English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Mine was painted blue with a handle and reinforced metal hinges to avoid my being robbed. It was a wooden suitcase that accompanied me to several agricultural camps, until I finally abandoned it, broken, in a dorm in Alquízar. I thought I would never again use such an object, especially after the end of the … Continue reading “Wooden Suitcase / Yoani Sánchez”
As is traditional, on the first Monday in September class have started at all the educational institutions in Cuba. Among the peculiarities of this school year, a significant decline in pre-university enrollment stands out, along with an increase in the centers that train technicians and skilled workers, those who, as Raul has said, “have their … Continue reading “At Half Mast / Reinaldo Escobar”
Last July 31st, Raul Castro completed his first five years in charge of Cuba’s destiny. Unlike Fidel, he speaks little and isn’t too inclined to self-adulation. He knows the Cuban economic model is a fiasco and bets on a miracle. The old conspirator, now president of the Republic, has drawn his master plan. It relies … Continue reading “Raul Castro: Five Years in Power / Iván García”
Latin America, historically, has moved like a raft floating in the ocean: forward or backward depending on the ebb and flow of the tide. In the early twentieth century it was carried away by the rising nationalism, believing that isolating itself from the world and closing in on itself, it would be able to better … Continue reading “Populism, One More Current / Fernando Dámaso”
The echos of the shouts reach my balcony, in a rhythm marked initially by feet accompanied by throats. It’s less than two weeks to the huge parade planned for for the Plaza of the Revolution and residents for miles around are worn out by all the preparations. Closed streets, police blocking traffic and squads making … Continue reading “The Missed Parade / Yoani Sánchez”
Why is everyone so surprised to see photos of riot troops putting down a student protest in Jaguey Grande**? I saw riot troops, led my Military Counterintelligence in Camagüey. Their objective was to avoid the public joining the demonstrations of the Eastern Democratic Alliance, which took to the streets in solidarity with Reina Tamayo while … Continue reading “Riot Squads? … If There Are No Riots in Cuba… / Luis Felipe Rojas”
In the bureaucratic and political jargon of my country it’s called Vibora People’s Council. It’s my neighborhood. A piece of geography, extending from Avenida de Acosta to Santa Catalina, and from the Causeway on 10th of October – once called Jesus del Monte, which the poet Eliseo Diego Rodriguez immortalized – to Mayia Rodriguez. They … Continue reading “My Neighborhood, My Little Country”