Tania Bruguera Mocks the Cuban Government’s Censorship at the Geneva Summit

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana,8 June 2021 – On Tuesday, the artist Tania Bruguera managed to participate in the virtual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, after the Cuban government prevented her doing so the day before by cutting off her mobile data service. During her speech, Bruguera enumerated several recent abuses committed by the “military dictatorship,” … Continue reading “Tania Bruguera Mocks the Cuban Government’s Censorship at the Geneva Summit”

The Cuban Baseball Federation Suffers From Historical Amnesia

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Generation Y, Havana, 1 June 2021 — The writer Eliseo Alberto Diego, known as Lichi, used to say that “history is a cat who always falls on her feet.” The Cuban Baseball Federation should be warned about this ability of the past to stand up, a way of avoiding silence and manipulation. The official … Continue reading “The Cuban Baseball Federation Suffers From Historical Amnesia”

The Cuban Regime is Not Afraid of Any Song

14ymedio, Yaiza Santos, Madrid, 27 May 2021 — The desperate war of songs unleashed by the Cuban Government after the release of the song Patria y Vida, which since February has added more than five million views on YouTube and which immediately became an opposition slogan inside and outside the Island, has gone from pathos to perversity with the theme that celebrates … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime is Not Afraid of Any Song”

Manifesto Supports the Artists of ‘Patria y Vida’ Repressed by the Cuban Government

14ymedio, Madrid, 27 May 2021 — On Thursday, Cuban Prisoners Defenders (CPD) launched a manifesto in support of the artists participating in the song Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life) who have been besieged by the Cuban government in recent weeks, and called for an end to the repression. In the text, they refer mainly to the artist Luis Manuel … Continue reading “Manifesto Supports the Artists of ‘Patria y Vida’ Repressed by the Cuban Government”

State Workers Called to Participate in ‘Operation San Isidro’

14ymedio, Havana, April 29, 2021 — Workers at state-owned restaurants and bars in Old Havana, most of whom are at home due to the pandemic and the drop-off in tourism, were summoned to join surveillance and “confrontation with the counterrevolution” operations in the San Isidro neighborhood. There, at 955 Damas Street on Thursday, the artist Luis … Continue reading “State Workers Called to Participate in ‘Operation San Isidro’”

Hotel Habana Libre: Without Its Name But With a Slogan

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 23 April 2021 — On the façade of the Hotel Habana Libre, a new sign has been seen for a few days with the phrase “Patria o Muerte Venceremos” (Homeland or Death We Shall Triumph) in red letters and located on a ledge that faces 23rd Street in El Vedado. The slogan, which … Continue reading “Hotel Habana Libre: Without Its Name But With a Slogan”

“I Know that at Some Point People in Cuba are Going to Wake Up En Masse”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 23 April 2021 — Curiosity is the hallmark of the work of the Cuban journalist and filmmaker Eliécer Jiménez-Almeida (b. Camagüey, 1983). It was the desire to investigate that led him to make documentaries such as Persona (2014), in which he approaches the lives of five individuals; Now! (2016), which denounces the repression against human rights … Continue reading ““I Know that at Some Point People in Cuba are Going to Wake Up En Masse””

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!”

“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””

‘An Act of Repudiation With Music’ is the Official Response to ‘Patria y Vida’

14ymedio, Havana, 1 March 2021 — The Cuban government’s musical response to the video clip Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life) has not been long in coming. Two weeks after the release of the song, which harshly criticizes the regime in Havana, the island’s official media have broadcast this Monday Patria o Muerte por la Vida (Homeland or Death for … Continue reading “‘An Act of Repudiation With Music’ is the Official Response to ‘Patria y Vida’”

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”

‘Patria y Vida’ Gave Cuba Back a Pulse

14ymedio, Asiel Babastro, Havana, 26 February 2021 — [Note: Asiel Babastro, director of the video clip for the song Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life] presented the following text this Friday at an event of the European Parliament sponsored by Vice President Dita Charanzová and MEP Leopoldo López Gil, the Renew Europe Group and the European People’s Group, and organized by Cuban … Continue reading “‘Patria y Vida’ Gave Cuba Back a Pulse”

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”

Act of Repudiation Against a Family in Havana for Painting ‘Patria y Vida’ on the Wall of Their House

14ymedio, Havana, 22 February 2021 — The activist Anyell Valdés Cruz and her family were victims this Monday of an act of repudiation in which Kirenia Pomares, the mayor of Havana’s Arroyo Naranjo municipality, State Security agents and other people participated. The rally included slogans, posters and graffiti on the facade of the house to erase … Continue reading “Act of Repudiation Against a Family in Havana for Painting ‘Patria y Vida’ on the Wall of Their House”