English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
In homes where water has not come in for days, residents have started using plastic bags when they need to go to the bathroom. Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 21 August 2024 — The trick is to insert a hose into the pipes that run through the streets and sidewalks in front of the houses. If … Continue reading “The ‘Water Thieves’, an Invention to Supply Havana Homes”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 March 2023 — The Villa Clara Police discovered 13 illegal connections and nine leaks in the Hanabanilla, a 15-mile system of pipes that supplies water to a large part of the central provinces of the Island. The farmers of the area had made multiple punctures in the pipes to divert the water … Continue reading “Cuba: Police Will Go ‘House to House’ in Villa Clara to Find the Water Thieves”
The shabbily dressed old man leaned the container over the sidewalk and used a long wrench as lever. 14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 30 December 2024 – What possible domestic use can a wheel from a garbage bin have? The enigma is difficult to solve in a country overwhelmed by multiple needs, but the answer, … Continue reading “The Garbage-Bin-Wheel Thieves Act in Plain Sight in Havana”
Ten generators donated by China will provide 18 MW to Sancti Spíritus and Cienfuegos when there is fuel 14ymedio, Madrid, September 18, 2024 — More than a million users are now affected by water cuts in Cuba. In the first week of September the authorities admitted that the figure was about 600,000 people. A few … Continue reading “More Than a Million Cubans Suffer Water Cuts Due to Blackouts and Other Breakdowns”
Despite the announced investments, in Cienfuegos the lack of water extends from the center to the periphery 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 9 September 2024 — Three weeks have passed since the official press celebrated that water is flowing with less difficulty in Cienfuegos, thanks to the “execution of significant investments,” but the residents of … Continue reading “In Cienfuegos’ Pueblo Griffo Neighborhood, Water Comes Only Once a Month”
Residents walk through the streets with bottles and buckets to fill them in houses with cisterns that still have a little water 14ymedio, Havana, September 6, 2024 — The government of Havana assured this Friday that it is restoring the water supply service, two days after it was interrupted in the main sources of supply … Continue reading “Havana Claims To Have Repaired the Breakdowns, but There Are Neighborhoods That Are Still Without Water”
Faced with permanent harassment on his farm in Cárdenas, Ernesto is almost thinking of selling his animals and abandoning the country 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 5 June 2024 — Ernesto has had Spanish nationality since 2008 and in recent years he has traveled to Spain a few times, but he always returns. In Cuba, specifically in … Continue reading “Thieves and Bureaucrats Make Life Impossible for Cuban Ranchers”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 January 2023 — The Artemisa Police arrested four people on Friday involved in a case of theft and slaughter of cows at the El Chorro farm, located between the municipalities of San Cristóbal and Candelaria. At the time of the arrest, made at 4:00 am, the agents seized a firearm, ammunition for a second … Continue reading “Four Armed Cattle Thieves Arrested in Artemisa, Cuba”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, July 14, 2020 – Boris grows cucumbers, some varieties of garlic and aromatic herbs on the patio of his house in La Lisa, Havana. He says he’s preparing “for what’s coming, which will be hard,” so he’s filled about 20 plastic containers, which used to hold paint, with a little earth … Continue reading “Without Water There Won’t be Squash in Urban Gardens”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 February 2020 — The strong smell and taste of oil of the water in the middle of last week in several Havana neighborhoods was not due to people’s imagination, nor was it a sabotage of “The Clandestinos,” as was rumored. The cause was a rupture of a pipeline that carries fuel to the … Continue reading “A Sunday Without Water in Havana”
The taxes and hard currency in the system of international legal consulting and special notaries — for foreigners — enabled in every Cuban province by the Ministry of Justice, does not appear in the Yearbook of the National Statistics Office, but must be one of the most profitable sources for the state bureaucracy, whose avidity … Continue reading “White-collar thieves among the legal profession / Miguel Iturría Savón”
Troubled waters, a growth in the number of jineteras — prostitutes — and thieves. With the number of unemployed expected to be more than a million in the coming year, the streets of Havana will be getting more dangerous and cheap hookers will be the order of the day. Loipa, 24, draws his weapon. After … Continue reading “Hookers and Thieves Could Increase With The Layoffs / Iván García”
MIGUEL COYULA / “Looks like AI” was the comment from an American friend, a Democrat, on sending me a photo of young Cubans with red MCGA caps (Make Cuba Great Again). Certainly when I saw the image, I instinctively felt a profound sense of unease. EXTRAMUROS: CUBA SPECIAL At first, I thought the caps were … Continue reading “It Looks Like Artificial Intelligence 3.0”
The employee at the state-run store checks each banknote and rejects it if it has any pen marks or is wrinkled. 14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, April17, 2026 — The approach of July and August is palpable. After ten in the morning, being out on the street becomes increasingly difficult. Insect repellent, sunscreen, a bottle of … Continue reading “Havana Chronicles: Dollars, the Classic Card, and a Havana Without Tourists”
The city’s portals display objects rescued from trash piles 14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, March 19, 2026 / Caruso wakes me up. The rooster in my neighborhood has lost track of time; at three in the morning, he lets out a loud, clear crow that pulls me out of bed. He’s been marking our awakenings for … Continue reading “Havana Chronicles: Reina, the Stately Havana Street Where Garbage is Sold”