English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
I was on my way back home in a collective gypsy cab or almendrón which I took at the intersection of Linea and G streets, in the Vedado neighborhood, where there is a popular route of these cabs going towards La Vibora. Before arriving 23rd Ave. the old car was already full. The last passenger … Continue reading “Nostradamus in a Gypsy Cab (Almendrón) / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”
I was on my way back home in a collective gypsy cab or almendrón which I took at the intersection of Linea and G streets, in the Vedado neighborhood, where there is a popular route of these cabs going towards La Vibora. Before arriving 23rd Ave. the old car was already full. The last passenger … Continue reading “Nostradamus in a Gypsy Cab (Almendrón)”
On May 5, Liu Santiesteban, from Havana but living in Spain, sent seven questions to Ivan for an interview in his blog, Todo el mundo habla (The Whole World Talks). Ivan does not like to be interviewed, he said that journalists are for interviewing, not being interviewed. But a week later, he sent back the … Continue reading ““In the environment of Yoani Sanchez, there are people who have an African hatred for me.” / Iván García”
Is there anything really new in the terrible incident that has just cut short the life of another nonconforming Cuban? In my view, only the speed with which his death has been echoing around the world, on Mother’s Day, when the news wires and standard television programming prefer to convey messages of family harmony. Sad … Continue reading “Doomed to Solitude / Ernesto Morales Licea”
At dawn on March 18 I was kidnapped along with Aimé Cabrales Aguilar at the corner of Calzada de Infanta and San Tomas a few meters from my house and on a public street, from a bus with a veneer of tourism in which women in the uniform of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) came, … Continue reading “History of a Kidnapping / Katia Sonia”
Translation of Audio: Voice of “Carlos”: Claudia, it’s the independent journalist Carlos Serpa Maceira. I’m here in Isla de Pinos where I was beaten and detained by the authorities. Please, my cell phone number is 52914540. Please, I tried contacting Yoani, I sent her a message. Help me with this. Take care, Serpa. Voice of … Continue reading “State Security’s Soap Opera / Claudia Cadelo”
Some days ago, the newspaper Granma published on its first page of news: Google’s censorship of a Cubadebate channel of videos for “copyright infringement,” and the following note: Miami: Billboard Dedicated to the Five Dismantled. The newspaper explained in the associated article: “For 24 hours the air of tolerance and freedom of expression was breathed … Continue reading “Cynicism as an Ideology / Ángel Santiesteban”
Written by: Yamil Domínguez For some time I haven’t written for my blog, although I continue being grateful to the three women who, together with my attorney, have raised the flag in the fight for truth and justice: my venerated mother, my stupendous sister and my passionate wife. Today I decided to prepare these words … Continue reading “The Delay in Justice Aggravates an Injustice / Yamil Domínguez”
Several days after my previous detention in that Eastern Cuban city, we were finally able to make it there without the usual “security” obstacles. Although they did require identification of all the men at the Point of Control at the entrance of the city, my family and I were able to pass through without difficulties. … Continue reading “Baptism in Guantanamo / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Havana, October 5, 2010 “Year 52 of the Revolution” A: Head of Villa Marista I, Inés María Ramos Nápoles, ID#: 40012108557, resident of No, 119 4th Street between lane 4 between 1st and 3rd. Miramar, Playa, Ciudad de La Habana, and mother of a U.S. citizen of Cuban origin Yamil Ramos Domínguez, am writing to … Continue reading “Request For A Change in Conditions of Confinement / Yamil Domínguez”
The eastern half of the country has seen the ghost of development go by in official speeches and in the trains and planes going to Havana or overseas. When a high government official tediously insisted on making promises of economic development, immediately the political machine would start a “shock public works project.” Who doesn’t remember … Continue reading “Moa, The Promise And The Deception / Luis Felipe Rojas”
From the silence, the impunity, and with the same contempt for the activists who promote human rights in Cuba, the political police triggered the arrests and threats in Havana and other cities in the country, between July 10 and August 12, which coincides with the resumption of activities by ex-president Fidel Castro and the official … Continue reading “Repression as Signs of Identity / Miguel Iturría Savón”
Photo: Dagoberto Valdes, Juan Juan Almeida, Yoani Sanchez Yoani Sanchez: 1. You are an important public figure, especially because you are the son of one of the historic icons of the Cuban Revolution, the commander Juan Almeida Bosque. How have you dealt with these circumstances? Have you taken advantage of them? Have they become a … Continue reading “Interview with Juan Juan Almeida*”
After sorting through various possibilities, the Spanish journalist Lali Kazas and I agreed to rent a car and head to Ciego de Avila. It’s the day they’ve announced the releases and extraditions to Spain of five political prisoners of conscience, among them is Pablo Pacheco, who used to call me from the prison to talk … Continue reading “The Castros’ Chess Game”
It is not a date. Nor are they my lucky numbers. They were the digits with which a boorish officer, with a constitution gained from many hours in the gym, called me with a voice of thunder at the door of a walled cell in Villa Marista, home of the Cuban political police. How could … Continue reading “26-6-76 Are Not My Lucky Numbers”