English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Alas Tensas/Tremenda Nota, Irela Casañas, 2 April 2018 — Every month something happens that causes me anguish, stress, fear… when my body warns that something is coming, I start looking through all the cabinets and drawers. I head out to the informal markets, I go see my friends, I ask my mother if she can … Continue reading “Menstruation Without Resources / Irela Casanas”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 April 2018 — The residents apartment building located at the central corner of 23rd and 12th in Havana’s Vedado district, are counting the days until they will return to their homes, six years after being evacuated, in March 2012, because of the collapse of the staircase. After a prolonged repair, the residents of the … Continue reading “Residents of Sarra Building to Return Home Six Years After Staircase Collapse”
14ymedio, Havana, 30 March 2018 — “They sunk us by throwing an anchor against the boat,” recalls Denys Díaz Crespo, a 22-year-old rafter who, together with 15 other young people, sailed from Punta Alegre, in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, on March 17. The group was heading to the United States but the Cuban border guards violently prevented … Continue reading “Cuban Punta Alegre Rafters Denounce Sinking by Border Guards”
Juan Juan Almeida, 20 March 2018 — The historical leadership of the island’s regime proceeds, forced and with urgency, towards a transfer of power that does not arrive by conviction but by biological exhaustion. Therefore, for the men and women on whose shoulders the support of the structure of the Government and the State weighs, much more … Continue reading “Lazara Lopez Acea, A Cuban Leader Sure to Be in the New Group in Power / Juan Juan Almeida”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 February 2018 — The organizers of the Havana #00 Biennial, an independent event whose celebration is scheduled from May 5-15, have won the support of several artists and independent spaces on the island, according to Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, one of the promoters of the initiative, speaking to 14ymedio. Among the artists who have confirmed … Continue reading “Independent Artists and Galleries Join a Biennial Outside Official Institutions”
14ymedio, Ricardo Fernandez, Camagüey, 20 February 2018 — Darkness and silence envelops the nights in the city of Camagüey since the fire at the 10 de Octubre Thermoelectric Company, in Nuevitas, on 25 January. Almost a month later, blackouts and annoyance continue to affect residents. Brigades from various parts of the country are working under the … Continue reading “Blackouts and Annoyance Continue in Camagüey”
Juan Juan Almeida, 5 February 2018 — Haiti is becoming the shortest, cheapest and most popular route among mules and Cuban merchants, who travel there for “shopping tours” to supply the informal street businesses and the dangerous market of illegal surgical drugs and equipment. “A lot of hidden goods are entering the country from these opportunistic excursions,” a source linked to the General … Continue reading “Haiti is the New Route for Cuban "Mules" in Search of Drugs and Illegal Surgical Equipment / Juan Juan Almeida”
14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 30 January 2018 — Last December 21st, when general-president Raúl Castro announced the extension of his term for 55 days longer than expected, few believed in the silly pretext for such a decision: the damages caused by the passage of Hurricane Irma and the calendar for nominating municipal delegates. One of … Continue reading “Raúl Castro is Leaving Without Solving Anything”
Zunilda Mata, Havana, 22 January 2018 — Cuba is intending to buy Peru’s surplus potatoes, if and when they meet the the phytosanitary requirements for export. Peru’s Minister of Agriculture, José Arista, reported on the efforts made by the Cuban embassy in Lima during a meeting with local producers last Wednesday, which was reported in the newspaper La República on … Continue reading “Cuba Looks to Peru to Solve Potato Shortage”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 19 January 2018 — Every night during the ’90s there were knocking sounds from the abandoned hotel San Carlos, which borders the market in the historic center of Cienfuegos where Joaquín Rodríguez worked as custodian. There were hardly any vestiges left of the navy blue of the façade and fragments of the cornices … Continue reading “From a Public Urinal to a Luxury Hotel, The San Carlos is Reborn in Cienfuegos”
Ivan Garcia, 4 January 2018 — The initial surprise is making him more and more angry and likely to lose his temper. Sitting in a black leather armchair in the living room in his house, 43-year-old Armando, a qualified physical education instructor, first moves his head from side to side, then smiles cynically, until he … Continue reading “For The Ordinary Cuban, Things Could Get Worse In 2018 / Iván García”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 January 2018 — Heavy rains and coastal flooding in recent days in Baracoa have caused the collapse of two homes and the isolation of several towns in the province of Guantánamo, as confirmed to 14ymedio by residents of the area. “As of Thursday it has been raining torrentially and there are strong … Continue reading “Heavy Rains Cause Floods and Building Collapses in Baracoa”
14ymedio, Generation Y, (Politicaexterior.com), Yoani Sanchez, 9 January 2017 — “Six decades are a lifetime,” says Facundo, a Cuban retiree who sells the official press in Old Havana to supplement his low pension. Born shortly before Fidel Castro came to power, the man is suspicious of the appointment of a new president next April. “That’s going to … Continue reading “The Departure Of Raúl Castro, The End Of An Era”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 January 2018 — The ravages of Hurricane Irma on Cuban agriculture have left a serious impact on the sugar sector that will influence the results of the upcoming harvest. With some 835,000 acres of cane fallen and broken, in addition to another 227,000 flooded, 45% of the sown cane was affected, according to … Continue reading “Cuba’s 2018 Sugar Harvest At Risk Due to a Shortage of Cane in the Fields”
Ivan Garcia, 9 January 2017 — Jumping from a conversation about football one about Cuban domestic politics is not exactly an exercise in rational balance. That is why Eduardo, a veterinarian in a cooperative outside Havana, responded with a prolonged silence when the street debate took an unexpected turn. The group was chatting in a corner in … Continue reading “Raul Castro Postpones His Retirement / Iván García”
