English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
My brother, the writer Felix Sánchez has decided to go public with his resignation from UNEAC (Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba), which he submitted in early November last year. Everything indicates that it became effective, although no one will contact him. In an email circulated recently, he said: “To whom it may concern: … Continue reading “The Writer Felix Sánchez Resigns from UNEAC / Francis Sánchez”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 7 February 2024 — No one is stupider than the idiot who thinks he is an intellectual, myself included. When I started becoming politically active, I arrogantly believed that, where others had failed, I would succeed. I thought that the higher the collective IQ a movement had, the better its … Continue reading “Our Intellectual Stupidity”
14ymedio, Madrid, February 5, 2024 — The poet and journalist Tania Díaz Castro passed away this Sunday in Havana, at the age of 84, according to Periódico Cubano, which does not specify the cause. The independent newspaper CubaNet, where she has worked since 1998, does not offer more details about the circumstances of her death. … Continue reading “Tania Diaz Castro, an Official Journalist Before Becoming a Pioneer of Free Journalism, Has Passed Away”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 10 January 2024 — These days the dismissal of Fernando Rojas, the vice minister of Culture, has been in the news. There are many who have publicly celebrated the end of the career of one of the cultural commissioners who arouses the most antipathy. There have also been many, too … Continue reading “Cuba: Good Bye, Fernando”
14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, January 6, 2024 — “Down with the apolitical writers! Down with the supermen of literature!” “Their original sin: they are not authentically revolutionary.” “Outside the Revolution, no rights.” The law of eternal return presides over the tension between the intellectuals and communism. Guevara repeats Castro, and Castro repeats Stalin or Mao. … Continue reading “‘Writers and Artists Under Communism’, a Chronicle About the Cuban Government’s Hatred of Culture”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 October 2023 — Cuba’s officialdom celebrates the Day of Cuban Culture by declaring the existence of a new enemy: the “cultural colonization” promoted by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The oxygen that the “new economic actors” have given to the sector contrasts with the situation that – not without reluctance – … Continue reading “In Cuba, Official Culture Loses Ground in the Face of Dynamic Private Offerings”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 June 2023 — More than a hundred Cuban filmmakers expressed their disagreement with the authorities about the decisions made with a documentary about the Argentine singer Fito Páez and his relationship with the Island. The creators, grouped in the Assembly of Cuban Filmmakers — which includes the prestigious director Fernando Pérez and … Continue reading “Cuban Filmmakers Meet To Express Their Disagreements With the Cultural Authorities”
14ymedio, Havana, 30 May 2023 — The denunciation of numerous intellectuals against Nancy Morejón — headed by the Cuban Jacobo Machover — has achieved its objective: the organizers of the Paris Poetry Market, a prestigious literary event held annually since 1983 in the French capital, will withdraw the official writer’s status as honorary president, although she will continue … Continue reading “Cuban Writer Nancy Morejon Withdraws as Honorary President of the Poetry Festival in Paris”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 May 2023 — The Cuban writer Jacobo Machover criticized the election of the official poet Nancy Morejón as honorary president of the Poetry Market, an important literary event held annually in Paris since 1983. Through a review of the history of support for the regime that has characterized Morejón, the professor also … Continue reading “The Choice of the Official Cuban Writer Nancy Morejon To Preside Over the Poetry Market Is Criticized”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 18 May 2023 — Cuban authorities said Thursday that the cancellation of three concerts in Spain by the musical duo Buena Fe, a group close to government and party circles, was due to “harassment” and media “campaigns” against them. The president of the Cuban Institute of Music, Indira Fajardo, described the … Continue reading “Cuban Government Denounces ‘Cowardly, Fascist-Like Acts’ Against the Duo Buena Fe in Spain”
14ymedio, Havana, April 13, 2023 — Cuban writer, journalist and publisher Eduardo Heras León, National Prize for Literature in 2014, passed away this Thursday in Havana at the age of 82. Founder of the Onelio Jorge Cardoso Literary Training Center, he was one of the intellectuals “parameterized”* during the so-called Grey Quinquennium, the Five Grey … Continue reading “Cuban Writer Eduardo Heras Leon, ‘Counterrevolutionary’ and Loyal to Fidel Castro, Dies”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 March 2023 — “Obviously, someone gave an order to go after the talent agencies,” says Ofelia, a Havana singer for whom the pandemic was a turning point in her career. It happened the moment she went onstage, she tells 14ymedio. It was the first time one of her appearances had not been … Continue reading “Cuban Musicians Are Victims of Corrupt State Talent Agencies”
14ymedio, Havana, 31 January 2023 — Cuban writer and editor Teresa Melo, 61, died this Monday in Santiago de Cuba of a heart attack, as confirmed by 14ymedio with sources close to the poet. The announcement of her death in Cubadebate was accompanied by a brief biographical note where she is described as “one of … Continue reading “Poet and Official Loyal to the Cuban Regime, Teresa Melo Dies at the Age of 61”
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 9 November 2022 — To the grave situation in the sectors of economy, food, finance, energy, politics, social justice, migration and health — all from which Cuba is suffering — we may add a new crisis that could deliver the final death blow to a fading, crumbling model. Because if … Continue reading “The Culture Crisis of the Cuban Revolution”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 October 2022 — The plastic artist Juan Moreira, known for being the first Cuban painter to illustrate Don Quijote de la Mancha in a Cuban edition, died this Monday in Havana at the age of 83, the Ministry of Culture confirmed to official media. Born in Havana in 1938, he assisted the … Continue reading “Cuban Painter Juan Moreira, Illustrator of Don Quixote, Dies”
