English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Angel Santiesteban talks with Amir Valle about personal experiences that marked their lives. By Ángel Santiesteban Prats, 9 July 2015 Angel Santiesteban: Amir, we are about to celebrate thirty years since the beginning of our friendship, when back in the mid-eighties, at the Alejo Carpentier Center in Havana, they held National Seminar for Young Storywriters, … Continue reading “AMIR VALLE: The Early Writer / Angel Santiesteban”
Dimas Castellano, Havana, 17 September 2015 — 120 years ago, between 13th and 18th September 1895, twenty delegates selected from the five corps that the Libertador’s Army was divided into, and formed into a Constituent Assembly, promulgated the Constitution of Jimaguayú. This Constitution, different from others in that it wasn’t structured in three parts — … Continue reading “How Does History Help Us? / Dimas Castellano”
The pernicious, failed, and pathetic ideologues of the Cuban totalitarian regime want you to believe that they should never have been on the “list of state sponsors of terrorism.” Never mind that it’s true, or that there is evidence that proves their constant support, military provisioning and training to all the guerrillas created in the … Continue reading “State Sponsors of Forgetfulness / Angel Santiesteban”
The sixth WHAT? People wondered when his graffiti started appearing around the city. And then it was more than a signature. But the irreverence is unforgiven. State Security is not about to understand this punk aesthetic, much less the art of graffiti. The forces of order are too serious. For them, Danilo Maldonado, alias “El … Continue reading “El Sexto, Artist Non Grata / Maria Matienzo Puerto, Danilo Maldonado”
“Without a strong union there will be no economy,” said Salvador Valdes Mesa, vice president of the Council of State and member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) in the recently concluded plenary session of the National Union of Sugar Workers. An approach which clearly expresses the vision of unions as … Continue reading “Are There Unions in Cuba? / Dimas Castellanos”
Angel’s family wants to inform the international community where we stand as of tonight April 12, 2013. Last week, the regime tried to hide Angel in the Salvador Allende military hospital with the excuse of a dermatological treatment he is receiving, to avoid his having access to talk to the Commission of National and International … Continue reading “Report Following Visit to Angel Santiesteban-Prats in Prison (Updated)”
Angel’s family wants to inform the international community where we stand as of tonight April 12, 2013. Last week, the regime tried to hide Angel in the Salvador Allende military hospital with the excuse of a dermatological treatment he is receiving, to avoid his having access to talk to the Commission of National and International … Continue reading “Official statement on the irregular situation of Angel Santiesteban-Prats”
A February 24th with young talent, a breath of fresh air. Yesterday Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power ended its session, a session where new appointments were made: Homero Acosta as secretary of the Council of State; Gladys Bejerano as vice president of the Council; José Ramón Machado Ventura as controller general; Ramiro Valdés Menéndez; … Continue reading “Castro’s Moves: A Light, Tenuous, at the End of the Tunnel / Juan Juan Almeida”
This Sunday, September 30th, the newspaperTribuna de la Habana, the “official publication of the provincial party committee,” printed a small notice on the second page that got me thinking. I took a photo with my cell phone and, due to the poor quality of the image, have transcribed this senseless article as follows: Mass Sterilization … Continue reading “Human Cats / Rosa Maria Rodriguez Torrado”
Interview of Salvador Bueno (fragment*) I met him in 1998. That year, on October 12, he received the “José Vasconcelos” prize in a ceremony at the National Hotel in Havana. The gold medal, conferred by the Hispanic Affirmation Front (HAF) to intellectuals of the Castillian language for lifetime achievement, had already gone to figures of … Continue reading “Salvador, a Seat Occupied in Cuban Literature / Francis Sánchez”
Photo: Luis Felipe Rojas Once more I made the journey from Havana to Santiago de Cuba in a glistening Yutong made-in-China bus, which doesn’t belong to us Cubans, but rather to those “embattled workers” of the capitalist world who come to spend the summer in Cuba. It was the Transgaviota busline, a tourist emporium that … Continue reading “Democracy and Subversion on the Bus / Luis Felipe Rojas”
14ymedio, Havana, 15 April 2024 — The failure of the Cuban national softball team in the Pan American Tournament of Sincelejo, Colombia, and in the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, where it did not win medals, will have consequences. “We will take action,” the National Softball Commissioner, Maikel Ibargüen Shue, journalist Guillermo … Continue reading “Cuba Fails in Pan American Softball With a Team of Veterans”
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”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 December 2023 — Six medalists were part of the group of 77 athletes in international events who decided to break with Cuban sports in 2023. On the list, published by Cubalite, is Yoenlis Hernández Feliciano, double world champion in boxing in the 165-pound category. There is also the judoka Arnaes Odelín, winner … Continue reading “Six Cuban Medalists Are Among the 77 Athletes Recorded as Leaving Cuba This Year”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 October 2023 — With a delegation diminished by desertions and with few renowned athletes, the Cuban authorities did not dare to predict more than 18 gold medals for these Pan American Games in Chile. Much less was it imagined that, a few days after the start of the sporting event, the athletes … Continue reading “The Cuban Rowing Team Wins Gold in Chile, Despite Multiple ‘Desertions’”
