Search results for: Lady in White

Terrorism and the Revolution of 1959 / 14ymedio, Jose Gabriel Barrenchea

14ymedio, Jose Gabriel Barrenchea, Santa Clara, 21 April 2015 – Recently we have been hearing the official spokesmen of Castro’s submissive society accusing everybody of being terrorists. However, did you know that the Castro Revolution came to power on a wave of urban terrorism, which left in its wake a quite significant sum of “collateral … Continue reading “Terrorism and the Revolution of 1959 / 14ymedio, Jose Gabriel Barrenchea”

No blogger, no Obama / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

No blogger, no cry. Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo 1 In the beginning was the Blog. 2 But blogs were formless and empty. 3 Repression was all over the blogosphere. 4 And the citizens saw the blogs were good. 5 So that lacking other channels of expression, the Cuban civil society occupied blogosphere as a tool for … Continue reading “No blogger, no Obama / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

Obama and Castro Are Playing in Different Leagues / Ivan Garcia

Events are moving quickly. At least that is what Nivaldo, a private taxi driver who owns an outdated Moskovich car from the Soviet era, thinks. “Don’t slam the door or it will come loose,” he tells the passengers he drives from Playa to Brotherhood Park in the heart of Havana. Nivaldo and a large segment … Continue reading “Obama and Castro Are Playing in Different Leagues / Ivan Garcia”

If it were up to them, they’d shoot me / Angel Santiesteban

Warning: The regime in Havana has prepared a new legal trap for Ángel. As is already public knowledge, Ángel Santiesteban has been held in a military border patrol base in Jaimanitas since August 13. He was placed there after several days of detention in the Acosta Police Station, following his surrender after having taken 5 of the … Continue reading “If it were up to them, they’d shoot me / Angel Santiesteban”

Learning to live without Fidel Castro / 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez

14ymedio, Rosa Lopez, Havana, 8 January 2015 — A poster with Fidel Castro’s face is pasted on the glass of the deteriorated locale. Years ago, some naughty boy painted the whites of his eyes dark and the effect is intimidating, but almost nobody sees it. The man who wanted to be indispensable and omnipresent for … Continue reading “Learning to live without Fidel Castro / 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez”

Parades and rights / Yoani Sanchez

Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 10 December 2014 — The carnival was planned for days, months. The background music would slogans and false joy. The venue, the same Havana corner where the Ladies in White were called to remember the International Day of Human Rights. Meanwhile, the “corps de ballet” would consist of workers and students – … Continue reading “Parades and rights / Yoani Sanchez”

A New Women’s Opposition Group is Born in the East: Citizens for Democracy / 14ymedio

14YMEDIO, Havana, 10 September 2014 – A schism with the Ladies in White has given birth to a new women’s group called “Citizens for Democracy.” Last Monday, during the feast of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, the recently created movement held it’s first public activity with a pilgrimage of seventy women to the Sanctuary … Continue reading “A New Women’s Opposition Group is Born in the East: Citizens for Democracy / 14ymedio”

Female Caricature / Yoani Sanchez

14yMEDIO, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 22 August 2014 – A woman on national television said that her husband “helps” her with some household chores. To many, the phrase may sound like the highest aspiration of every woman. Another lady asserts that her husband behaves like a “Federated man,” an allusion to the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), … Continue reading “Female Caricature / Yoani Sanchez”

Internet in Cuba: A Success in Spite of Everything / Ivan Garcia

Eight in the morning. On the ground floor of the Focsa building  – Cuba’s Empire State – on M between 17 and 19 Vedado, in a shop between the Guiñol theatre and a beaten-up bar at the entrance to the Scherezada club, a queue of about 15 people are waiting to enter the internet room. … Continue reading “Internet in Cuba: A Success in Spite of Everything / Ivan Garcia”

Women in Battle Dress / Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna

The drag queens warm up Havana with the steam of their bodies. Prostitution has been their lifesaver. HAVANA, Cuba – Lolita, Alejandra, Samantha, Paloma, and África María are drag queens who stamp their feet on every Havana street corner during the night, while the city sleeps. Some with warrior faces and others as shy princesses … Continue reading “Women in Battle Dress / Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna”

Leaving / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

At 7 past 7 in the morning of 5 March 2013, yesterday, I left my wooden house where I had lived all my life, to go to José Martí airport. I spent the whole night copying things on a few flashdrives. And deleting evidence of my ever-more-obvious work as a dissident and counter-revolutionary. Of course … Continue reading “Leaving / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

The New Cuban Rich / Ivan Garcia

Plaza de la Catedral, festooned for the Year End Grand Dinner and which some new Cuban rich must have attended. *See below for dinner menu. They are not as ostentatious as the new Russian rich who buy compulsively and empty the shelves of Marbella. Nor do their lifestyle and expenses have to do with a … Continue reading “The New Cuban Rich / Ivan Garcia”

United States: Famous People with Cuban Roots / Ivan Garcia

Alberto Salazar, who was one of the most distinguish runners in the United States, today is a highly paid trainer in long distance running around the world. The best informed on the island know that Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s Executive Director and owner of the Washington Post Newspaper, had a stepfather born in Santiago de Cuba. … Continue reading “United States: Famous People with Cuban Roots / Ivan Garcia”

Who Will Succeed Cardinal Ortega? / Reinaldo Emilio Cosana Alen

Havana, November 2013 — Cardinal Jaime Ortega turned 77 on October 18 of this year. Canon law sets the retirement age for cardinals at 75. Pope Benedict XVI asked Cardinal Ortega to postpone his retirement but Benedict is no longer in charge at the Vatican. Time has passed and the Cardinal is looking exhausted. Finding … Continue reading “Who Will Succeed Cardinal Ortega? / Reinaldo Emilio Cosana Alen”

Sad Tiger / Orlando Luis Pardo Luiz

(1) The unfathomable universe, lonely and cold.  Your footprints on the cement, still soft in our sidewalk. Your small steps, near and probably lost: Apology of the p. The world, the city, of the town: Cuba, Havana, Lawton. The sea, the year. The hum of the space left by you. The unspoken words, yet waiting. … Continue reading “Sad Tiger / Orlando Luis Pardo Luiz”