English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Laura is a Cuban woman who has lived in Spain for more than twenty years. She speaks like a Spaniard. She looks like a Spaniard. Her husband, children and grandchildren are Spaniards. But in spite of the passage of time and the distance separating us, she still considers me her best friend. Or so she … Continue reading “Through Havana with Laura / Tania Diaz Castro”
Historical data show that long before Colombus, America had already been discovered. Leif Eriksson, son of Erik the Red, was a Viking explorer who in the year 1003 managed to arrive at a land that he baptized as “Viland” and which, according to his description and remnants found, could be Newfoundland. Zheng He, the famous … Continue reading “A Succession from Castro to Castro / Juan Juan Almeida”
Ángel Yunier Remon Arzuaga ’El Critico.’ Jailed since March 2013 for being a non-conformist rapper and an opponent of the Cuban dictatorship. In July he contracted cholera in prison. Jailed since March 2013 for being a non-conformist rapper and an opponent of the Cuban dictatorship. In July he contracted cholera in prison. The chain of … Continue reading “Justice and Prayers for Angel Yunier Remon Arzuga #FreeElCritico / Angel Santiesteban”
In Cuba people seldom go to extremes. Here you will not find a Mohamed Bouazizi ready to turn himself into a human bonfire in front of the Ministry of Housing to protest excessive taxes. There are, however, a lot of Bouazizis around. Their way of rebelling is different. Cubans do not take to the streets … Continue reading “Civil Disobedience Cuban Style / Ivan Garcia”
Dear Friends and Comrades: Suddenly, more than thirty years after his dismissal, Luis Pavón, ex-president of the National Council of Culture during the euphemistically called “Five Grey Years,” reappeared in the public sphere on nothing more nor less than an entire programme on National Television dedicated to “his cultural impact on Cuban culture.” So, was … Continue reading “Messages of Desiderio Navarro / POLEMICA: The 2007 Intellectual Debate”
HAVANA, Cuba , October, www.cubanet.org – Of the 436,342 Cubans reported, as of the end of June, to have licenses to practice in the private sector (with the greatest presence in Havana, Matanzas Villa Clara, Camaguey, Holguin and Santiago de Cuba), the number of contract workers accounts for18%. This is evidence that in the past … Continue reading “Starting This Month, Thousands More Will be Unemployed / Osmar Laffita Rojas”
The so-called Cuban justice, which is nothing more than another of the pathetic military arms of the political police of the dynastic dictatorship which is clinging to power for more than half a century, has shown – once again, of course – the audacity and impunity with which it always tramples on the law and … Continue reading “Another Scandalous Political Maneuver in the Trial Against Angel Santiesteban / Angel Santiesteban”
The facts and news about the sport of balls and strikes, learned during the recently concluded month of July, settle the dispute between amateur and professional baseball in favor of the latter. It started with the debut of Yovani Aragón in the World Port Tournament of Rotterdam, a less demanding event than the Olympic Games and the … Continue reading “Free Baseball vs. Slave Baseball / Dimas Castellanos”
HAVANA, Cuba , September 2013, www.cubanet.org.- He was the most in love Cienfuegan I knew. He was called Oscar Manual Espinosa Chepe, although to most of the people who knew him he was simply “Chepe.” His Dulcinea, Miriam Leiva, was at his side over the last thirty years with a loyalty tested in the harsh … Continue reading “Farewell to the Cienfuegan in Love / Aleaga Pesant”
Total number of people living with HIV/AIDS: 18,261 Total foreigners detected: 675 Havana: Total Persons with HIV/AIDS: 8,660 Diagnosed 2012: 625 Total AIDS Cases: 3,765 People Living with HIV/AIDS: 6,982 Ambulatory Care System: 5,988 Total deaths: 1,434 Deaths from AIDS: 1,321 Deaths from Other Causes: 113 Children in the Study: 74 HIV-positive children: 16 Average … Continue reading “Latest Cuban Ministry of Health Statistics for HIV/AIDS / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
HAVANA, Cuba, 30 August 2013, www.cubanet.org – Resolution No. 32 of 7 October 2010, issued by the Ministry of Work and Social Security, relaxed private work with the approval of 181 activities of self-employment. According to the newspaper Juventud Rebelde, on 17 August of this year, at the end of July licenses has been issued … Continue reading “Self-employment or Private Property / Osmar Laffita”
Giving an accounting of their administration was never among the priorities of the Castro brothers. The modern caudillos are considered beyond good and evil. Indeed, Fidel Castro managed the nation like a private bodega, with outlandish economic plans, bypassing the state budget, bleeding its finances, material resources and human lives sacrificed in civil wars in … Continue reading “Raul Castro: Seven Years of Governing / Ivan Garcia”
Bishop Siro and Father Conrado The first time I heard Father José Conrado Rodríguez, on a visit he made to Havana, I was among those at the back of the huge crowd surrounding him, hanging on to every word he said. To be honest, I must I hung back, because I didn’t know his greatness. … Continue reading “Prison Diary LIII: The Cardinal Cuba Needs / Angel Santiesteban”
When my great grandfather was born, there was an Arab presence in Cuba. It is impossible to exclude from national history the Lebanese Antonio Farah, who arrived on the Island in 1879 and achieved the position of city councilor in the local government of Pinar del Rio. Likewise, there is an ample list of Syrians, … Continue reading “A Thousand and One Cuban Hexes to Enchant Arabs / Juan Juan Almeida”
The few expectations generated by the Ninth Congress of the Union of Journalists and Writers of Cuba ( UPEC ), held last weekend, ended in frustration. The changes that demand journalism plays an effective role in social transformations were conspicuous by their absence. The conclave ignored the issue of press freedom, a vital issue to … Continue reading “UPEC and the Freedom of the Press / Dimas Castellanos”