English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Fernando Dámaso,29 January 2019 — On Sunday, January 27th, Havana was affected by a strong tornado that caused considerable destruction, mainly in the October 10, Luyanó, San Miguel del Padrón and Regla neighborhoods. It is striking that the “March of the Torches”, scheduled for that evening and then moved to the 28th, nonetheless was held … Continue reading “Under Dogma and Stubbornness / Fernando Damaso”
14ymedio, Miguel Henrique Otero, Madrid, 19 January 2019 — The regime headed by Nicolás Maduro kills without a timetable. It does so throughout the national territory, during the day or at night. The process that consists in depriving Venezuelans of their lives is permanent. And for this it makes use of the most diverse methods, … Continue reading “The Multiple Ways the Maduro Regime Kills”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, West Palm Beach, 10 January 2019 — We are less than two months away from the referendum that will be submitted to Cuban citizens to consider whether to “ratify” or not the constitutional reform already approved unanimously by the National Assembly. Social networks have been the scene of a bitter controversy among … Continue reading “Cuba and the Castro Constitution: To Vote ‘No’ or To Not Vote?”
14ymedio, Havana, September 30, 2018 — The ex-attorney general of the Republic, Juan Escalona, known for the high-profile trial of General Arnaldo Ochoa, died Friday in Havana of bronchopneumonia. Escalona was 87 and found himself retired eight years ago when he was “liberated from his position” after more than 20 years as Attorney General. State television … Continue reading “Ex-Attorney General Juan Escalona Dies in Havana”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, July 10, 2018 — We now know that at its seventh plenary session the Communist Party Central Committee reviewed the draft of the new Cuban constitution. It was reported that the text of the document is now a fait accompli. In the coming days deputies to the National Assembly will approve … Continue reading “Proceedings to Draft New Constitution Lack Transparency”
Our apologies: This video is not subtitled. A quick guide to understanding the process that begins with the opening of the National Assembly of People’s Power this Wednesday. What is the body of Power whose leaders are going to change? The Council of State, which exercises legislative power during periods when the National Assembly of … Continue reading “Important Questions About the “Transfer of Power” in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 April 2018 — The meeting for the constitution of the new Parliament, the last step in the process that will culminate in the replacement of Raul Castro in the presidency, will begin on Wednesday, 18 April, a day before originally planned, according to Cuba’s official media. According to a statement from the … Continue reading “Session of New National Assembly That Will Designate Raul Castro’s Successor Approaches”
Ivan Garcia, 12 March 2018 — After six o’clock in the afternoon, do not ask Daniela, a single mother of three children, her opinion about the Cuban electoral process or whether she was planning to vote on Sunday March 11 in the imitation-plebiscite that will ratify the 605 deputies to the parliament which, on April 19, … Continue reading “The Cuban Electoral Show / Iván García”
Alejandro González Acosta, 1 December 2017, Mexico City — Lichi[1] told me that the last time he was in Cuba[2], he went to visit a G-2 colonel at home, the brother of a famous Cuban historian who was Lichi’s good friend in Mexico. Between drinks and confidences, Lichi asked him: “Come on, man, just between us: … Continue reading “The Euphemism that Looks After Me / Alejandro González Acosta”
Ivan Garcia, 12 December 2017 — On 28 January 1976 in Havana, Ricardo Bofull founded the Cuban Committee For Human Rights, along with Edmigio López and Marta Frayde. Forty-one years later, the independent journalist Tania Díaz Castro, in her house in Havana’s Jaimanitas neighborhood, west of the capital, surrounded by dogs and books, recalls that era. “I … Continue reading “Cuba: ’The Human Rights People’ / Iván García”
Juan Juan Almeida, 19 October 2017 — A Marxism professor who is also an official of the Ideological Department of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) is responsible for implementing the Cuban government’s strategy for the use of social networks from the island. Joaquín Suárez González , 52, a graduate of Marxism, Leninism and History at the “Félix Varela” Pedagogical Institute in … Continue reading “Marxism Professor is Cuba’s Social Networks Czar / Juan Juan Almeida”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 7 November 2017 — “Sometimes I dream that I’ve returned to Moscow but the contours of the buildings look blurry,” confesses Valentina Rodriguez, 72. She married a Cuban who studied at a university in Moscow in the ‘80s and who lived for many years in Havana until she emigrated to the … Continue reading “The Traces of Russia in Cuba: ‘Bolos’, Kamaz, ‘Polovinos’”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 26 October 2017 — On the eve of the People’s Power elections in Cuba, the issue of representation in municipal, provincial and national bodies has again come to life, this time in an interview in Cubadebate with Gisela María Duarte Vázquez, president of the National Candidacy Commission. The official insists that diversity among … Continue reading “The Other Diversity”
14ymedio Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 6 October 2017 – Last Tuesday was the day Aimara Peña had been working for more than a year, but nothing went as planned. The young activist was detained and threatened by State Security to prevent her being nominated as a delegate in Las Tozas, Sancti Spíritus. In addition, she was accused in … Continue reading ““They Accused Me Of Being A Mercenary In Front Of My Neighbors””
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 27 September 2017 – Three families are now bathing in Bernardina’s shower. “Everyone brings their own soap but the water is for everyone,” says the 86-year-old woman at her house on Calle Campanario in Havana. After Hurricane Irma the retiree opened her doors to her most affected neighbors, a gesture that is repeated … Continue reading “From Cuban To Cuban, National Solidarity After Hurricane Irma”
