English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Ivan Garcia, 15 March 2015 — The dirty, dilapidated produce market — its floor covered with red dirt and its shelving rusty — in Cerro’s crowded El Pilar neighborhood is ten minutes by car from the center of Havana. Sandra, a housewife, has spent two nights in line here waiting for potatoes. “At three in … Continue reading “Cuba: Potatoes from the Ration Book (When Available) / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Havana, Miriam Celaya, 5 September 2014 — On Wednesday September 3rd, the official press conveyed another grim announcement to the Cuban people. Granma wrote: “The coffee harvest, newly launched in the province of Guantánamo, in eastern-most Cuba, will be ‘small’, with a decrease of 33% compared to the previous year.” The news adds to … Continue reading “Hey, “Mamá Iné”!… Are We Out of Coffee Too? / Miriam Celaya”
It has a woman’s name and the fatality of a widow. The Carolina center, in Matanzas province, not only ground sugar cane for decades, but gave sustenance and prosperity to an entire village. On dismantling the mill, the former workers and the neighbors had to learn to live in a ghost town. Carolina was one … Continue reading “The Second Shipwreck of the Granma / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
By Ambrosio Fornet / See here for background information on this series of posts. 1 It seemed as if the nightmare was something from a remote past, but the truth is that when we awoke, the dinosaur was still there. We haven’t found out — and perhaps will never know — if the media folly was … Continue reading “The Five Grey Years: Revisiting the Term / Ambrosio Fornet”
In recent days economic issues have been extensively covered by the official press because of statements made by important government officials. We now know that “sugar production increased, though it did not meet the targeted goal.” Reading further, we find out that the recently completed harvest showed an increase in 4.2% over the previous year. … Continue reading “Turn Off the Lights and Let’s Go! / Fernando Damaso”
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”
1. March 12, 1965, an open letter by Ernesto Guevara to his friend Carlos Quijano is published in the Uruguayan weekly Marcha. The text, “Socialism and the New Man in Cuba,” is perhaps Guevara’s most significant theoretical writing, and at the same time an emphatic declaration of the regime’s objectives emanating from the Cuban Revolution, then … Continue reading “The Amazing Resistance of Reinaldo Arenas / Rafael Lemus”
In the nineteenth century, slave crews were rented out after the harvest to other landlords, providing the slaves a few trifles. HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 12 — The recent “defection” of Cuban doctor Ramona Matos Rodríguez, who provided services in Brazil under an agreement signed between that country and Cuba, part of the program “More Doctors … Continue reading “Slaves in White Coats / Miriam Celaya”
Miami would like to remain Latin America’s main commercial port. In June 2013 President Barack Obama toured the $1.2 billion renovation and expansion now being carried out at the port of Miami. Commercial interest is reflected in large-scale investments in the ports of Norfolk, New York, Baltimore, Charleston, Jacksonville and Savannah. According to the American … Continue reading “Mariel, Brazil, Havana and Washington / Ivan Garcia”
The Council of Ministers met on December 19-20 in conjunction with the National Assembly of People’s Power, to hear information about the fulfillment of the 2013 Economic Plan, approve the Plan for 2014, and the draft State Budget for the coming year, and to release the report about the compliance with the Party’s Political, Economic … Continue reading “The Cuban Economy in 2013 and Perspectives for 2014 / Miriam Leiva”
HAVANA, Cuba, December 24, www.cubanet.org – After all Christmas festivities, including Christmas Eve, New Year’s and Three Kings Day were, with the greatest silliness, ended by decree, the image of workers in the tourist industry decked out as Santa Claus, sweating away in hats, beards and boots (with no air conditioning to save electricity at … Continue reading “Santa Claus in Old Havana / Victor Manuel Dominguez”
In Cuba, most news reaches us via Miami. Look, given such limited access to the internet where one official hour puts us back a whopping 4.50 convertible pesos (i.e., the equivalent of one week’s pay for a laborer), people resort to foreign short wave radio or whatever illegal cable connection the neighbor down the street … Continue reading “Obama – Raul Handshake Overlooked On The Island / Ivan Garcia”
Photo: Rebeca There are those who think that, given the ongoing deterioration to the healthcare, education and athletic systems, the main monuments to Cuban socialism are the plazas of the revolution, built mostly in provincial capitals and in some municipalities. Nothing could be further from the truth. The main monuments to Cuban socialism are the … Continue reading “The Real Monuments / Fernando Damaso”
Photo by Rebeca Cuban authorities, instead of promoting the country’s development in a diversified manner, by applying science and intelligence to serious, systematic, and responsible work, have always gone about it by constant improvisation, betting on this or that economic factor that could resolve all the problems in one go. That is, they tend to … Continue reading “Siren Songs / Fernando Damaso”
One hundred and twenty-five years after his death on August 11, 1888, the scientific results that the eminent chemist, physiologist, agronomist, industrial technologist and science writer Alvaro Reynoso y Valdez bequeathed us are still on the waiting list. While the official Cuban press pays exaggerated attention to events and people linked to politics and wars, … Continue reading “Current Ideas / Dimas Castellanos”