Cuba’s Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso and Me

14ymedio, Yamil Simón-Manso, Gaithersburg (Maryland) | 13 February 2021 — Cuban artists and intellectuals recently staged a protest in front of the Ministry of Culture. The diversity of writings on the Internet referring to the same thing renders any analysis redundant, and we Cubans are up to here in redundancies. In addition, I have not visited … Continue reading “Cuba’s Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso and Me”

Cuba: Good Bye, Fernando

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 10 January 2024 — These days the dismissal of Fernando Rojas, the vice minister of Culture, has been in the news. There are many who have publicly celebrated the end of the career of one of the cultural commissioners who arouses the most antipathy. There have also been many, too … Continue reading “Cuba: Good Bye, Fernando”

Cuba’s Minister of Culture’s Aggression Against Artists Sparks International Condemnation (Article from 2021)

14ymedio, Havana, 27 January 2021 [Readers please note, this article is from 2021 and only recently translated] — The day of arrests and protests of artists that took place this Wednesday in front of the Ministry of Culture has not taken long to receive condemnation from several international organizations, among which stands out the Cuban Observatory … Continue reading “Cuba’s Minister of Culture’s Aggression Against Artists Sparks International Condemnation (Article from 2021)”

The Cuban Government Dismisses Fernando Rojas, Despite His ‘Revolutionary Loyalty’

14ymedio, Madrid, January 9, 2024 — The deputy ministers of Culture Fernando Rojas Gutiérrez and Kenelma Carvajal Pérez were dismissed from their positions on Monday, January 8, and will be replaced by two much younger faces, those of Lizette Martínez Luzardo, 36 years old and up to now director general of Cultural Policies, and Lillitsy … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Dismisses Fernando Rojas, Despite His ‘Revolutionary Loyalty’”

The Assembly of Filmmakers Challenges Censorship in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 26 December 2023 — After perpetrating numerous acts of censorship against the works of several filmmakers at the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Culture topped it all off last June. The broadcast on Cuban Television of an unauthorized version of the documentary La Habana de Fito (Fito’s Havana), directed by Juan … Continue reading “The Assembly of Filmmakers Challenges Censorship in Cuba”

The Center of the Cuban Film Poster is Inaugurated, After its Registration as Documentary Heritage

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, December 13, 2023 — The cultural authorities of Cuba inaugurated on Tuesday the Center of the Cuban Film Poster, a place that exhibits part of the collection registered in May in the Memory of the World list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The event was attended … Continue reading “The Center of the Cuban Film Poster is Inaugurated, After its Registration as Documentary Heritage”

An ‘Apparatchik’ is Appointed President of Cuba’s Film Institute to Deal With the Rebellion of Cuban Filmmakers

14ymedio, Madrid, 10 November 2023 —  On Thursday, the official journalist Alexis Triana was named as the new president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (Icaic) by the Ministry of Culture. The position had been vacant since Ramón Samada Suárez was dismissed in July, after the filmmakers protested the showing of the documentary … Continue reading “An ‘Apparatchik’ is Appointed President of Cuba’s Film Institute to Deal With the Rebellion of Cuban Filmmakers”

‘Cuban Film Institute President Is Released From Office’ After the Scandal Over the Censorship of ‘Havana de Fito’

14ymedio, Havana, July 16, 2023 — The Board of Directors of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) decided to “release from office” the president of that institution, Ramón Samada Suárez. According to the official statement published this Saturday on the entity’s Facebook page, his departure was due to a “personal request.” Although the brief note … Continue reading “‘Cuban Film Institute President Is Released From Office’ After the Scandal Over the Censorship of ‘Havana de Fito’”

A Recording Made by Miguel Coyula Reveals the Tensions Between Filmmakers and Cultural Authorities

14ymedio, Havana, 3 July 2023 — Film director Miguel Coyula made public this Sunday several video and audio fragments recorded during the meeting held on June 23 at the Chaplin Cinema, in Havana, attended by more than a hundred filmmakers and authorities from the Ministry of Culture and the Communist Party. Gathered in the Assembly of Cuban … Continue reading “A Recording Made by Miguel Coyula Reveals the Tensions Between Filmmakers and Cultural Authorities”

Cuban Filmmakers Meet To Express Their Disagreements With the Cultural Authorities

14ymedio, Havana, 24 June 2023 — More than a hundred Cuban filmmakers expressed their disagreement with the authorities about the decisions made with a documentary about the Argentine singer Fito Páez and his relationship with the Island. The creators, grouped in the Assembly of Cuban Filmmakers — which includes the prestigious director Fernando Pérez and … Continue reading “Cuban Filmmakers Meet To Express Their Disagreements With the Cultural Authorities”

The Cuban Writer Nancy Morejon Censors Herself at the Paris Festival of Poetry

14ymedio, Madrid, 7 June 2023 – The Cuban poet Nancy Morejón has announced that she will not participate in any part of the Marché de la Poésie (Poetry Marketplace), which takes place from this Wednesday until next Monday in the Saint-Sulpice de Paris Square. A note in Prensa Latina says that the organisers “censured” the … Continue reading “The Cuban Writer Nancy Morejon Censors Herself at the Paris Festival of Poetry”

An Unfinished Essay on Hate in Cuba

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 30 May 2023 — The Cuban regime behaves like a violent husband who, after destroying his partner’s face, swears he did it out of love. They, the ones with slogans about death and clubs studded with nails, are now the “Care Bears”. Díaz-Canel, after giving his abhorrent combat order, dons … Continue reading “An Unfinished Essay on Hate in Cuba”

Cuban Government Denounces ‘Cowardly, Fascist-Like Acts’ Against the Duo Buena Fe in Spain

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 18 May 2023 — Cuban authorities said Thursday that the cancellation of three concerts in Spain by the musical duo Buena Fe, a group close to government and party circles, was due to “harassment” and media “campaigns” against them. The president of the Cuban Institute of Music, Indira Fajardo, described the … Continue reading “Cuban Government Denounces ‘Cowardly, Fascist-Like Acts’ Against the Duo Buena Fe in Spain”

The Last Cuban Parliament With the ‘Historicals’

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 12 February 2023 — If the massive abstention is as successful as the opposition expects in the electoral process scheduled for March 26, none of what is outlined here would make sense. The Cuban Parliament scheduled for the X Legislature of the National Assembly could be the last to have the … Continue reading “The Last Cuban Parliament With the ‘Historicals’”

Poet and Official Loyal to the Cuban Regime, Teresa Melo Dies at the Age of 61

14ymedio, Havana, 31 January 2023 — Cuban writer and editor Teresa Melo, 61, died this Monday in Santiago de Cuba of a heart attack, as confirmed by 14ymedio with sources close to the poet. The announcement of her death in Cubadebate was accompanied by a brief biographical note where she is described as “one of … Continue reading “Poet and Official Loyal to the Cuban Regime, Teresa Melo Dies at the Age of 61”