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”

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 Ochoa Case: A Turning Point / 14ymedio

IGNACIO VARONA, 14ymedio, Havana, Cuba | 13 July 2014 — The Cuban government’s support for the Soviet tank invasion of Czechoslovakia, the failure of the 10 Million Ton Sugar Harvest, the case of Heberto Padilla, the repudiation rallies of 1980, and Cuba’s Black Spring are chief among the breaking points for many who at one time … Continue reading “The Ochoa Case: A Turning Point / 14ymedio”

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”

‘Writers and Artists Under Communism’, a Chronicle About the Cuban Government’s Hatred of Culture

14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, January 6, 2024 — “Down with the apolitical writers! Down with the supermen of literature!” “Their original sin: they are not authentically revolutionary.” “Outside the Revolution, no rights.” The law of eternal return presides over the tension between the intellectuals and communism. Guevara repeats Castro, and Castro repeats Stalin or Mao. … Continue reading “‘Writers and Artists Under Communism’, a Chronicle About the Cuban Government’s Hatred of Culture”

The Toronto Independent Festival Awards the Cuban Film ‘Plantadas’

14ymedio, Havana, 10 October 2023 — The historical feature film Plantadas (Planted)* by Cuban directors Camilo and Lilo Vilaplana, won the award for best international film at the Toronto Independent Festival of Cift, in Canada, the directors of the event announced on Tuesday. Lilo Vilaplana celebrated the award on his Facebook page and thanked his entire … Continue reading “The Toronto Independent Festival Awards the Cuban Film ‘Plantadas’”

Polarization in Cuba Is Part of a General Crisis, Says Academic Andres Ordonez

EFE (via 14ymedio), Mexico, 20 May 2023 — The Mexican academic Andrés Ordóñez regretted this Saturday the radicalisms in the debates on the Cuban Revolution and considered that they are not something exclusive to the Island but a trend in today’s world. “We are living in times of polarization. That intolerance, that propensity to disqualify … Continue reading “Polarization in Cuba Is Part of a General Crisis, Says Academic Andres Ordonez”

Killing the Castro We Carry Inside Us

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 2 May 2023 — The Cuban dictatorship has practiced for decades the exclusion and extermination of anyone who thinks differently. They shot and put thousands of adversaries behind bars, locked others in concentration camps, ostracized hundreds of artists and intellectuals, and pushed almost a quarter of the population into forced … Continue reading “Killing the Castro We Carry Inside Us”

‘El Toque’ Denounces Harassment Against its Journalists in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 1 September 2022 — The editorial team of the independent news source El Toque denounced on Wednesday, from its editorial office in Cuba, the harassment by State Security of nine young journalists, who, as a result, gave up their jobs. During a conference broadcast on YouTube, the directors, residing abroad, answered the questions … Continue reading “‘El Toque’ Denounces Harassment Against its Journalists in Cuba”

A Documentary Rescues the Writer Lezama Lima from the Clutches of the Cuban Regime

14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 21 August 2022 — In order to “stir up the anthill,” on the 45th anniversary of the death of Cuban writer José Lezama Lima (1910-1976), last Sunday the filmmaker Ernesto Fundora, at the Rosario Castellanos Bookstore of the Fund for Economic Culture, in Mexico City, screened his documentary “Lezama Lima: Soltar la … Continue reading “A Documentary Rescues the Writer Lezama Lima from the Clutches of the Cuban Regime”