English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, 20 August 2018 — The gleaming behemoth docked in Havana Bay and, within a short time, dozens of travelers in sunscreen and shorts began to pass quickly through the customs gate. Waiting for them were several buses to take them for a tour of the city arranged ahead of time. From the moment when … Continue reading “Cruises Bring Many Tourists but Little Money to the Streets of Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, July 26, 2018 — Raul Castro returned to the limelight, making an appearance at the main event celebrating the sixty-fifth anniversary of the assault on the Moncada Barracks, considered by the government to be the start of the Cuban revolution. In his first speech since giving up power on April 19, the former … Continue reading “Raul Castro Calls for Savings and Denounces US "Neoliberal Offensive" in Latin America”
14ymedio, Mario J. Pentón, Miami | 25 July 2018 – Cuba’s 1.1% economic growth the first semester of 2018, announced by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, will not reach the kitchens of the Cuban people, nor will it be felt in the already reduced purchasing power of their wallets, according to various economists consulted by 14ymedio. The island, crippled by … Continue reading “Cuban Economy’s 1.1% Growth is Not Felt on Cubans’ Dinner Tables”
14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, West Palm Beach, 18 July 2018 — Nothing defines the essence of Cuban official journalism better than its own discourse. This was clearly demonstrated with the standing ovation that greeted the speech of Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, at the closing ceremony of the 10th Congress of the Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC) on July 14. … Continue reading “Cuba’s Docile Press Rebels Against Free Information”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana | 30 June 2018 — A few yards from the place where tourists are trying to take a photo with the sign for Cuba Street, in Old Havana, a dozen people have planted themselves outside a half-demolished building to demand a decent home. At least 14 families have been out in the open for five days, … Continue reading “Some 14 Families Camp Out on a Tourist Street in Havana to Demand Housing”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, 27 June 2018 — The markets closed ahead of time, in state offices employees managed to leave early, and Havana’s Sports City was filled for the concert of Cuba’s own Gente de Zona and Italy’s singer-songwriter Laura Pausini this Tuesday night. That was when the rains came and stole the show, a downpour like … Continue reading “Gente de Zona Requested "Applause" for Diaz-Canel at the Concert with Laura Pausini”
Ivan Garcia, 4 June 2018 — When it started raining on May 2, Eliseo and his wife had already covered the leaks in the roof of tiles with silicone, wooden planks and pieces of plastic. On the deck, outside, they sprayed waterproof paint and reinforced the iron beams on the roof that run through the house, so … Continue reading “May Rains Brought More “Drama” to Cubans / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Justo Mora/Mario J. Pentón, Cienfuegos/Miami, 5 June 2018 — A crab covered with remnants of oil lifts a claw in a threatening gesture while sidling slowly through one of the mangroves on the banks of Cienfuegos Bay. It is rare to see seagulls crossing the bay in search of fish while some pelicans spotted in … Continue reading “Arsenic, Oil and Plastics Invade Cienfuegos Bay”
14ymedio, 29 May 2018 — Tuesday dawned in the city of Havana with intense wind gusts and a lot of rain brought on by subtropical storm Alberto. In the center of the country the situation is much more complex with serious floods, damage to bridges and roads and extensive flooding in agricultural areas. The provinces with … Continue reading “Storm Leaves Western and Central Cuba Tense with Thousands of Evacuees and Large Areas Flooded”
Iván García,22 May 2018 — Forty-eight hours after the tragic plane crash, the area where the Boeing 727-200 went down — the airliner had been leased by Cubana de Aviación from the Mexican company Global Air — is still cordoned off with yellow ribbon as dozens of crime scene specialists and civil aeronautics experts are … Continue reading “Accounts of the Aerial Disaster in Havana / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Bertha K. Guillén, Candelaria, 1 June 2018 — The rains of subtropical storm Alberto have focused their gaze towards the center of the country, the area most affected by the floods, but in the West the damages are also considerable. In many areas of Candelaria in the province of Artemisa residents are still “up to … Continue reading “The Name Alberto is Cursed in Artemis”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 28 May 2018 — A crib, a large bed and a baby stroller are the first objects passersby come across as they walk through the porticos of Zulueta Street in Old Havana. In number 505, the most desperate of the nine families living in the ramshackle building, which has been declared uninhabitable by … Continue reading “Residents of Old Havana Sleep in the Portico Fearing the Collapse of Their Home”
Marcelo Hernandez, Havana | 30 April 2018 – Though little known despite being located in the heart of Vedado, the empty lot at 25th and K streets in Havana has become a major topic of conversation. The official press recently announced that the tallest hotel in Havana — a mass of concrete that worries some … Continue reading “This is Not Dubai: Neighbors React to Plans for Havana’s Tallest Hotel”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 May 2018 — This Saturday the independent #00Bienal was opened, an event that in recent days has been at the center of official attacks. In the vicinity of the site in Old Havana several members of the State Security dressed in civilian clothes were visible but they did not prevent the more than … Continue reading “Independent #00Bienal Opens in Spite of Official Pressures”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 May 2018 — Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, one of the organizers of #00Bienal, lamented the “lack of respect” with which Cuba’s Writers and Artists Union (UNEAC) and the Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS), have addressed the event and the artists who support it, in the statement made public this Thursday. In the statement, … Continue reading “UNEAC Statements Show “A Lack of Respect” Towards Young Artists, Say Promoters of #00 Biennial”
