English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
This interview was conducted by Luis Felipe Rojas and published on “Diario de Cuba” on October 21, 2011. Eliecer Palma Pupo (Photo: Luis Felipe Rojas) At a very young age, he left his home to combat Angolans who dissented from the regime which governed them. He returned as a hero, with three medals on his … Continue reading “From War Veteran to Peaceful Dissident / Luis Felipe Rojas”
It’s been a few days since I got to chat with a Uruguayan man who announced to me “I hate Fidel.” And, after we exchanged a few lines, he informed me: “I won’t got to Cuba until the era of the Castros and their communism is over.” I assured him that he would lose the … Continue reading “The Machine of Time / Angel Santiesteban”
Courtesy of Rafael Alcides for Bad Handwriting For you I could not ask, Laura Pollán, that you rest in peace like we do for the currently deceased, because you will never rest in peace. On the contrary. Pollen deposited by the wind on plazas and streets in its new form of life which for you … Continue reading “SECULAR PRAYER FOR LAURA POLLÁN / Regina Coyula”
What happens when the old art forms of attacking and killing become the norms of a country? What can we expect from oppressors and the oppressed if not the most acid fruit of human relations: violence? Belkis, wife of former political prisoner Jose Daniel Ferrer, had her arm cut open after she was attacked by … Continue reading “Agenda of the Political Police, Agenda of the State / Luis Felipe Rojas”
(Published Friday May 27, 2011 on the site: http:www.vocescubanas.com) The common characteristics that identify the human race also have important differences that cannot be ignored. The social character–the most defining and essential peculiarity of man–manifests itself in the diversity of associations that he creates for collaboration, promotion and the defense of his interests; reality that … Continue reading “Cuba: the Illogic of the Single Party / Dimas Castellanos”
With such discipline as my training provides, I am carefully reading, for the second time, an article published on page 3 of Granma (May 4th, 2011), in a section created to reminisce about the revolutionary liturgical and dated events of the moment, which they named Remember Girón. The referenced article, entitled “I was the youngest … Continue reading “Official Cuban Journalism: With a Glass Roof… / Miriam Celaya”
The personal freedoms of members of the alternative blogosphere are at risk after the official media publicly accused them of being mercenaries. On March 22nd, the Granma newspaper (official paper of the Communist Party) published an article titled “Cyberwar: Mercenaries on the Internet”. A day prior to this publication, the televised documentary series “Cuba’s Reasons” … Continue reading “Cuba: Alternative Bloggers in Danger / Laritza Diversent”
Once upon a time, there was a very brave guy. His name was Carlos Serpa, and he was so reckless that he even risked his life by infiltrating the terrible Caribbean amazons known as The Ladies in White, who had the very dangerous habit of taking long walks through Havana’s streets wielding their deadly gladioli … Continue reading “A Very Brave Guy, or a Brief Sketch of a Cuban Story / Miriam Celaya”
The downside of Hollywood spy movies is that we are almost always sold an unchanging archetype of moles: tall, shrewd, skilled in handling weapons and fists and with the physical energy to test atomic bombs. This is not the case for the newly unveiled Carlos Serpa Maceira, alias Agent Emilio, a short mulatto, not very … Continue reading “The Spy Who Came In From the Isle of Pines / Iván García”
Punta Brava, La Habana In the calendas griegas* they tell us that empires based part of their hegemony on the recruitment and purchase of courage. The strategy soon bore fruit and lead to a powerful army of slaves charged with the most dirty and hair-raising tasks that human beings can imagine, unrelenting practices which they … Continue reading “Carlos Serpa: From Chump To Know-It-All / Silvio Benítez Márquez”
Enemy Campaigns and The Politics of Confrontation with Counterrevolutionary Groups Download a PDF of this transcript here. La ciber policia en Cuba from Coral Negro on Vimeo. Presenter: Eduardo Fontes Suárez Introduction The title more or less says it all, we can adjust [the talk to meet] your interests, comrades, when it’s time for discussion. … Continue reading “MININT Cyber Lecture Video – English Transcript”
Censorship, among other things, is a moral scourge, one of the tools totalitarianism uses with devastating impact on the self-esteem of those targeted. Its practice not only should be abolished, but banned throughout the world. Thus, dictatorships are erected and sustain themselves, carving on the societies where they are in place what some call their … Continue reading “Censorship is the Pampered Daughter of Dictatorships… / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”
Censorship, among other things, is a moral scourge, one of the tools totalitarianism uses with devastating impact on the self-esteem of those targeted. Its practice not only should be abolished, but banned throughout the world. Thus, dictatorships are erected and sustain themselves, carving on the societies where they are in place what some call their … Continue reading “Censorship is the Pampered Daughter of Dictatorships…”
During the first two weeks of January, the Cuban press omitted news of interest to the island population. They forgot, for example, the declaration of the spy Gerardo Hernández, imprisoned in the United States since 2001, who, in a desperate appeal denied our government the affirmation that the small planes shot down by Castro’s orders … Continue reading “News To the Taste of Those Who Fabricate It / Miguel Iturria Savón”
“One accused is presumed innocent, as long as he has not been convicted.” The principle is regulated internationally in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but for the Cuban state it is irrelevant, despite having pledged in 1948 to respect the rights contained in it. When it comes time to legislate, ignoring the most basic … Continue reading “Cuban Laws Destroy the Principle of Innocence / Laritza Diversent”
