Search results for: patri y vida

“The Mambises had Machetes in the Fight for Freedom. We have Telephones and Paintbrushes”

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 5 April 2021 — The hero, the high priest, the Revolution, slavery… The controversial issues that Reynier Leyva Novo (Havana, 1983) addresses in his work have made him one of the most important Cuban visual artists of his generation. Novo’s work, which has been exhibited in Mexico, the United States, Italy, … Continue reading ““The Mambises had Machetes in the Fight for Freedom. We have Telephones and Paintbrushes””

I Am Cuban!

14ymedio, Eloy M. Viera Moren, Madrid, 20 March 2021 — A video clip posted on the internet a few days ago shows three young non-commissioned officers wearing uniforms of the Ministry of the Interior performing a song in response to the song Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life). The origin cannot be specified, but judging … Continue reading “I Am Cuban!”

Should the Opposition Dialogue with the Cuban Government?

14ymedio, Havana, 15 March 2021 — Since last November 27, when some thirty artists managed to force a meeting with the Vice Minister of Culture, Fernando Rojas, after the unprecedented demonstration of some 300 people before the ministry, the question has divided activists: should the Cuban opposition recognize the Government as an interlocutor in a dialogue that guides … Continue reading “Should the Opposition Dialogue with the Cuban Government?”

“The National Dialogue Will Allow Us to Move from Complaint to Strategic Action”

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 12 March 2021 — The San Isidro Movement (MSI) explained during a press conference details about the National Dialogue initiative proposed by the Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life] platform, inspired by the song by Yotuel Romero, Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, Osorbo and El Funky. Iris Ruiz, Michel Matos, Amaury Pacheco and Luis … Continue reading ““The National Dialogue Will Allow Us to Move from Complaint to Strategic Action””

Cuban Society Is Becoming More Critical and Diverse

14ymedio, Havana, March 5, 2021 — More repression, more prisoners of conscience and more protests in Havana in February. That sums up the results of data collected last month by various human rights organizations such as the Cuban Conflict Observatory (OCC), which counted 159 public demonstrations in that time period. Not only is the figure … Continue reading “Cuban Society Is Becoming More Critical and Diverse”

Locked Up in My House by the Cuban Political Police on March 8

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 8 March 2021 — As soon as the sun came up I got into my usual routine: making coffee, checking the news and starting my work as an independent journalist in a country that does not tolerate freedom of the press. Sometimes there are days of long hours glued to the … Continue reading “Locked Up in My House by the Cuban Political Police on March 8”

San Isidro Movement Calls for a National Dialogue Without Excluding the Cuban Authorities

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 5 March 2021 — The San Isidro Movement (MSI) has launched the Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life] platform to convene a “national dialogue” with all actors in society, including the Government, and build a Cuba that represents “a safe home for all,” and to overcome the serious crisis that the nation is … Continue reading “San Isidro Movement Calls for a National Dialogue Without Excluding the Cuban Authorities”

Crowd in Caibarien Shows Support for a Sweet Seller Fined 2,000 Pesos

14ymedio, Havana, 27 February 2021 — A sweet seller staged a protest this Saturday in Caibarién, Villa Clara, after being fined 2,000 pesos. The man climbed on the roof of his sales cart, in the middle of a public road, and around him dozens of people from the locality gathered showing their support for the … Continue reading “Crowd in Caibarien Shows Support for a Sweet Seller Fined 2,000 Pesos”

Cuba’s Worst ‘New Man’: With a Luxury Car, a Powerful Surname and Little Education

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 2 March 2021 — He alternates his gaze between the road and the camera recording him. He smiles. He flaunts the luxurious vehicle that he drives at high speed and tosses phrases at a spectator he assumes must be salivating at such luxury. The protagonist of this scene could be any … Continue reading “Cuba’s Worst ‘New Man’: With a Luxury Car, a Powerful Surname and Little Education”

Architects Working ‘Under the Table’ are Called Party Decorators in Cuba

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 24 February 2021 — Since the Cuban Government released the news that Architecture is among the 124 activities that individuals are prohibited from engaging in privately, the profession has not stopped looking for spaces to express its discontent, sometimes from pessimism and disenchantment, other times from searching for solutions. After two … Continue reading “Architects Working ‘Under the Table’ are Called Party Decorators in Cuba”

Former Cuban Officers Urges Military Not to Follow Repressive Orders against the Population

14ymedio, Havana, February 24, 2021 — A group of former military officers from the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Cuban Ministry of the Interior have published a manifesto in which they declare themselves to be conscientious objectors, denouncing the Cuban regime for having unleashed “a war against the people and their economic initiatives.” The document, … Continue reading “Former Cuban Officers Urges Military Not to Follow Repressive Orders against the Population”

In Other Times…

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 22 February 2021 — What are the signs that predict the end of an authoritarian system? What symptoms does a despotic regime show as its decline approaches? These two questions have obsessed me in recent days, in the midst of unprecedented events that have been happening on this Island for weeks. Are they … Continue reading “In Other Times…”

“Homeland and Life”: The Hymn That Calls For Reason

14ymedio, Raudel García Bringas, Washington, 21 February 2021 — “Homeland and Life” has been, by far, the most popular news in the official Cuban media in its futile desire to annihilate the performers of this great music video, the same people who have been successful representatives of national music for years. Could one think that they … Continue reading ““Homeland and Life”: The Hymn That Calls For Reason”

The Cuban Regime and its Propaganda Apparatus Prefer Death to Life

14ymedio, Havana, 18 February 2021 — Covid-19 offers no truce — 923 cases and 5 deaths in the last report — but Cuban authorities seemed more concerned this Thursday about the surprising success of the video clip Patria y vida, which has gone viral on social networks. All the official media, starting with Granma, the daily of the Communist Party, dedicate several … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime and its Propaganda Apparatus Prefer Death to Life”

La Niña de Placetas, An Escambray Legend, Dies in Miami

The former anti-Castro guerrilla Zoila Águila Almeida, died in exile, a victim of Covid-19, at age 82 In 2018, the author wrote the following article with the hope of receiving news about Zoila Águila Almeida, La Niña de Placetas. 14ymedio, Idolidia Darias, Miami. (Originally written in 2018 and reprinted here in February 2021) — I’m … Continue reading “La Niña de Placetas, An Escambray Legend, Dies in Miami”