English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Somos+, Germán M. González, 11 November 2018 Absolute power equals absolute responsibility: the socio-economic situation of the country is disastrous, party & government admits it: Who will answer for that? In the final days of this October, several references to the subject of housing appeared in the official Cuban media. Published first is that Pinar … Continue reading “Housing In Cuba / Somos+, German Gonzalez”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 19 April 2017 – When the wind blows, the odor of burning overwhelms the town of El Guay, in the municipality of Mella (Santiago de Cuba). It is an odor that sticks to clothes, hair and food. Last Sunday a downpour put out the forest fire that burned 5,000 hectares in … Continue reading “Residents Thank The Rain That Put Out The Year’s Biggest Fire”
Periodismo de Barrio, 16 October 2016 – On 11 October 2016, six members of our Periodismo de Barrio (Neighborhood Journalism) team and two collaborators were arrested in the town of Baracoa, Guantanamo province. We were not arrested for smiling. Nor we were arrested for taking a photo in the state café at the viewpoint from El Gobernadora … Continue reading “Who Has The Right to Tell a Country’s Stories? All Its Citizens / Periodismo de Barrio”
Juan Juan Almeida, 6 October 2016 — Santiago de Cuba is, as Cuba’s ruling class puts it, a big headache. Disasters and conflicts are music to the ears of politicians. And a very destructive Hurricane Matthew presented Raul Castro with an excellent opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: He could correct an old mistake … Continue reading “Raul Castro in Santiago de Cuba Because of Matthew? / Juan Juan Almeida”
Regina Coyula, 5 February 2016 — With a low media profile, sidestepping the incomprehension of establishment colleagues and the suspicions of the independent press, Periodismo de Barrio has begun its journey. Meanwhile, journalism-in-praise-of-the-government on one side and of-criticisms on the other, has appeared in this digital space that in its almost monographic issues has given … Continue reading ““Periodismo de Barrio” (Neighborhood Journalism) / Regina Coyula”
14ymedio, Rosa Lopez, Santiago de Cuba, 8 August 2015 — “If Cuba is the key to the Gulf of Mexico, than this is the key to Santiago de Cuba,” asserts Gaspar, who lives on Cayo Granma, and swears that he has not crossed the narrows separating him from the city in many years. Gaspar thought … Continue reading “Cayo Granma’s Golden Dreams / 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez”
14ymedio, Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, Santiago, 23 July 2015 – The builders hurry to give the last touches to building projects, and the communal brigades obsessively clean the streets. A few days before the celebration of its fifth centennial, the city of Santiago is bustling. The imminent arrival of the delegations to the ceremony for the … Continue reading “Santiago Hides Its Indigents / 14ymedio, Yosmany Mayeta Labrada”
14ymedio, Yosmany Mayeya Labrada, Santiago de Cuba, 28 April 2015 — The 24th edition of the Santiago of Cuba Book Fair did not meet official forecasts, nor was it up to the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the city. In the event, which closed its doors last Sunday after five days of … Continue reading “Book Fair Falls Short of Expectations / 14ymedio, Yosmany Mayeya Labrada”
Five hours of traveling to Santiago de Cuba. It’s still early but it’s already hot. I love Santiago. I realize that it is a city with its own personality and pulse. Music plays loudly, the women seem to wear a smaller size than they need, no one is in a hurry, everyone knows each other, … Continue reading “Postcard From a Journey (2) / Regina Coyula”
From 1962-1970 the suicide rate on the island ranged between 10.5 and 12.6 per 100,000 inhabitants. Back in the 80s, the rate of self-destruction among Cubans exceeded 21 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the PanAmerican Health Organization, Cuba has the highest suicide rate in the hemisphere, with 18.1 per 100,000 population, followed by Uruguay … Continue reading “Suicide in Cuba: A Drama Without Repercussions”
HAVANA, Cuba, October, www.cubanet.org – Recently returned from the Republic of Angola where she served as a volunteer, an official still can’t hide her astonishment while telling her story. I’ll call her Mireya because she asked me not to reveal her real name. She is fifty years old. Thirty-two years ago she gave herself to … Continue reading “Angola Volunteer Scammed / Frank Correa”
LA HAVANA, Cuba, September, www.cubanet.org — A new program recently started on television at the end of the newscast at 8 pm. It is named “Cuba says” and is listed as an investigative journalism program. There have been four broadcasts, Tuesdays and Fridays, with the objective of “criticizing” bad deeds. On two of the broadcasts … Continue reading “The Fault Always Lies With the People, or the United States / Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello”
HAVANA, Cuba , September, www.cubanet.org – For ten years, the issue of housing has topped Cuba’s social problems. The state, unable to meet demand in the medium and long term, commits to offering its abandoned and unrepairable properties. Families of victims, calling on their meager resources and their own efforts, are divided out among warehouses, … Continue reading “Living in a Shelter Comes to Seem Normal / Odelin Alfonso Torna”
Bishop Siro and Father Conrado The first time I heard Father José Conrado Rodríguez, on a visit he made to Havana, I was among those at the back of the huge crowd surrounding him, hanging on to every word he said. To be honest, I must I hung back, because I didn’t know his greatness. … Continue reading “Prison Diary LIII: The Cardinal Cuba Needs / Angel Santiesteban”
HAVANA, Cuba, July 26, 2013, www.cubanet.org.- Like every five years, the most important celebration of the revolutionary calendar, the assault on the Guillermón Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba on 26 July 1953, returned to the most Caribbean of our cities. The protocols and extreme security measures that accompany Raul Castro Ruz looked ridiculous in … Continue reading “Santiago on July 26: The Santiaguans Have Nothing to Celebrate / Aleaga Pesant”
