Search results for: CDR Committee

“The Internet is the brainchild of the CIA,” the Cuban government tells us / Iván García

When I started working at the independent press agency, Cuba Press, in December of 1995, internet sounded like a science fiction concept. Very few of us knew anything about it. In that highway of information we just saw a complicated trick of interconnections destined only for computer specialists. And according to what the government would … Continue reading ““The Internet is the brainchild of the CIA,” the Cuban government tells us / Iván García”

Friends of Salamanders / Yoani Sánchez

It was shortly after I learned that candy is sweet and fire burns, when I came to realize that Cubans are allowed to join organizations created by the government but we are punished, to teach us a lesson, if we decide to create our own groups. And so, as children we were automatically enrolled in … Continue reading “Friends of Salamanders / Yoani Sánchez”

Blogging, A Necessity / Laritza Diversent

Blogging is a challenge and pleasure to me, just as much professionally as personally. It gives me the opportunity to say what I think, as well as feel, without prohibitions. The possibility to escape the control. Writing online is not easy for Cubans. A challenge. And we have to be brave to face it. Because … Continue reading “Blogging, A Necessity / Laritza Diversent”

News and “News“ / Iván García

In Cuba there is no tabloid press following the famous, but many Cubans are up-to-date with gossip about artists, singers, and famous sports figures — national or foreign. The news comes in by the “antenna”, as they call the illegal connections that permit programs transmitted by Miami channels to be seen. Lacking Internet, their access … Continue reading “News and “News“ / Iván García”

A Meeting of Two Worlds / Reinaldo Escobar

It’s been many years since I saw an Australian film whose title I chose for today’s post. It told of a romance between a white city girl, lost in the middle of the desert, and a young native. I don’t agree with how the story ended, but I haven’t forgotten the distress of those characters … Continue reading “A Meeting of Two Worlds / Reinaldo Escobar”

A Freed Black Man / Luis Felipe Rojas

I met Pedro Cruz Mackenzie when we were both taking university prep classes. It was during those difficult years which came to be known as the Special Period. In between classes we would entertain ourselves by collecting oranges, bananas, and any other source of food we could get to ease that hunger which was so … Continue reading “A Freed Black Man / Luis Felipe Rojas”

At Full Volume / Claudia Cadelo

The neighbor downstairs heard the salsa and the one upstairs the rock and roll. At any hour of the day you could walk past the building and hear the incredible fusion of Van Van and Metallica. They called it the “strength test” and it consisted of round after round of raising the volume. The first … Continue reading “At Full Volume / Claudia Cadelo”

These Peculiar Guidelines / Claudia Cadelo

At the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution they are talking about the guidelines for the next Communist Party Congress. Despite the fact that, according to the Official Gazette, some of the proposals in the guidelines have already been passed as laws and the parliament hasn’t had its chance to display its unanimous approval, … Continue reading “These Peculiar Guidelines / Claudia Cadelo”

One Family, One Tragedy / Ernesto Morales Licea

Just a few hours ago a shocking even took place in my semi-wintry Bayamo: at approximately seven at night this Wednesday, December 22, a young man of 34, Alexander Otero Rodriguez, appeared at a central corner of the city, accompanied by his wife, Aliuska Noguer Tornés, 18, along with their baby, born 48 days ago. … Continue reading “One Family, One Tragedy / Ernesto Morales Licea”

Fidel Castro in his Element after Half a Century / Iván García

On the overcast morning of September 28, the historic leader was in his favourite environment. Public events. The adulation of the masses. His natural state. It is in big gatherings where Castro has given speeches of up to 14 hours, true Guinness records, and where he whipped them up into a state of delirium. The … Continue reading “Fidel Castro in his Element after Half a Century / Iván García”

I Don’t Even Have a Television and for the Police I am A Subject With A High Standard of Living / Iván García

A couple of days ago I was walking with a friend to my daughter’s house and a cop car stopped us and asked for our IDs. Dog-faced like the usual Cuban police. They frisked us on the public street like common thieves. They wanted me to open an envelope with some magazines a Brazilian friend … Continue reading “I Don’t Even Have a Television and for the Police I am A Subject With A High Standard of Living / Iván García”

Carnivals in September? / Rebeca Monzo

The festivities of September 28 are almost here, the fiesta for the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. The carnival begins. My block, the only one who cleans is Joseito, an employee of Aurora (the State agency for street cleaning), and some other neighbors clean their gardens and in front of their houses from … Continue reading “Carnivals in September? / Rebeca Monzo”

The Idiots’ Dinner / Miguel Iturria Savón

Two signs about 30 inches wide by six feet long were displayed by state officials in many offices and shopping centers in Havana and in other cities in Cuba. They both have the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) logo. One says: “Caring for the neighborhood, vigilant and united”; and the other says, … Continue reading “The Idiots’ Dinner / Miguel Iturria Savón”

EATING THE CABLE / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

PULL YOUR GROUND WIRE Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo Once again, like every few months, they were in the neighborhood collecting cables. Lawton dawned shifting into reverse. Vans from the telephone company, ETECSA, or the Ministry of the Interior (MINIT) or both. Cooperation from the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) along with the … Continue reading “EATING THE CABLE / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

Spontaneous / Claudia Cadelo

Photo: Claudio Fuentes Madan I’ve been left a little traumatized after the celebrations of the CDR. Between the discussion on the bus, my neighbors’ Sunday volunteer work, and the reggaeton on the 28th until 1:00 in the morning; right now I feel a sense of “been there, done that… and never again would be too … Continue reading “Spontaneous / Claudia Cadelo”