Cuban Writer Jorge Ferrer Releases the Recordings of Heberto Padilla’s ‘Confession’

14ymedio, Havana, 18 February 2023 — On Friday, Cuban writer and translator Jorge Ferrer released several original recordings of the appearance of the poet Heberto Padilla on April 27, 1971 before a group of writers and artists in Havana. The debate prior to the release of these film archives, hidden for decades by State Security … Continue reading “Cuban Writer Jorge Ferrer Releases the Recordings of Heberto Padilla’s ‘Confession’”

Giving Voice to the ‘Self-Criticism’ of Cuban Poet Heberto Padilla, 50 Years Later

EFE (via 14ymedio), Miami, 27 April 2021 — The well-known public confession of the Cuban poet Heberto Padilla (1932-2000), which shocked the literary world 50 years ago because it was a manipulation of Castroism, has been staged in a new choral reading, with English subtitles. [See English transcript here.] About twenty Cuban artists and intellectuals read … Continue reading “Giving Voice to the ‘Self-Criticism’ of Cuban Poet Heberto Padilla, 50 Years Later”

To Enter The Game of Heberto Padilla / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 24 September 2015 — Some biographies record it as September 24, others as the 25th. I haven’t been able to confirm it, what is known is that it is now 15 years since the death of the poet. To a person as irreverent as Heberto Padilla, surely he would have been amused … Continue reading “To Enter The Game of Heberto Padilla / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”

The Legal Farce Against Angel Santiesteban Reminds Me of the Celebrated Storyteller Reinaldo Arenas and The Poets Heberto Padilla and Raul Rivero

Three memories of Angel Santiesteban Miguel Iturria Savon On September 2, 2011, I published on Cubanet the article SOS for Angel Santiesteban, then harassed by the political police of the Cuban government in spite of being a writer who had been awarded multiple prizes by the regime’s own institutions. At the end of 2012 Angel was … Continue reading “The Legal Farce Against Angel Santiesteban Reminds Me of the Celebrated Storyteller Reinaldo Arenas and The Poets Heberto Padilla and Raul Rivero”

Heberto Padilla’s Public Confession, 5 April 1971, A Transcript

Note: This translation was prepared by TranslatingCuba.com Background on Heberto Padilla abounds on-line. His obituary in the New York Times refers to the document translated here: In April 1971 Mr. Padilla was released after a month of brutal interrogation during which he was forced to make a humiliating 4,000-word public confession. This document was released … Continue reading “Heberto Padilla’s Public Confession, 5 April 1971, A Transcript”

Pavel Giroud Highlights ‘The Pain of Cubans’ Upon Receiving the Platinum Award for the Documentary ‘The Padilla Case’

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 23 April 2023 — Director Pavel Giroud highlighted “the pain of Cubans” upon receiving the award for best documentary film for El caso Padilla, at the Platinum Awards of Ibero-American Cinema, held this Saturday at the Ifema Madrid Palace. “I want to thank you in the name of we Cubans who are fed … Continue reading “Pavel Giroud Highlights ‘The Pain of Cubans’ Upon Receiving the Platinum Award for the Documentary ‘The Padilla Case’”

The Debate on ‘The Padilla Case’ Was the Main Cuban Cultural Event in February

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”

The Padilla case, or the ‘Generous’ Terror of the Cuban Revolution

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 28 September 2022 — I was finally able to see The Padilla Case, Pavel Giroud’s film that brings to light a disconcerting, devastating historical archive. The original material remained hidden in the vaults of the Castro regime for half a century, until now. And it’s urgent that we look back … Continue reading “The Padilla case, or the ‘Generous’ Terror of the Cuban Revolution”

Padilla’s Shadow: Commemorative Act in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Poet’s Confession

PRESS RELEASE                                               4.21.2021 PADILLA’S SHADOW Commemorative Act in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Poet’s Confession A virtual performance that will be streamed on the internet and social media (Available now) (In Spanish with English subtitles) On April 27, 2021, a choral reading of Cuban poet Heberto Padilla’s legendary confession will be streamed … Continue reading “Padilla’s Shadow: Commemorative Act in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Poet’s Confession”

The Euphemism that Looks After Me / Alejandro González Acosta

Alejandro González Acosta, 1 December 2017, Mexico City — Lichi[1] told me that the last time he was in Cuba[2], he went to visit a G-2 colonel at home, the brother of a famous Cuban historian who was Lichi’s good friend in Mexico. Between drinks and confidences, Lichi asked him: “Come on, man, just between us: … Continue reading “The Euphemism that Looks After Me / Alejandro González Acosta”

The Five Grey Years: Revisiting the Term / Ambrosio Fornet

By Ambrosio Fornet / See here for background information on this series of posts. 1 It seemed as if the nightmare was something from a remote past, but the truth is that when we awoke, the dinosaur was still there. We haven’t found out — and perhaps will never know — if the media folly was … Continue reading “The Five Grey Years: Revisiting the Term / Ambrosio Fornet”

The Children The Revolution Didn’t Want / Ángel Santiesteban

By Víctor Manuel Domínguez HAVANA, Cuba, February, http://www.cubanet.org. History repeats itself. Another Cuban writer will be sent to prison. Angel Santiesteban, author of the blog The Children Nobody Wanted, was sentenced to five years in prison under the crime of housebreaking and injury. The Supreme Court upheld the penalty. According to what Santiesteban said to … Continue reading “The Children The Revolution Didn’t Want / Ángel Santiesteban”

Thoughts on Fidel’s “Words to the Intellectuals” and other texts / POLEMICA: The 2007 Intellectual Debate

– From Josefina de Diego – I confess that I didn’t remember the full text known as “Words to the Intellectuals,” delivered by Fidel Castro on June 30, 1961, at the National Library to a group of intellectuals. I think that, like many people, the only thing I remembered from the text was his famous … Continue reading “Thoughts on Fidel’s “Words to the Intellectuals” and other texts / POLEMICA: The 2007 Intellectual Debate”

La Plaza de Armas, Tourist Heart of Havana, Is Dying

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 24 October 2024 – Once upon a time there was a place that was pure noise. Legend has it that in Old Havana’s Plaza de Armas “you had to ask one foot’s permission to place the opposite foot down”. Luis Mario, who worked in the nearby restaurant La Mina when … Continue reading “La Plaza de Armas, Tourist Heart of Havana, Is Dying”

The Cowardice of UNEAC, Cuba’s Writers and Artists Union

The history of the institution is a soap opera full of lynchings, expulsions, censorship and self-incriminations 14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 19 September 2024 — Last Sunday, Cuba’s official newspaper Granma published a pamphlet entitled “The Brave and the Cowardly.” It was obvious that the article referred to the reaction caused by the expulsion of … Continue reading “The Cowardice of UNEAC, Cuba’s Writers and Artists Union”