelona, 8 March 2023 — PEN International, the world association of writers, has chosen the Cuban poet, narrator and activist María Cristina Garrido, imprisoned in Cuba for participating the popular protests of 11 July 2021, as its image for the International Women’s Day. “We need international and everyone’s support to demand freedom for the writer, … Continue reading “An Imprisoned Cuban Poet is the Image for PEN International for March 8th Women’s Day”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 February 2023 — Two events marked the discussions on Cuban literature this February: the Havana International Book Fair and the controversy over the documentary El caso Padilla (2022) [The Padilla Case], by Pavel Giroud. Cuban authors, editors and translators also dealt with issues such as the return to the Island from exile and … Continue reading “The Debate on ‘The Padilla Case’ Was the Main Cuban Cultural Event in February”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 February 2023 — Mercedes Vasallo Herrera, 51, is the most recent victim of femicide in Cuba, according to the unofficial count kept by the Cuban Women’s Network. Its activists, Marthadela Tamayo and Annia Zamora, have warned of the discovery of her body this Saturday, February 11, in the town of Carlos Rojas, … Continue reading “With a New Femicide, There Have Been Ten Women Murdered in Cuba So Far This Year”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 January 2023 — The independent feminists of the platform Yo Sí Te Creo in Cuba and the magazine Alas Tensas retracted, this Thursday, the statement issued hours before in which Yeniset Rojas Pérez, the young woman from Ranchuelo, Villa Clara, who had disappeared as of the 18th of March of last year, was considered to … Continue reading “‘Alas Tensas’ Clarifies That ‘The Disappearance Alert for Yeniset Rojas is Still Open’”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 January 2023 — The National Party of Honduras (PNH) described the hiring of 123 Cuban professionals in Education by the Government of Xiomara Castro as ideological interference. The opposition denounced that the objectives are “doubtful” and questioned the lack of transparency in the disclosure of the terms of the contracts. The Honduran government signed a … Continue reading “Bringing in Cuban Teachers is ‘Ideological Interference’ Denounces the Honduran Opposition”
14ymedio, Yankiel Gutiérrez Faife, Camajuaní, 8 January 2023 — Nearly all their friends have left, but Javier and Érica, two young people from Santa Clara, are still in Cuba. Leaving will be almost inevitable. With the Island’s economic situation, having children isn’t an option. Besides, at twenty-five years of age, where are they going to … Continue reading “No Dreams, No Entertainment, No Work, This is How the Young Live in Villa Clara, Cuba”
14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, Spain, 18 December 2022 – If oblivion had a physical form, or a symbol, it would be that of a faded photograph. From an original shaky camera shot, or just from the degrading of the resulting photographic paper print itself, a photo that has lost its sharpness doesn’t tell us very … Continue reading “A Country Ill from Chronic Laughter”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 14 November 2022 — A campaign promoted by activists of the Cuban Feminists’ Network platform will start this Monday on social networks in order to raise awareness of the “urgency” of having a Comprehensive Gender Law on the Island. “We do not want more gender violence,” they said this Sunday … Continue reading “Cuban Feminists Promote a Campaign for a Comprehensive Gender Law on the Island”
14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo/Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 6 November 2022 – Street Artists, fortune tellers, beggars, Tarot readers, palm readers, wizards, promise-keepers, pickpockets. Old Havana is constantly in turmoil and those who live there have to earn a crust by any means possible. Skill, cunning and a ’creole’ type of flair are, in the midst of … Continue reading “Victor, the Puppeteer who Raises a Smile on the Faces of Cubans in the Midst of Poverty”
