Search results for: Eusebio Leal

Lobster and Bread Are ‘Affected,’ the Formula To Tell Tourists in Cuba ‘We Don’t Have Any’

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, February 22, 2024, Juan Diego Rodríguez  — Old newspaper presses, paper cutters, cast iron poles and typographical motifs on the walls in the La Imprenta (The Printing Press) restaurant located at Mercaderes 208 in Old Havana, show the stamp of the late Eusebio Leal. The Historian of the City did … Continue reading “Lobster and Bread Are ‘Affected,’ the Formula To Tell Tourists in Cuba ‘We Don’t Have Any’”

Crumbling like the Rest of Cuba, Havana’s Chinatown Reluctantly Ushers in the Year of the Dragon

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 10 February 2024 — The Confucius statue in Havana’s Chinatown did not start off the Year of the Dragon on the right foot. Sitting this Saturday morning on benches in a park dedicated to the wise man were a beggar, a woman trying to get past the glitches in the … Continue reading “Crumbling like the Rest of Cuba, Havana’s Chinatown Reluctantly Ushers in the Year of the Dragon”

For the Scavengers, the Building Collapses in Havana Are Good News

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, January 24, 2024 — The scavengers of Havana are happy. A mass of debris, bricks, iron and garbage has extended, since Monday, in the area of the facade of the old Vía Blanca hotel at 505 Zulueta Street. It took three months since this newspaper’s last visit to the property … Continue reading “For the Scavengers, the Building Collapses in Havana Are Good News”

The Shark… and Chicken instead of Fish

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, January 17, 2024 — The Cuban president with the biggest monument is perhaps Jose Miguel Gomez. In 2012, controversy arose over whether it was appropriate to preserve or demolish the gigantic sculptural complex at G and 29th streets in Havana. It all started with a song by the group Obsesión. … Continue reading “The Shark… and Chicken instead of Fish”

Fire in the Forge

14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 14 December 2023 — Two speeches, completely opposed, have marked these days of the film festival in Havana. On the one hand, we have the inaugural words of Alexis Triana, the appointed official at the head of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC). On the other, those … Continue reading “Fire in the Forge”

Two Buildings Renovated with Saudi Money Now Occupied by Friends of the Cuban Regime

14ymedio, Nelson García and Olea Gallardo, Havana, 22 November 2023 — Judging from the buildings at 202 Obispo Street and 653 Cuba Street in Old Havana, one would never guess it has been sixty-five years since the Cuban revolution. Neat and tidy, with smooth walls and new paint, the buildings — recently renovated with Saudi … Continue reading “Two Buildings Renovated with Saudi Money Now Occupied by Friends of the Cuban Regime”

‘What He Wants is Green,’ Not Cuban Pesos

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 10 November 2023 —  The sullen face, the revolver in his belt and a straw sombrero converted into a tricorn hat: the living statue of the pirate on Calle de los Oficios does not need to set up an ambush to fill his chest. The one dollar bill that he carries … Continue reading “‘What He Wants is Green,’ Not Cuban Pesos”

Little Remains of the Bright Screens that Celebrated Havana’s 500th Anniversary

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 8 November 2023 – It’s not as if the brightly lit screens located in various parts of Havana for its 500th anniversary in 2019 were of much use to anyone. Apart from the few messages that did have any use – those about traffic, cultural events, or Covid – most … Continue reading “Little Remains of the Bright Screens that Celebrated Havana’s 500th Anniversary”

The ‘Castle’ of the Cortinas in Havana, Converted Into a Military Zone and a Beggars’ Refuge

14ymedio, Nelson García/Juan Izquierdo, Havana, October 23, 2023 — No one enters the ruins of the La Luisa farm, in the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, with good intentions. Where one of the most powerful families in Cuba once lived, now only beggars dare to sleep, surrounded by walls full of graffiti and vines. The … Continue reading “The ‘Castle’ of the Cortinas in Havana, Converted Into a Military Zone and a Beggars’ Refuge”

The Eyes that Saw You Go

14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 24 September, 2023 — From a distance, it looks like a cork split in two. On closer inspection, it could be a piece of furniture found in some minimalist or ethnic furniture catalogue, a tribal artifact. In any case, nothing of value, nothing worth going to war over or making a … Continue reading “The Eyes that Saw You Go”

Facing the Dragones Police Station Is a Nest of Thugs in the Ruins of Zulueta 505

14ymedio, Nelson García/Juan Izquierdo, Havana, September 21, 2023 — Due to the magnitude of the damage and the lack of effort of the authorities to mitigate it, many buildings in Havana agree with Carpentier.* The “city of the columns” is barely left, with structures in ruin, paint chipped by moisture and vines invading arches and … Continue reading “Facing the Dragones Police Station Is a Nest of Thugs in the Ruins of Zulueta 505”

The Cuban Regime Hijacked the Academy of Languages for Critcising Daniel Ortega

Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 15 May 2023 – On 20 June 2022, the Cuban Language Academy (ACuL) sent out a laconic message: the poet Roberto Méndez, who should have led the institution until 2026, gave up his post “for health reasons”. His successor would be the essayist Jorge Fornet, the then vice-director and one of the … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Hijacked the Academy of Languages for Critcising Daniel Ortega”

Sorolla, Hijacked in Havana

14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 14 April 2023 – After arduous negotiations with the government in Valencia over a period of seven years, Havana has given its reply: the paintings of Joaquín Sorolla, currently in the custody of the city’s Museum of Fine Art, and whose journey to Spain for the centenary of the death of … Continue reading “Sorolla, Hijacked in Havana”

Cuba’s Unusual Procession of Little Pioneers With the Silver Maces of the Old Cabildo of Havana

14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, November 16, 2022 — A strange mixture of rites, which have become commonplace in recent years, came together on Tuesday night at the ceremony held at the founding site of Havana, the Ceiba de El Templete, on the eve of its 503rd anniversary. It was attended by the highest authorities of civil … Continue reading “Cuba’s Unusual Procession of Little Pioneers With the Silver Maces of the Old Cabildo of Havana”

‘Let’s See if They Are Going to Fix Our Houses’ With the Millions from the Restoration of the Santa Clara Convent

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 21 September 2022 — Julita is 57 years old and sells avocados next to the Santa Clara de Asís Convent, the oldest cloister in Havana which is in the middle of a capital restoration to return it to its former splendor. A few meters from its painted yellow walls the … Continue reading “‘Let’s See if They Are Going to Fix Our Houses’ With the Millions from the Restoration of the Santa Clara Convent”