English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
The neighbor downstairs heard the salsa and the one upstairs the rock and roll. At any hour of the day you could walk past the building and hear the incredible fusion of Van Van and Metallica. They called it the “strength test” and it consisted of round after round of raising the volume. The first … Continue reading “At Full Volume / Claudia Cadelo”
At the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution they are talking about the guidelines for the next Communist Party Congress. Despite the fact that, according to the Official Gazette, some of the proposals in the guidelines have already been passed as laws and the parliament hasn’t had its chance to display its unanimous approval, … Continue reading “These Peculiar Guidelines / Claudia Cadelo”
A typical Cuban day is synonymous with a journey full of dangers. Not because of the gain or loss of a business, nor the ups or downs of market prices. Instead, because one must resort to illegal activities in order to survive. The Cuban population tends to instantly consume whatever they get their hands on. … Continue reading “A Typical Day in the “Cuban Way” / Laritza Diversent”
Forty-three year old Ana Luisa Millares, a native of Holguin province, has been living for less than 8 years in a neighborhood in the capital. No one knows how, in such little time, she was able to get a phone line and a mission in Venezuela. She returned with all sorts of electrical equipment and … Continue reading “The Government Encourages Migration and Xenophobia in the Capital / Laritza Diversent”
Just a few hours ago a shocking even took place in my semi-wintry Bayamo: at approximately seven at night this Wednesday, December 22, a young man of 34, Alexander Otero Rodriguez, appeared at a central corner of the city, accompanied by his wife, Aliuska Noguer Tornés, 18, along with their baby, born 48 days ago. … Continue reading “One Family, One Tragedy / Ernesto Morales Licea”
Two signs about 30 inches wide by six feet long were displayed by state officials in many offices and shopping centers in Havana and in other cities in Cuba. They both have the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) logo. One says: “Caring for the neighborhood, vigilant and united”; and the other says, … Continue reading “The Idiots’ Dinner / Miguel Iturria Savón”
PULL YOUR GROUND WIRE Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo Once again, like every few months, they were in the neighborhood collecting cables. Lawton dawned shifting into reverse. Vans from the telephone company, ETECSA, or the Ministry of the Interior (MINIT) or both. Cooperation from the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) along with the … Continue reading “EATING THE CABLE / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
Most of the residents are over 60 years old, and apathy reigns 14ymedio, Havana, 27 September 2024 — While the notes of an untuned violin mistreated the Bayamo anthem, a dirty lightbulb illuminated the flag, some papers and a desk in the middle of the street. It was the first accountability assembly in a neighborhood … Continue reading “In Havana’s Accountability Assemblies, the Blackouts Arrive on Time”
Hernández proposes installing security cameras on the blocks to replace the snitches 14ymedio, Havana, 17 September 2024 — Former Cuban spy Gerardo Hernandez argued on Monday that the organization he coordinates – the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) – is not, as everything seems to indicate, anachronistic. However, fewer and fewer people … Continue reading “Cuban Former Spy Gerardo Hernández Regrets Young People’s Lack of Interest in the CDR”
Luis Raúl González-Pardo was in command of one of the MiG 29s but did not fire 14ymedio, Havana, 17 September 2024 — “Everything, or most of what has been said, is false,” were the last – and almost only – words to a media outlet, Martí Noticias, from the former pilot of the Cuban Armed … Continue reading “The US Has Granted Humanitarian Parole to a Pilot Who Participated in the Downing of the Brothers to the Rescue Planes”
Middle-ranking officials would benefit the most from this law 14ymedio, Ourense (Spain), 14 September 2024 — With the publication of the Official Gazette on August 19, 2024, the Cuban Government authorized its own political and mass organizations to create private companies, as of September 19. Soon, the Union of Young Communists, the Committees for the … Continue reading “Will a New Oligarchy Emerge in Cuba?”
Perhaps not all officials have been perpetrators, but all the abusers acted in the name of a state and political party that have destroyed Cuba and the Cubans 14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, 25 August 2024 — If the Cuban state is repressive and led by a single political party, communist, that must mean that the … Continue reading “Cuba: Executioners in a Stampede”
The absence of young people in the activities of Cuba’s Youth Labor Army, EJT, is noticeable 14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 31 July 2024 — A bunk bed with a thin mattress, boots that he had to return when he was demobilized and a uniform that was not olive green were, for months, the main … Continue reading “The Cuban Army Runs Out of Recruits Due to the Exodus and Low Birth Rate”
Anyone who has to confess some collaboration is better off doing it now, no matter how small it is, keeping it in only causes pain on both sides. 14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 27 July 2024 — It is not about revenge but about sincerity. I see them leaving every day, packing their bags, … Continue reading “Where Are They? the Desperate Cry of Those Who Contributed to the Horror and Left”
14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 22 July 2024 — Josefa was a master cigar roller her whole life in Cienfuegos. Old and black, the Cienfueguera knows that she takes on more than she can, since her niece, her only family, emigrated two years ago. “She constantly was saying that she wanted to leave and in … Continue reading “‘In Cuba, the Only Ones Left Are Those Without Family, Without Resources and Without Possibilities’”
