English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Madrid, Havana, 19 October 2022 — Cuban journalist Luz Escobar, member of the editorial staff of 14ymedio and winner of the Press Freedom Award of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, declared on Wednesday night that, thanks to independent reporters, Cuba has “its own voice.” The award ceremony of the XX International Journalism Awards, chaired … Continue reading “‘Thanks to Independent Reporters, Cuba Now Has Its Own Voice’”
14ymedio, Madrid, 6 September 2022 — The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), is one of the winners of the Impact awards of the Prince Claus Foundation in the Netherlands, which every two years recognizes cultural professionals around the world, not only for their work but for their “positive … Continue reading “Cuban Otero Alcantara Wins the Impact Award from the Dutch Prince Claus Foundation”
14ymedio, Madrid, 30 May 2021 — On Monday, May 30th, an impenetrable operation guarded the Tribunal in Marianao in Havana, where the first day of the trial was held for Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Osorbo. Some witnesses who were able to attend the oral arguments relayed to 14ymedio that, based on the behavior of the Tribunal and … Continue reading “Arrests and Threats for Cuban Activists During the Trial of Alcantara and Osorbo”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 March 2022 — Dutchman Bastiaan Engelhard has been awarded the Prize for Diplomacy Committed to Human Rights in Cuba, which is awarded every year by the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (Cadal). The news was made public this Friday by the organization, which with this award aims to … Continue reading “Dutch Diplomat Bastiaan Engelhard Awarded for his Support for Freedom in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 15 September 2021 — On September 9, Boston Cardinal-Archbishop Sean Patrick O’Malley asked President Miguel Diaz-Canel to pardon demonstrators who participated in the July 11 protests in Cuba. The request was specifically for those who had protested peacefully. Authorities responded by defending their position, claiming once again that those who were arrested are being … Continue reading “Boston Cardinal Quarantines for Barely Six Hours After Visiting Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 September 2021 — Félix Navarro, a member of the Cuban opposition, “is very thin” and weighs about 60 kilograms (132 pounds) after going on a hunger strike in jail for almost three weeks, said the Bishop of Matanzas, Monsignor Manuel Hilario de Céspedes. The Bishop visited the former prisoner of the Black … Continue reading “Felix Navarro Remains on a Hunger Strike in Prison, Bishop of Matanzas Confirms”
14ymedio, Havana, July 19, 2021 — José Siro González Bacallao, bishop emeritus of Pinar del Río, died in that province at the age of 90. Among his works are the founding and sponsorship of the magazine Vitral, led by Dagoberto Valdés, a fact omitted from the communique issued by the diocese of Pinar del Río as … Continue reading “Jose Siro Gonzalez Bacallao, a Cuban Bishop ‘Close to His People’ Dies”
14ymedio, Dagoberto Valdés Hernández, Pinar del Río, 24 March 2021 — Young Karla María Pérez González could not enter Cuba, the country where she was born, grew up and attended school, because an authority left her stranded at the Panama airport and she had to return to Costa Rica, where she had gone to attend … Continue reading “We Are Cuban Forever”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 October 2019 — “We knew this was going to happen and it happened,” says Juan Moreno, leader of Candidates for Change, speaking about the election on Thursday for the upper echelons of Cuban power. If the results have met the expectations almost millimetrically, nor has the reaction of the opposition been new. The … Continue reading “For the Cuban Opposition the Elections Were a Pantomime”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 24 September 2019 — Carmelo Mesa-Lago is a known but enigmatic figure. An economist cited by both Tyrians and Trojans, with a father born in Guanabacoa and a mother from Regla, for decades we have seen him explain Cuba through his data and figures. Few know his informal, almost domestic side, in which … Continue reading “The Memoir of a Great Figure of the Cuban Exile”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, January 30, 2019 — First of all, I must confess: I don’t agree with any religion. I hardly have metaphysical doubts, which doesn’t even allow me to classify myself as an atheist. I have always believed that religions are a kind of discipline for the spirit and that mine is notoriously … Continue reading “The Obligations of the Church”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 21 March 2019 – The recent announcement by the US authorities of the cancellation of the five-year visas (B2) for Cubans, as of March 18, 2019, has fallen like a pitcher of ice water on those who have, so far, benefited from this type of visa that grants to those who … Continue reading “Cancellation of the B2 Visa: Another Parting of the Waters Between Cubans”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, February 26, 2019 — The preliminary results from the referendum on the new Constitution confirm what was expected: that the new Constitution was going to be approved by the majority and that the process was going to make clear the increase in citizen dissent by putting a number to that group … Continue reading “2.5 Million Cuban Voters Distance Themselves From the Constitution”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 September 2018 — The two main human rights organizations in Cuba published Monday their reports about repression during August. The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN), with headquarters in Cuba, puts the number of arbitrary political arrests at 219 in August. For the CCDHRN the most serious event last … Continue reading “Repression Does Not Rest in Summer”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, April 21, 2018 — Government opponents and human rights activists were not pleased with Miguel Díaz-Canel’s first speech as Cuba’s new president. Iliana Hernández, director of the independent program Lente Cuban (Cuban Lens) questions whether the Cuban people will accept Díaz-Canel as leader given that he was hand-picked by his predecessor. “On … Continue reading “Opponents Believe Older Generation’s Legacy Is Incompatible with Reform”
