English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
COWBOY POET Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo It’s called Street Sense, which is sort of like El Sentido de la Calle in Spanish, which is a much better title than any Cuban magazine or newspaper has got; and that obviously includes the ones published abroad. It comes out fortnightly in Washington D.C., which isn’t just the … Continue reading “Street Sense / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
Messages come to my blog mail, some elegant with congratulations for “my upright position” before the dictatorship; others, interested in my health, like this one that I answer in which they ask questions because they don’t understand why I’m in prison, then recognize that sometimes there are contradictions. And of course, this happens so much … Continue reading “Response to my Blog Readers / Angel Santiesteban”
About 30 members of the Cuban opposition,belonging to the illegal Partido Popular Republicano, throwing flowers into the sea in memory of the victims of the tugboat “13 de Marzo”. Archive photo (martinoticias.com) By Armando Añel What happened can be briefly summarised: on July 13th 1994 – 17 years ago today – at the crack of … Continue reading “Children Screaming / Armando Anel, Luis Felipe Rojas”
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”
HAVANA, Cuba – Very often we hear the officials of the Ministry of Education stress our country´s successes in this field from 1959 onwards, and we ask ourselves how can they possibly talk about this without the slightest shame, ignoring the profound loss of values confronting Cuban society, when even Raúl Castro, on July 7, … Continue reading “They Taught Us to Lie, Steal and Pretend / Gladys Linares”
Interview with Manuel Cuesta Morúa from Constitutional Consensus Options under discussion: Change the 1940 Constitution, the 1976 update or create a new constitution The Project involves most of the relevant organizations from the civic and political community, inside and outside Cuba Reinaldo Escobar, Havana | May 23, 2014 Question. What is the objective of the … Continue reading “A Preview of the Next Cuba / 14ymedio, Manuel Cuesta Morua, Reinaldo Escobar”
According to the newspaper “Ahora,” Holguin authorities gathered at the Puerto Padre neighborhood to assess the urban revival project called “Identity and Development,” which is supposed to beautify the town for next July 26. As usual, applying rouge.
I live in a community with more than sixty buildings. Behind them, as is the case with my home, many residents—at the request of the government itself—began planting fruit trees and banana plants. When the marathon of demolishing everything began, I decided to make an estimate of the economic losses that were indiscriminately carried out … Continue reading “Just One Account / Josue, Rojas Marin, Cuban Law Association”
When a government’s financial figures are in the red, everything takes on new urgency. By now the formulas to address the problem are well-known. Often new tax measures are imposed while bloated public spending is slashed. But if the goal is to attract American dollars, euros or other forms of hard currency, then any reforms … Continue reading “Cuba Opens the Gates to Foreign Capital / Ivan Garcia”
The Castro regime is, above all, biopolitical. Power over the life and death of each one of the individuals, within and beyond the national frontiers of the wicked little island in the Caribbean Sea. The Castro regime is nothing if not necropolitical: death or the pardoning of life, at times with a legal view at … Continue reading “The Castro Regime Kills and Doesn’t Lie / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
The Madrid publisher Anaya has just released the first book of the end of Castroism—that is, of Castroism understood as a myth perpetuated by the intellectual left. From now on, one cannot sympathize with the Castro dynasty without also becoming a criminal collaborator. The book is called Muerte bajo sospecha (Death Under Suspicion) and it … Continue reading “The First Book of the End of Castroism / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
In 1953, in his self defense statement [as he appeared at his trial for the Moncada Barracks attack] History will absolve me, Fidel Castro addressed some key issues pending in our country: land reform for instance. He announced on that opportunity, as a priority in his program, giving productive land to those in possession of … Continue reading “No Rush… and No Results”
Raul Castro, are you satisfied now? By The Editor (of Angel’s blog while he is in prison) One year can be a sigh in time or an interminable nightmare; it depends on how you pass the year. To be deprived of freedom is always a bitter drink, but when in addition you’re innocent, when you’re … Continue reading “The Ministry of Revenge Imparts Punishment in the Castros’ Cuba / Angel Santiesteban”
HAVANA, Cuba – The attorney Amelia Rodríguez Cala, hired by Gorki Águila to conduct his defense — in a trial against him still unscheduled since it was postponed on 11 February — has been suddenly sanctioned to six months without the ability to practice her profession in court. For this reason, the singer of the … Continue reading “Opponents’ Attorney Can’t Practice / Lilianne Ruiz”
From Prison: Cuban writer sends message to the attendees at the CELAC Summit. Ángel Santiesteban, sentenced to five years in prison, asks the leaders invited to the meeting to not convert their visit into an act of support for Raúl Castro’s regime. The writer Angel Santiesteban is sentenced to five years in prison (Cortesía). Luis Leonel León / Special … Continue reading “Angel Santiesteban Asks the CELAC Summit not to convert their visit into support for Raul Castro’s regime”