English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
I turned on the TV early on March 26 to “distract” my palate from the taste of a steaming cup of bodega coffee — when it’s cold there’s no way I can drink it — and was surprised by the information in the morning magazine, Buenos Dias, about an event on racial discrimination in Cuba. … Continue reading “Problems Left Hanging… / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”
I want to refer to a history that seems to have been forgotten in the ferocious opinions around Pablo Milanés performing a concert on August 27th at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. On June 25, 1993, at the National Hotel in the presence of government leaders and the Communist Party, singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés and then Minister … Continue reading “The Pablo Milanés Foundation / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
In Cuba we barely acknowledge the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, on October 12, 1492, and his arrival on our shores on the 24th, as if the conquest and colonization by Spain were an outstanding bill and not an event from the past of historical and cultural significance. Officially, National Culture Day celebrates the … Continue reading “For a Culture Without Custodians / Miguel Iturria Savón”
If a some genuine idolatry remains for the old, the idolater must be suffering a severe existential crisis. The lackeys with pedigree, the real ones, suffer the unspeakable when their idols are revealed as mere humans, and, in cases like this — Fidel Castro publicly exposed for 6 hours — a human grotesque. To associate … Continue reading “Harlequin Memoirs / Ernesto Morales Licea”
The Cuban writer Jorge Alberto Aguiar Diaz (JAAD) pointed him out to me. Humbert Arenal had just awarded my book (Collage Karaoke) in the “Pinos Nuevos” Contest in the year zero, or 2000. JAAD said to me, “Go and introduce yourself. This old guy is the last witness of another era.” In fact he looked … Continue reading “REQUIEM FOR HUMBERTO ARENAL / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
Patchwork, Rebeca Because of the 492nd Anniversary of the Villa of Saint Christopher of Havana, between the many television programs dedicated to this celebration,Hurón Azul, of the UNEAC (Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba), presented some interviews with renowned architects and artists, where they poured out their opinions about the deteriorating image of the … Continue reading “A Beautiful Lady Comes to Less / Rebeca Monzo”
These days the Cuban nation should be crying and writhing in its own betrayal. It gives the sensation of a country winding down, that sells quickly, like someone trying to extract every possible benefit before leaving. For years it has been auctioning off its cultural heritage on the Internet. Works by leading artists who are not even alive … Continue reading “Cuba: A Country Being Auctioned / Angel Santiesteban”
Because of the 492nd Anniversary of the Villa of Saint Christopher of Havana, between the many television programs dedicated to this celebration, Hurón Azul, of the UNEAC (Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba), presented some interviews with renowned architects and artists, where they poured out their opinions about the the deteriorating image of the … Continue reading “A Beautiful Lady Comes to Less / Rebeca Monzo”
Spoken Word in Havana, originally uploaded by orlandoluispardolazo The Writing Workshop of the International Poetry Festival in Havana along with Roads of Words (a group dedicated to the promotion of spoken word poetry in Cuba), invite you to a conference: Spoken Word: A New Wave of Contemporary Poetry (featuring the poet and cultural promotor: Elier … Continue reading “Spoken Word in Havana / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
After so many years of being gagged, we couldn’t hope for anything other than this discordant chorus in which voices climb, one above the other – you have to answer the opinion issued yesterday, also be quiet, stop just long enough to be read and overlap with others that are already collected on our computers or … Continue reading “Discordant Chorus – Leticia Córdoba / POLEMICA: The 2007 Intellectual Debate”
I know that logically I don’t have to respond to the mostly anonymous commentators in Internet forums. But this time I’ve decided for forget protocol to respond here because so much raving frightens me. I don’t deny the education that I received, but I most thank my mother, who often skipped breakfast so that her … Continue reading “Answer to Innocence / Angel Santiesteban”
Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo The dictatorship of the market. I have heard the phrase on countless occasions, in boring meetings of this, that or the other state institution. The market mutilates and kills the best. The market is one of many modern masks of mediocrity. The market is shit, my love. Invariably I felt guilty … Continue reading “MONEY IS A HIT.. (AND A HASHTAG!) / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
CINDERELLA AND THE PAINTER by YOANI SANCHEZ (TAKEN FROM VOCES 8) Cinderella, the tail of this torpid caiman, the westernmost point of a country that long ago ceased to call itself the West. That’s Pinar del Rio, a place that has remained in the memory of thousands of Havanans, where we spent our long stays … Continue reading “CINDERELLA AND THE PAINTER / Yoani Sánchez”
[I have decided to publish, before this blog is closed down, some texts that I didn’t publish at the time because it was practically impossible to do it because of obvious difficulties or because as time passed I doubted that it would be the best idea. Due to recent events, I think it is best … Continue reading “Closed by Demolition / Francis Sánchez”
I have read the words of the famous Cuban painter Pedro Pablo Oliva, 2006 National Prize of Plastic Arts, published on his website following his demotion from the post he occupied as a delegate of the Provincial Assembly of Popular Power in Pinar del Río which, once again, demonstrates the perverse nature of the system. … Continue reading “Pedro Pablo Oliva: The Art of Honesty / Miriam Celaya”
