What they Don’t Tell Us about the Matamoros Trio

Fifty years ago, on May 10, 1960, the Matamoros Trio, headed by Siro Rodriguez, Rafael Cueto, and Miguel Matamoros, performed in public for the last time.  They bid their farewells on the program called Partagas Thursdays, one of the most popular Cuban TV shows at the time. According to the Colombian investigator, Walter G. Magaña, … Continue reading “What they Don’t Tell Us about the Matamoros Trio”

Chronicle with First Quarter Moon

Perhaps I’m not the right person to write this chronicle. Or maybe I am. I know colleagues who personally knew Silvio Rodríguez in that first stage of the revolution, ingenuous and difficult, crude and contradictory, where children magically became men. Further, I’m going to talk about the spell that Silvio provoked in my generation, by … Continue reading “Chronicle with First Quarter Moon”

Chronicle with a First Quarter Moon

Perhaps I’m not the right person to write this chronicle. Or perhaps I am. I know of colleagues who personally knew Silvio Rodriguez in that first stage of the revolution, ingenuous and difficult, crude and contradictory, where children, as if by magic, were converted into men. Again I am going to talk about the spell … Continue reading “Chronicle with a First Quarter Moon”

Silvito the Free and I

Before Sept. 20, when Juanes * at the end of his concert made public thanks to Los Aldeanos (The Villagers) and Silvito El Libre (Silvito the Free), the rapper son of Silvio Rodriguez was already known on the internet. “Who said that the Cuban revolution is in the final stage, that there is no renewal … Continue reading “Silvito the Free and I”

The Intellectuals and Castroism

14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, April 27, 2024 — What drives many intellectuals to voluntarily submit to the authority of a despot? It is a question that overwhelms many ordinary citizens, because it is inconceivable that people who may be among those who lose the most in an autocratic society are among the most willing to … Continue reading “The Intellectuals and Castroism”

Cuba’s Enemy is in the Plaza of the Revolution

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 31 August 2022 — If we take into consideration that the security of any country is based on the notion of stability, peace, development, as well as in the strategies to achieve these objectives, there is no doubt that the authoritarian powers on the Island constitute the main threat to … Continue reading “Cuba’s Enemy is in the Plaza of the Revolution”

Controversy Grows Within the Cuban Regime Over the Dismissal of the Director of ‘Alma Mater’

14ymedio, Madrid, 28 April 2022 — The authorities are addressing, at the highest level, the departure of Armando Franco Senén as director of Alma Mater; his dismissal was announced on Tuesday and has generated a strong controversy between the readers of the university magazine and the Cuban intelligentsia, close to officialdom, or not, who believe … Continue reading “Controversy Grows Within the Cuban Regime Over the Dismissal of the Director of ‘Alma Mater’”

Cuba to Increase Control over Doctors Working Abroad / Juan Juan Almeida

Juan Juan Almeida, 16 August 2017 — The Cuban government will immediately strengthen controls and political indoctrination of Cuban doctors chosen for overseas medical missions. According to reports obtained by Martí Noticias, the leaders from Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health of Cuba (MINSAP) met last Friday with all its national and provincial directors to provide … Continue reading “Cuba to Increase Control over Doctors Working Abroad / Juan Juan Almeida”

Postcard From a Journey (1) / Regina Coyula

Like Silvio, I think the people are screwed; unlike him, however, it didn’t take me so much time to realize it, but traveling outside Havana let me see it first hand. The domestic terminal at Jose Marti Airport is the original airport building. After checking your luggage you have to go up an escalator.  “It’s … Continue reading “Postcard From a Journey (1) / Regina Coyula”

Point-blank / Manuel Aguirre

… Any solution that may result somehow in violence or discord is neither a sensible solution nor can it bring us any good.    Juan René Betancourt If there is something the communities of African descendants in America can’t forgive, and especially in the United States, particularly in the fight against racism and the related forms … Continue reading “Point-blank / Manuel Aguirre”