Cuban Artist Otero Alcantara Imprisoned and Isolated for Two Weeks in Havana’s Calixto Garcia Hospital

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, 17 May 2021 – This Monday, the Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara marks 15 days of forced admission to the Calixto García hospital in Havana, without the freedom to communicate or receive visits. The activist’s fate continues to generate demands and complaints from international organizations. The San Isidro Movement (MSI), which has denounced … Continue reading “Cuban Artist Otero Alcantara Imprisoned and Isolated for Two Weeks in Havana’s Calixto Garcia Hospital”

Cuban Authorities Still Haven’t Explained Why Alcantara Can’t Leave the Hospital

14ymedio, Havana, 11 May 2021 — The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is still hospitalized despite the fact that he was admitted to the Calixto García in Havana nine days ago and the authorities released clinical data indicating that his health was more than good. The Provincial Directorate of Health of Havana released a statement on Tuesday in which it assures that the … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Still Haven’t Explained Why Alcantara Can’t Leave the Hospital”

New Images of Otero Alcantara at Calixto Garcia Hospital Come to Light

  14ymedio, Havana, 7 May 2021 — Two new videos released this Friday show the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara in the Calixto García hospital in Havana, where he has been admitted since last Sunday. In the images, the activist appears in the area outside a pavilion and at one point makes an “L” with … Continue reading “New Images of Otero Alcantara at Calixto Garcia Hospital Come to Light”

Cuban Authorities Exhibit Otero Alcantara in a Video as Proof of Life

14ymedio, Havana, 4 May 2021 — Dr. Ifrán Martinez Gálvez, who presents himself as head of the medical team that cares for the artist Luis Manuel Otero Acántara at the Calixto García hospital, in Havana, has published a video on his Facebook profile this Tuesday, in clear response to the demands for a proof of life from the … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Exhibit Otero Alcantara in a Video as Proof of Life”

When Anger is Not Enough / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 14 April 2021 — The controversy is useful: there are recent high-octane videos circulating in the social network where we can hear certain activists, or rather another chorus of Habaneros (people from Havana), who rant and rave in the street, hurling insults at the police and at (Cuban president) Diaz-Canel himself, and every day … Continue reading “When Anger is Not Enough / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Cuban State Security Breaks into Otero Alcantara’s House and Takes Him to the Hospital

14ymedio, Havana, 2 May 2021 — Cuban State Security broke into the home of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, in Old Havana, at dawn this Sunday, and transferred him to the Calixto García Hospital, in El Vedado. An official statement confirmed that the artist was taken from his home, a week after starting a hunger and thirst strike. The artist’s … Continue reading “Cuban State Security Breaks into Otero Alcantara’s House and Takes Him to the Hospital”

Dozens of Activists Demonstrate in Old Havana, Shouting “Patria y Vida” (Homeland and Life)

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 30 April 2021 — Dozens of activists were repressed in a protest in the park on the corner of Obispo and Aguacate, in Old Havana. The protesters were trying to reach the home of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, only a few blocks away. The artist is on his sixth day of a … Continue reading “Dozens of Activists Demonstrate in Old Havana, Shouting “Patria y Vida” (Homeland and Life)”

‘My Father’s Two Great Mistakes: The 1952 Coup d’état and Freeing Fidel Castro in 1956’

Roberto Batista, one of the sons of Fulgencio Batista and author of ‘Son of Batista’ (Verbum). (Courtesy)14ymedio, Yaiza Santos, Madrid, 25 April2021 — Lawyer Roberto Batista (b. New York, 1947) did not pay much attention to his friends at first, when they told him that he had to write a book. “I, who had not … Continue reading “‘My Father’s Two Great Mistakes: The 1952 Coup d’état and Freeing Fidel Castro in 1956’”

Otero Alcantara’s Health Deteriorates, But He Remains Firm in Continuing His Hunger Strike

14ymedio, Havana, 28 April 2021 —  After three days on a hunger and thirst strike, the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is beginning to feel the first signs of weakness in his body. The dancer Chabelly Díaz told 14ymedio that she was able to speak with him and conveyed his determination to continue with the protest. “Communication with ‘Luisma’ … Continue reading “Otero Alcantara’s Health Deteriorates, But He Remains Firm in Continuing His Hunger Strike”

Giving Voice to the ‘Self-Criticism’ of Cuban Poet Heberto Padilla, 50 Years Later

EFE (via 14ymedio), Miami, 27 April 2021 — The well-known public confession of the Cuban poet Heberto Padilla (1932-2000), which shocked the literary world 50 years ago because it was a manipulation of Castroism, has been staged in a new choral reading, with English subtitles. [See English transcript here.] About twenty Cuban artists and intellectuals read … Continue reading “Giving Voice to the ‘Self-Criticism’ of Cuban Poet Heberto Padilla, 50 Years Later”

Activists and Reporters Denounce Police Sieges and Arbitrary Arrests

14ymedio, Havana, 23 April 2021 — This Friday independent activists, artists and journalists again suffered another day of repression by State Security. Police surveillance, bans on leaving homes, and arbitrary arrests marked the day in Havana. The reporter from the CiberCuba portal, Iliana Hernández, after spending 14 days under constant surveillance around her home in Cojímar, decided to go out … Continue reading “Activists and Reporters Denounce Police Sieges and Arbitrary Arrests”

“I Know that at Some Point People in Cuba are Going to Wake Up En Masse”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 23 April 2021 — Curiosity is the hallmark of the work of the Cuban journalist and filmmaker Eliécer Jiménez-Almeida (b. Camagüey, 1983). It was the desire to investigate that led him to make documentaries such as Persona (2014), in which he approaches the lives of five individuals; Now! (2016), which denounces the repression against human rights … Continue reading ““I Know that at Some Point People in Cuba are Going to Wake Up En Masse””

Cuba’s Political Police Lock Up Opponents in Their Homes and Cut Off Their Phones

14ymedio, Havana, 19 April 2021 — The Cuban government unleashed a repressive wave against independent activists, artists and journalists this weekend, while the Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba was held at the Palace of Conventions in Havana. The artist Tania Bruguera, who had planned to give an online conference last Friday on art, activism and censorship … Continue reading “Cuba’s Political Police Lock Up Opponents in Their Homes and Cut Off Their Phones”

Otero Alcantara Demands $500,000 from Cuban Government for Damage to His Works

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 21 April2021 — The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has been besieged for more than two weeks in his home in Old Havana, headquarters of the San Isidro Movement (MSI). “I have been here for 17 days without being able to leave my house. I try to leave and the political police detain … Continue reading “Otero Alcantara Demands $500,000 from Cuban Government for Damage to His Works”

Padilla’s Shadow: Commemorative Act in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Poet’s Confession

PRESS RELEASE                                               4.21.2021 PADILLA’S SHADOW Commemorative Act in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Poet’s Confession A virtual performance that will be streamed on the internet and social media (Available now) (In Spanish with English subtitles) On April 27, 2021, a choral reading of Cuban poet Heberto Padilla’s legendary confession will be streamed … Continue reading “Padilla’s Shadow: Commemorative Act in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Poet’s Confession”