English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Former President Jimmy Carter has just completed a new visit to Havana and an air of expectation lingers among some alternative sectors of society. Carter is tied, without a doubt to several processes of movement of the official strategic policies that have had repercussions on the Island. In the late 70’s, during his presidency, Carter … Continue reading “Jimmy Carter in Havana / Miriam Celaya”
A television program, in order to be classified as such, needs to be broadcast through a channel and aired on television. For now, we Cuban citizens disconnected from the State institutions lack the necessary resources to produce a program completely within the law. We have to content ourselves recording from an amateur cameraman or two, … Continue reading “Citizen Reasons / Reinaldo Escobar”
When a state decides to aim all its weapons at a citizen there is little he can do about it. Without access to the mass media, in a country with low Internet connectivity, with arbitrary laws against freedom of expression and with the impunity to defame, distort, lie and lay waste on national television to … Continue reading “Me and the Soap Opera / Claudia Cadelo”
I finish helping my son with his homework on Boccaccio’s Decameron and turn to watch a serial on television filled with another kind of human misery, so distant from medieval Italy. There are more than thirty minutes of a broadcast full of forced conclusions and barely convincing “proofs” about the relationship between opponents, plastic artists … Continue reading “Dago on TV / Yoani Sánchez”
By Dagoberto Valdés There can be no economic development without freedoms and human rights. As we gather statements from Cuban men and women who are trying to develop their private initiative through their own small businesses—those that have been included in the list of medieval trades that the Cuban government, in a false overture, has … Continue reading “Bureaucratic Obstacles and Obsolete Protectionism Regarding the Self-Employed / IntraMuros”
The evening was cool. Since the early hours we were preparing for what would happen that afternoon. We were to pick up the poet and Regina in order to go together to the Dutch ambassador’s residence, where there would be a reception to present the Prince Claus award officially to Yoani Sánchez. Upon arriving at … Continue reading “A Well-Deserved Award / Rebeca Monzo”
In late November, a kind reader wrote to me suggesting I prepare a list of all dissident groups and political parties on the Island. Since the proposal has appeared publicly in the comments on more than one occasion, I propose –in turn- to answer publicly and take the opportunity to share some impressions, given that … Continue reading “A Superfluous List / Miriam Celaya”
By Dagoberto Valdés Taking into account the absolute and meticulous control enforced by the state in Cuba since 1969 over economic, financial, commercial, and service activities, the Guidelines for the VI Congress are just a drop of water in the desert. Those who know what centralized economy means are well aware that said guidelines are … Continue reading “Guidelines for the VI Congress of the Party: Update Socialism or Renovate Societal Structures? / Intramuros”
Claudia Cadelo is still waiting for a response from the Provincial Prosecutor to her complaint about the cultural apartheid at the last Young Filmmakers Exhibition. Agent Rodney never showed his face to confirm or deny the sad events of November 2009. And plainclothes police surround the home of Luis Felipe Rojas, without any court order … Continue reading “Cultural Dysgrphia / Yoani Sánchez”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD VOCES 3: IN SPANISH Dagoberto Valdés (1) Art and craft of making independent magazines Mirta Suquet (3) Power and the grotesque Ena Lucia Portela (9) The chills and laughter Miriam Celaya (11) Possible exit scenarios Reinaldo Escobar (15) The more uncertain assumptions Francis Sanchez (16) Dream journal (I) Orlando Luis Pardo … Continue reading “INDEX OF VOICES 3 (October 2010) [And Download] / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
While reading some information on recent statements by the Cuban Foreign Minister in the framework of the UN General Assembly, in which he once again makes charges against the European Union, I join, without hesitation, the side of those who consider insufficient the measure and steps of the Cuban government, and come out in favor … Continue reading “Cuban “Steps Forward” and the PSOE’s Warm Washcloths / Miriam Celaya”
Cuba dawned today in the monotony typical of these systems. But a text message broke into my room at 5 am: Farinas won the Sakharov Prize. The morning dawned differently for me and for many other Cubans who began to send from heart to heart — that is from cellphone to cellphone — the good … Continue reading “Fariñas and Sakharov: The Totalitarians Cannot Be Reformed / IntraMuros”
Many people want to do something to help the bloggers directly. The most important thing is to read them, talk about them, comment on their blogs, share their blogs with others, keep them IN THE PUBLIC EYE, which is a shield that helps to protect them. If you want to help with a donation, one … Continue reading “Direct Help to Bloggers”
This is the third issue of La Rosa Blanca, you have to walk a lot in order to publish it, and walk even more to deliver it in a country mute and without internet. Every issue of La Rosa Blanca, which I’ll post in this blog as I’ve done before, since I don’t have any … Continue reading “The Third Issue of La Rosa Blanca Magazine / Henry Constantín”
It is the fourth time a Cuban has received this international recognition. By Dagoberto Valdés The renowned Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez has been chosen to receive the prestigious Prince Claus Award for Culture and Development, one of the most prestigious on the European continent. The award will be bestowed in December, 2010. The Prince Claus … Continue reading “PRINCE CLAUS AWARD FOR YOANI SANCHEZ / Intramuros”