English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Natalia Lopez Moya, Havana, 4 January 2024 — “I buy women in bad shape,” the message read back in April, when 14ymedio first reported on it. As of a few days ago, all that was left were the words “in bad shape,” which now seem like a cryptic description of that corner, of the … Continue reading “Misogynist Graffiti in Havana Becomes an Enigmatic Message”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 April 2023 — Activist Yasmany González Valdés was arrested this Thursday at his house in Central Havana and transferred to the State Security headquarters in the capital, Villa Marista. His wife, Ilsa Ramos, confirmed this on Friday to 14ymedio. Hours earlier, the Observatory for Cultural Rights (ODC) had reported in a Twitter … Continue reading “Political Police Interrogates Activist Yasmany Gonzalez for Graffiti Against the Cuban Regime”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, 24 March 2023 — Early Tuesday morning a message critical of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) was scrawled on a wall in Aguirre Park, in Havana’s Revolution Plaza district. It has since been covered up by a coat of red paint. The garish color was crudely and sloppily applied over … Continue reading “Red Paint Covers Up Giant Anti-Communist Graffiti in Cuba”
14ymedio, Santiago de Cuba, 2 August 2022 — Graffiti with the phrase “Díaz-Canel singao [motherfucker],” in capital letters, appeared at dawn this Tuesday painted on the pavement of the bridge that connects the town of El Cristo with the national highway, in Santiago de Cuba, popularly known as El Elevado [The Elevated]. Shortly after the graffiti … Continue reading “In Santiago de Cuba Graffiti Against Diaz-Canel, While a Havana Protest Demands His Presence”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 12 February 2022 — A large police deployment prevent passage through the corner of Gervasio and Enrique Barnet (Estrella) streets, in Central Havana, after the discovery this Saturday morning of a huge sign painted on the asphalt with the phrase “Patria y Vida” [Homeland and Life]. The surrounding area has … Continue reading “‘Patria y Vida’ Graffiti Mobilizes the Police in Central Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 February 2022 — Growing repression in Cuba has not prevented anti-government demonstrations. According to the latest report from the Cuban Conflict Observatory (OCC), a total of 275 protests occurred in January, the majority (175 or 65%) of which were politically motivated, and among them, 160 had to do with prisoners detained as … Continue reading “Graffiti, Demonstrations, and Even Masses: Forms of Protest during the Month of January in Cuba”
14ymedio, Photo of the Day, Havana, 3 May 2018 — This week, when many workers in Cuba headed to May Day parades in “support of socialism,” a graffiti appeared on a Havana wall showing the hand of a worker grasping a the image of a wrench/person, from the head of which comes the cry “Help,” … Continue reading “‘Help’: The Cry of Cuba’s Working Class in a Graffiti”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 August 2017 — Graffiti artist Yulier Rodríguez was arrested by police last Thursday and released after 36 hours. The arrest occurred while he was painting a collapsed wall at the corner of San Lazaro and Escobar, in the municipality of Central Havana, the artist told 14ymedio. The police warned Rodríguez that he had … Continue reading ““I’m Not Going To Erase My Graffiti,” Yulier Tells Police, Who Gave Him Seven Days To Do So”
14ymedio, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 5 April 2017 — A little more than four months after Fidel Castro’s death, the former Cuban leader continues to stir up controversy outside his country. In the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, graffiti in support of the former president, spray painted using templates, … Continue reading “Pro and Anti Castro Graffiti Face Off in the Canary Islands”
14ymedio, Havana, 2 December 2016 — Danilo Maldonado, known as ‘El Sexto’ (The Sixth), began to eat the food, his mother, Maria Victoria Machado, told this newspaper. A week after his arrest for painting graffiti on a central Havana street corner and posting a video on his Facebook profile, the artist is still waiting to … Continue reading “Graffiti Artist ‘El Sexto’ Eats But Rejects Food from Police / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Mario Penton & Abel Fernandez, Miami, 2 December 2016 – The Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado, known as ‘El Sexto’ (the Sixth), declared a hunger strike this Thursday, according to reports to this newspaper from his mother Maria Victoria Machado. The artist’s decision comes six days after his arrest for having painted on a centrally located … Continue reading “Graffiti Artist ‘El Sexto’ Declares Hunger Strike After Six Days In Custody / 14ymedio, Mario Penton & Abel Fernandez”
14ymedio, 27 November 2016 — The Cuban graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado, known as “El Sexto” (The Sixth), remains under arrest, according to a report from his mother, Maria Victoria Machado, to14ymedio. Maldonado was arrested on Saturday and taken to the police unit at 51st and 240th Streets after painting graffiti on a wall of the … Continue reading “Graffiti Artist ‘El Sexto’ Still Under Arrest, Mother Says / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 29 December 2015 — Irreverent and daring, the graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto (The Sixth)—in a satirical reference to the ‘Five Heroes’—organized a performance for Christmas 2014 under the title Animal Farm. In Havana’s Central Park the artist intended to release two pigs on which he had painted the names Fidel and … Continue reading “Cuban Faces of 2015: Danilo Maldonado, ‘El Sexto’, Graffiti Artist / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, 25 November 2015 – Criticisms of the management of the Telecommunications Company of Cuba (ETECSA) have reached the walls of Havana. A nice graffiti criticizes the conditions attached to the latest international recharge promotions for cellphone customers. The drawing mocks the requirement that consumers use their balance in a short period of time. “If I … Continue reading “Havana Graffiti Criticizes State Phone Company / 14ymedio”
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