English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 4 July 2022 — The feminist platforms YoSíTeCreo (YSTCC — I Do Believe You) in Cuba and the Observatory of the Alas Tensas magazine reported on a sexist murder in the eastern province of Holguín, bringing the total to four femicides documented in the last week, although they occurred on different … Continue reading “Independent Cuban Feminists Confirm Four Sexist Murders in the Last Week”
Rachel Cruz/14ymedio, Madrid, 2 June 2022 — The feminist Observatories of Alas Tensas (OGAT) and of Yo Sí Te Creo in Cuba have begun to include cases of “vicarious femicide” in their records of victims of sexist violence, a methodology that is applied in Spain and with which they intend to make visible the lack of … Continue reading “Cuban Independent Observatories Will Record ‘Vicarious Femicides’”
14ymedio, Havana, 17 May 2022 — The latest confirmed femicide on the Island, the eleventh so far in 2022, shows unusual cruelty. As denounced on Monday by the Red Femenina de Cuba [Cuban Women’s Network] the young Yusleidy Aguilera Fernández, 21 years old and with two small children, was viciously stabbed to death and had her … Continue reading “Stabbed and Mutilated, the Latest Femicide in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 March 2022 — The Cuban Women’s Network has denounced this Tuesday the murder of a woman, allegedly at the hands of her partner, four days ago in Cárdenas, Matanzas. The young woman, whose name has not been provided, was 24 years old and died after being shot by a hunting shotgun, which … Continue reading “Cuban Association of Women Denounces Two Femicides, in Cardenas and Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 January 2021 — Misladis Carmenates Hidalgo, about 43 years old, was murdered by her partner on January 6 at her residence located in the Albaisa neighborhood, on the outskirts of the city of Camagüey. “Before the slaughter she suffered eleven stab wounds, before the murdered escaped,” the independent newspaper La Hora de Cuba reported … Continue reading “Cuba: Three Women from Najasa, Camaguey, Have Been Murdered in Four Months”
14ymedio, Havana, 4 January 2022 — A mother of two grown children, Maylén Guerra García, who worked as a custodian at the Chiquitico Fabregat sugar refinery, in Remedios (Villa Clara), was murdered by her partner on January 2, according to information published by Alas Tensas magazine. It is the first femicide of the year registered on the Island. … Continue reading “Neighbors Talk About ‘Antecedents of Sexist Violence’ Against Murdered Woman in Cuba”
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 4 August 2021 — Institutional neglect and violence are two scourges that many Cuban women suffer, but not only this, they also cry out for democracy, freedom and human rights. It is something that is increasingly seen in citizen protests, as several organizations have accredited. “When women in Cuba protest the social conditions … Continue reading “Cuban Police Blackmails Mothers by Detaining their Children if They Go Out on the Street”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Generation Y, Havana, 8 December 2019 — A few days ago, I took part in an exchange of ideas on the social network Facebook after a Cuban journalist asked about the opposition’s proposals and programs. I responded with some basic clarifications to understand what is happening on this Island outside government and state … Continue reading “Civil Society in Cuba is Diverse, Beyond the Control of the Government”
14ymedio, Havana, 7 October 2019 — For the second time in less than a month the independent press of Cuba has united in a complaint. This time it is a declaration signed by almost twenty digital publications and in which they denounce the repression against reporters while demanding respect and protection for the exercise of … Continue reading “A New Declaration Calls on Cuban Government to Respect Press Freedom”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 August 2018 — Two weeks ago, Ileana Álvarez and her husband Francis Sánchez went into exile in Spain. Both are known for their prolific work as poets, writers and essayists. They decided to leave the country, along with their youngest son, due to the “pressures and threats” to which they were subjected by the authorities. … Continue reading “"Resisting For the Sake of Resisting Makes No Sense"”
Veronica Vega, Alas Tensas, 5 July 2018 — Billie Jean King is a former American tennis player. She is among the greatest in the world sports and is a recognized activist for the defense of LGBT rights in the United States. In 1973, she threatened to boycott the Tennis US Open if the women did not receive the … Continue reading “The Battle For Life / Veronica Vega”
Alas Tensas, Masiel Mateos, 6 May 2018 – Twenty-six years ago, when books cost barely two modest pesos in national currency, I acquired the book On the Surface, a novel by Margaret Atwood, then unknown in Cuba. The recommendation did not come from a bookseller, nor from a writer, much less a publisher or a promoter; but … Continue reading “Margaret Atwood, On The Surface Of The Word”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 May 2018 — An editorial published this Wednesday in the independent magazine Alas Tensas denounces the sequence of attacks by State Security on members of its editorial team in recent months. Pressures that seek to make the “self-proclaimed feminist media disappear.” We have been subjected to “systematic harassment and attacks over the last two months,” says the … Continue reading “"We Have Committed the ’Sin’ of Showing That in Cuba There Are Also Women Who are Killed by Sexist Violence"”
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”
Alas Tensas/Tremenda Notas, Ileana Alvarez, 6 April 2018 — Fixing something in Cuba is difficult. You know you can’t throw anything away because tomorrow you may need it. As the days pass you are filling your room or drawers with these castoffs. Until the moment comes when need impels you to try to fix what is broken, … Continue reading “Woman Watchmaker, Yes, Why Not / Ileana Álvarez”
