Challenging Her Dismissal from the Historian’s Office to Denounce "Arbitrariness"

14ymedio, Havana, 10 January 2020 — Claudia Genlui Hidalgo, a worker at the Office of the Historian, was fired at the end of December after giving a talk on independent art at the Embassy of the Czech Republic. Genlui filed an appeal with the Attorney General’s Office this week despite her distrust of the usefulness … Continue reading “Challenging Her Dismissal from the Historian’s Office to Denounce "Arbitrariness"”

Historian’s Office Employee Fired After Giving an Independent Talk

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 20 December 2019 — Claudia Genlui Hidalgo, now a former official of the Office of the Historian, has been fired from the agency after presenting a talk on independent art at the embassy of the Czech Republic in Havana, as she denounced to 14ymedio this Thursday, shortly after being notified of her expulsion. “Today … Continue reading “Historian’s Office Employee Fired After Giving an Independent Talk”

The Masks of Havana

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Generation Y, Havana, 17 November 2019 — Havana was a city of carnivals and masks. Although the times of revelry passed long ago, this city is covered – whenever necessary – with convenient layers of makeup. Years ago, when a pope visited the island, the authorities painted the facades and cleaned the streets through … Continue reading “The Masks of Havana”

Successes and Mistakes of a Royal Visit

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 15 November 2019 — This Thursday the three-day state visit by the Spanish Royals King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to Cuba concluded, a stay that from before its beginning was surrounded by controversy and, now concluded, will continue to be subject to criticism, interpretations, grievances and redress. We must recognize … Continue reading “Successes and Mistakes of a Royal Visit”

Several Cuban Activists Arrested During "Performance" In Solidarity With Guillermo Del Sol

14ymedio, Havana, 30 September 2019 — This Monday, as Guillermo del Sol’s hunger strike reached 50 days, a group of activists, opposition figures, and independent journalists have made public a letter of support in which they intend to express their “solidarity and recognition” to the activist for his “sacrifice to eradicate one of the most lamentable … Continue reading “Several Cuban Activists Arrested During "Performance" In Solidarity With Guillermo Del Sol”

Cuba’s President is an Android / Lynn Cruz, Havana Times

Republished from English edition of the Havana Times Lynn Cruz, HAVANA TIMES, 17 September 2019  – Photos of Cuban people stranded at bus stops, trying to reach their destination, are really quite outrageous. While the atmosphere in the capital is becoming more and more hostile, a doctor friend tells me that Carnival is being celebrated … Continue reading “Cuba’s President is an Android / Lynn Cruz, Havana Times”

#LaBanderaEsDeTodos (The Flag Belongs to Everyone) Is a Popular Hashtag on Social Networks

14ymedio, Havana, 14 August 2019 — A new challenge has been born in social networks. This time it is not about taking pictures lining up to buy chicken but uploading an image that contains the Cuban flag. With the label #LaBanderaEsDeTodos (The Flag Belongs to Everyone), the aim is to claim the non-partisan or ideological character … Continue reading “#LaBanderaEsDeTodos (The Flag Belongs to Everyone) Is a Popular Hashtag on Social Networks”

The Obligations of the Church

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, January 30, 2019 — First of all, I must confess: I don’t agree with any religion. I hardly have metaphysical doubts, which doesn’t even allow me to classify myself as an atheist. I have always believed that religions are a kind of discipline for the spirit and that mine is notoriously … Continue reading “The Obligations of the Church”

The B Side of the Biennial

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 12 April 2019 — On Thursday, April 11, while in the halls of the National Museum of Fine Arts the Mexican artist Gabriel Orozcowas preparing an exhibition, and on the terrace of the Spanish Embassy the duo Clandestina finished mounting its installations, the independent artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was arrested in Damas … Continue reading “The B Side of the Biennial”

Political Snobbery or Consensual Propaganda

14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 19 April 2019 — As Cuba sinks into a new period of crisis, the absurdity of existing in parallel planes has been imposed as the norm in the daily lives of its inhabitants. Submerged in the desperate search for subsistence, a growing number of Cubans choose to ignore other signs of … Continue reading “Political Snobbery or Consensual Propaganda”

Why Am I Not Going to the XIII Havana Biennial?

14ymedio, Tania Bruguera, Havana, 14 April 2019 — Before giving my reasons I want to clarify that I admire the work of the curators of La Bienal de La Habana and I do not consider any of my reasons to be their responsibility. Rather, they are a response to the cultural policies of the Ministry of … Continue reading “Why Am I Not Going to the XIII Havana Biennial?”

Independent Cuban artists say NO to Decree 349 / Ivan Garcia

Iván García, 7 December 2018 — Luis Manuel Otero, an independent artist, the day before his 31st birthday, walks hand in hand with his wife  Yanelys Núñez, an art historian, aged 29, along a dark narrow street going to an art gallery in an old cinema which showed porn movies in the Chinese district in Havana. … Continue reading “Independent Cuban artists say NO to Decree 349 / Ivan Garcia”

"The Fight Against Decree 349 Will Continue," Insists Amaury Pacheco After Being Released

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 5 December 2018 — On Wednesday, around eight-thirty in the evening, Yanelys Núñez and Luis Manuel Otero were released, according to what they told 14ymedio when they left the Vivac de Calabazar Detention Center after protesting Decree 349. “First we were in the eleventh unit of the San Miguel de Padrón police station, there … Continue reading “"The Fight Against Decree 349 Will Continue," Insists Amaury Pacheco After Being Released”

14ymedio Faces of 2018: Yanelys Nunez, the Artist Who Stands Against Decree 349

14ymedio, Havana, December 27, 2018 — A graduate in Art History in 2012, Yanelys Núñez Leyva (b. Havana, 1989) has this year been one of the most visible faces on the independent art scene of the Island. Along with Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and another group of artists she defied the country’s cultural authorities by … Continue reading “14ymedio Faces of 2018: Yanelys Nunez, the Artist Who Stands Against Decree 349”

Fahrenheit 349

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 9 December 2018 —  We have Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) to thanks for the novel Fahrenheit 451 (published in 1953) that tells the story of Guy Montag, a fireman whose job is to burn books considered ‘uncomfortable’ by the government. Such an atrocity was only possible because there was a powerful commission in charge of dictating … Continue reading “Fahrenheit 349”