English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Soon, May 19, will mark the anniversary of the fall in Dos Rios, former province of Oriente, of José Martí, the most universal and transcendent of all Cubans. Poet, writer, critic, journalist, humanist, diplomat, politician, revolutionary and the main organizer of the independence struggle of 1895 which, after fierce fighting, allowed the emergence of the … Continue reading “The Fall of the Apostle (Jose Marti) / Fernando Dámaso”
– From Josefina de Diego – I confess that I didn’t remember the full text known as “Words to the Intellectuals,” delivered by Fidel Castro on June 30, 1961, at the National Library to a group of intellectuals. I think that, like many people, the only thing I remembered from the text was his famous … Continue reading “Thoughts on Fidel’s “Words to the Intellectuals” and other texts / POLEMICA: The 2007 Intellectual Debate”
Enemy Campaigns and The Politics of Confrontation with Counterrevolutionary Groups Download a PDF of this transcript here. La ciber policia en Cuba from Coral Negro on Vimeo. Presenter: Eduardo Fontes Suárez Introduction The title more or less says it all, we can adjust [the talk to meet] your interests, comrades, when it’s time for discussion. … Continue reading “MININT Cyber Lecture Video – English Transcript”
José Julián Martí y Pérez was born on January 28, 1853 and died on May 19, 1895. For Cuban politicians, he is what Christ is to the Catholic Church. No matter the ideology or leaning. Everyone prides themselves on knowing him inside out. It is politically correct for any official or dissident document to be preceded by … Continue reading “José Martí , a Hero for New Generations to Discover / Iván García”
Hi, Gustavo, I am grateful that you sent me the debate. I don’t know how to get involved in the analysis but I think that I need to. If you can, send this opinion to whoever you want. Although I have to confess that I find it difficult to express myself and to organise my … Continue reading “Messages from Belkis Vega / POLEMICA: The 2007 Intellectual Debate”
“It is always good to be, even in serious cases, as least hypocritical as possible.” April started off with good news for Havana’s lovers of the seventh art. I refer to the exhibit in the Charles Chaplin cinema of Martí: the Eye of the Canary, a fictionalized feature-length film, passionate and emotional, that successfully explores … Continue reading “Martí: The Eye of the Canary, a paean to dignity / Dimas Castellanos”
My mother contracted the debt in my name, and hours later made me aware of it. She said: “I promised the Virgin that you would go today to her leave taking. At seven in the evening they are taking her to another community, so do not wait too long to go.” For a deluded second … Continue reading “The Departure of the Patroness / Ernesto Morales Licea”
I don’t think capitalism is the model of a perfect life. But it is more logical and possible at this stage of human development. Communist ideologies removed at the stroke of a pen competition and discrepancies. We already know what that has meant. Material poverty, lazy people with no motivation to work. It discourages individuality. … Continue reading “The Hard Road to Democracy in Cuba / Iván García”
The audience maintains a restless silence: it’s after six in the evening, night will fall in a few minutes. They’ve been waiting since five o’clock, waiting for the meeting’s hosts with discipline. The audience is hungry, they have headaches, they have family worries they can’t get out of their minds, even though the place is … Continue reading “Operation Blogger: Algorithm for a Disaster / Ernesto Morales Licea”
I go over to a friend’s house and find her roaring with laughter over her son’s homework. She gave me a sheet of notebook paper and invited me to read it, but not before clarifying, “It’s very honest, you can see he’s only seven.” My school My whole school is nice except the bathroom, because … Continue reading “Homework”
The gods do not descend from the ecstasy of the clouds, nor do psychopaths apologize for the consequences of their actions. Sometimes, however, they need to show signs of life, like people who, in an extreme situation, go to the notary to prove their existence in a public way. Something like this happened with Fidel Castro … Continue reading “Proof of Life”
Placetas, July 19th 2010. When, in April 2007, I was released after 17 very long and difficult years of captivity, I did not know that I was to face a much more difficult battle than the one I was in before. Assimilating into civil protest would mean dealing with numerous different personalities, temperaments, points of … Continue reading “The Same People as Always and With Identical Methods”