English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 30 May 2017 — If something is clear in the work of Jesus Hernández- Güero is that he is not a complacent artist. His transgressive look is insolent and unrelated to any political militancy, religious creed or commercial convenience. The artist raises sparks everywhere: in Cuba where he was born and in Venezuela … Continue reading “Jesus Hernandez-Guero Or The Art Of Provoking”
Dimas Castellanos, 18 November 2016 — The evil of corruption–the act of corruption and its effects–has accompanied the human species since its emergence. It has been present in all societies and in all ages. Its diverse causes range from personal conduct to the political-economic system of each country. In Cuba it appeared in the colonial era, … Continue reading “Corruption Versus Liberty: A Cuban Dilemma / Dimas Castellano”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 14 November 2016 – On Sunday, Donald Trump promised to repatriate up to three million undocumented immigrants who have had legal problems, to their countries of origin. This group includes 34,525 Cubans who have a deportation order for committing crimes and misdemeanors in the United States, along with thousands of others … Continue reading “Trump’s Promised Deportations Could Affect 35,000 Cubans in the US / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 29 July 2016 – A message from Pope Francis aimed at young Cubans raised spirits Thursday in celebrations that took place in Havana simultaneously with World Youth Day held in Krakow, Poland. “Young Cubans: open yourselves to great things! Do not be afraid!” the Bishop of Rome told them in a few words that … Continue reading “Pope Francis Asks Young Cubans “Don’t Be Afraid” / 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata”
We observe a man who always speaks of patriotism and he is never patriotic, or only with regards to those of a certain class or certain party. We should fear him, because no one shows more faithfulness nor speaks more strongly against robbery than the thieves themselves. Felix Varela (in El Habanero, 1824) 14ymedio, Regina … Continue reading “Revolutions and Democracy / 14ymedio, Regina Coyula”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 26 April 2016 — After nearly 35 years as head of the Archdiocese of Havana, Jaime Ortega y Alamino, the only Cuban cardinal and a crucial figure in the thaw with the United States, has been replaced. Pope Francis decided to accept his resignation, presented since 2011, and appoint in his place Juan … Continue reading “A ‘Bishop Of The People’ For A Cuba In Transition / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
Iván García, 16 November 2015 — In the depths of the peeling, unpainted building where the journalist and independent writer Víctor Manuel Domínguez lives, a lady, who is waiting for customers behind a display counter of cheap Chinese jewelry, is reading a well-used copy of a book by Corín Tellado. On a rusty, narrow vertigo-inducing … Continue reading “Eight Years of the Cuban Independent Writers Club / Ivan Garcia”
I want to thank my friend and excellent writer, Amir Valle, for this interview for his magazine Another Monday, and for publicizing the book that has just been published and will be presented shortly in Miami. Amir Valle (AV): Machine for Erasing Humanities is, after Feeding the Dog-Fight, your second book since you went into exile. Although some think … Continue reading ““There is no homeland other than poetry” / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Cubanet, Victor Manuel Dominguez, Havana, 29 May 2015 – “P.M.,” that short documentary made by Orlando Jimenez Leal and Saba Cabrera Infante, was the beginning of the end of freedom of expression in Cuban Culture. Conceived in the beginning as a four-minute report that would establish a parallel between the militants who installed canons on … Continue reading “14 Minutes that Shook the Revolution / Cubanet, Victor Manuel Dominguez”
“If the Cuban government aspires to be included among the democracies it must accept and respect the opposition.” Interview with Guillermo Farinas. Cubanet.org, Jose Luis Leon Perez, Santa Clara, 7 April 2015 — Before leaving for Panama for the Civil Society Forum, Guillermo Farinas, Coordinator of the United Anti-totalitarian Forum (FANTU), who holds a critical … Continue reading ““The Regime Wants the US to Buy Cuba with the Dictatorship Included” / Cubanet, José Luis León Pérez”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 25 February 2015 — This Wednesday, February 25th, 2015, a new meeting of the members Espacio Abierto [Cuban Civil Society Open Forum] of the independent civil society took place with a broad representation of members of various pro-democracy projects throughout the Island, as well as independent journalists. A total of 25 participants took part … Continue reading “An Ethical Path for Civil Society / Cubanet, Miriam Celaya”
One of the central figures of the Cuban opposition, who participated in the revolution before its ultimate victory but ended up being sentenced to 20 years in Castro’s prisons, was the independent economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, who died in Madrid. He recounts his life and ideas in this interview. Born in Cienfuegos on November 29, … Continue reading ““I Always Did What My Conscience Dictated” / Dimas Castellano, Oscar Espinosa Chepe”
Like every self-respecting homeland, ours is a cruel cemetery. One by one we go diminishing the men and women who marked history, those who really shone in Cuba’s history with an intensely personal light, a history of the heart that hurts and hardly forgets: the intimate history of the soul of what a nation has … Continue reading “My Dear Lovers, Parents and Grandparents / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
In September, two religious leaders living in Cuba, Reverend Mario Félix Lleonart and his wife, the missionary Yoaxis Marcheco, both of the Baptist Convention of Western Cuba, travelled to Washington, D.C. as guests of a Christian Solidarity Worldwide event. With them was Apostle Omar Gude of the Apostolic Movement, who was previously a political prisoner … Continue reading “30 Questions on the Repression of Religion in Cuba / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
On the 29th of October of 1897 in the pasture of La Yaya, in Sibanicú, Camagüey, the drafting of what would become the last mambí Constitution came to an end. The resulting text represented a qualitative leap forward in Cuba’s constitutional history. This was due to the inclusion, for the first time, of a dogmatic … Continue reading “The Constitution of La Yaya and the Future Cuban Constitution / Dimas Castellanos”