English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Ricardo Fernández, Camagüey, 19 March 2019 — The number of deaths due to traffic crashes in Camagüey increased in 2018 according to data from the Provincial Highway Commission: 64 people were killed and 647 injured, compared to 58 and 540 in the previous year. With a total of 597 crashes, the roads of Camagüey continue … Continue reading “Authorities Blame Drivers for Increase in Car Crash Deaths in Camaguey”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 May 2018 — Unlike previous years, the May Day parade in Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution was held without the crowds brought from the rest of the country. Only the capital city’s inhabitants participated while the heads of the other provinces organized their own events. The lack of resources and, perhaps, the premiere … Continue reading “May Day With a New President, Fewer Resources and Reggaeton”
Ivan Garcia, 2 April 2018 — On Friday, 23 March, with a temperature of 50 degrees and a warm sun melting the snow on the streets of Washington DC, a crowd of teenagers began to settle in, wearing T-shirts and caps stamped with the phrase that is now in vogue in the United States: #NeverAgain. … Continue reading “Emma Gonzalez Also Has an Impact in Cuba / Ivan Garcia #emma4change”
Ivan Garcia, 8 August 2017 — When night falls on Havana’s Malecon, an optical illusion gave the impression that on the horizon the sun was devouring the sea. This is the hour when Daniel, a retiree of 66, sat himself down on a wooden bench and, along with several neighbors, and drinks the worst quality … Continue reading “The Day Havanans Shouted "Down With Fidel!" / Iván García”
Ivan Garcia, 2 August 2017 — Not even the threat of rain accompanied by a slight coastal breeze dampens the terrible heat that of this summer in Havana. People on the street are in a bad mood. The sun burns, public services are inefficient as always, and empty dinner plates mobilize thousands of capital residents to rummage … Continue reading “Cubans on the Island Don’t Like Maduro / Iván García”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 25 June 2017 – More than five years ago social networks were roiled by the Arab Spring, while the screens of their mobile phones lit up the faces of the young protesters. In those years Twitter was seen as a road to freedom, but shortly afterwards the repressors also learned how … Continue reading “The Hijacking Of Social Networks”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 June 2017 — A statement of support for “the people and the Government of Venezuela” came at the last minute in the extraordinary session of the Cuban Parliament this Thursday and was unanimously approved. The text salutes “the constant calls for dialogue” made by President Nicolás Maduro. Deputy Yoerkis Sánchez, a member of … Continue reading “The Cuban Parliament Closes Ranks Around Nicolás Maduro”
Ivan Garcia, 28 April 2017 — Soot covers the unpainted facades of buildings on Tenth of October Boulevard. Old American cars from the 1950s, rebuilt with modern diesel engines and now privately operated as taxis, transit across asphalt, leaving behind a trail of black smoke and the unpleasant odor of gasoline. The noonday sun glimmers in … Continue reading “If Venezuela Goes to Hell, Will Things Look Bad for Cuba? / Iván García”
Cubanet, Norma Whiting, West Palm Beach, U.S., 29 April 2017 – The news, later refuted, of a supposed Cuban flag burning in recent days by Venezuelan demonstrators who oppose the government of Nicolás Maduro provoked diverse reactions on social networks and some Cuban websites. Many Cubans, mostly residing overseas, immediately expressed their indignation against Venezuelans … Continue reading “The Dangers of Hatred / Miriam Celaya”
14ymedio, Naky Soto (Vertice News), Caracas, 15 April 2017 — In spite of having previously asserted that they would call him a dictator and that would not matter to him, Nicolas Maduro did not put up with two days of national and international denunciations of Venezuela’s constitutional rupture demanding a reversal of the Constitutional Chamber’s … Continue reading “Chavism Chose Repression”
Iván García, 21 March 2017 — In the slum of Lawton, south of Havana, the need for housing has converted an old collective residence with narrow passageways into a bunkhouse. With dividers made from cardboard or bricks recovered from demolished buildings, “apartments” have appeared where a dozen families reside, living on the razor’s edge. Among … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Survives by Fear / Iván García”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 24 March 2017 – Cuba has reacted very oddly to the scandal of adulterated meat from Brazil, the island’s main provider of beef products: silence on the part of the authorities, lower prices on some on-line shopping sites, and very little public concern about possible health risks. At the corner of … Continue reading “Lower On-Line Prices for Brazilian Meat While Cuban Government is Silent”
Ivan Garcia, 4 March 2017 — Twenty years later, Nivaldo (names changed), 43, an orthopedist, still remembers the hot morning when his parents said goodbye to him in the old train station in a small village in the depths of Cuba. The economy of his native village, with narrow streets of cracked asphalt and the … Continue reading “Cuba: Renting Out Medical Specialists / Iván García”
14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, 8 March 2017 – Lying in bed, with the light off, feeling each one of her vertebrae howling. After coming home from work she spent four hours in the kitchen, bathed her invalid mother, helped the children with their homework, went shopping and prepared an administrative report. On TV the … Continue reading “The Day of the Woman in Cuba, More Honored in the Breach / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 1 March 2017 — The corner of Galiano and Zanja is a hive of people at noon. The area’s private cafes sell everything from bread with croquettes to a complex meat lasagna, but the nearest state places only sell cigarettes. A third of the food services in Cuba are managed privately or by … Continue reading “The Private Sector Consolidates Its Presence in Gastronomy and Services / 14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez”
