English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 4 June 2020 — The most notorious failures of that process called the Cuban Revolution are two: failing to satisfy the material needs of the population and failing to form the “New Man.” At least that is the result of the testimonies collected in The Cuban Theory of the Perfect Society, … Continue reading “The Cuban Theory of the Perfect Society”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 29 March 2020 — The phone rang early this Sunday and I came back from a dream. I was sheltering in a parallel reality and the ringer brought me back. On the other end of the line, a Cienfuegos inmate was reeling off his troubles. He has been sentenced to four … Continue reading “Day 9 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana 20 October 2016 — Chinese, Italian or international food fill the menus of Cuban paladares, but lately fear has starred as the main dish on the menu of these private restaurants. The jewel in the crown of entrepreneurship on the island is experiencing moments of uncertainty after the government froze the … Continue reading “Cuba’s Private Restaurant Owners are Worried / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar”
14ymedio, Orlando Palma, Havana, 29 October 2015 — “For me, no one can get me to quit this bad habit, I’ve tried vegetables and beans,” intones the troubadour Ray Fernandez in one of his songs. The main character in this song is named Butcher, and he spent ten years in prison for the theft and … Continue reading “Carcinogenic or not, Cubans Want Red Meat / 14ymedio, Orlando Palma”
14ymedio, Jose Quintana de la Cruz, Pinar del Rio, 31 August 2015 – Cattle ranching in Cuba touched bottom in 1999, but it had started its decline in 1970. That year’s effort to produce 10 million tons of sugar was the focus of attention and resources for the entire nation. Such a disproportion was detrimental … Continue reading “Less Milk and Less Beef / 14ymedio, Jose Quintana de la Cruz”
Cubanet.org, Roberto Jesus Quinones Haces, Guantanamo, 12 June 2015 – Among the list of prohibitions imposed on Cubans from 1959 until today is freely fishing, having a boat and wandering around the island or giving our children an education in non-state schools, among others. Until recently it was forbidden to stay in a hotel, sell … Continue reading “Beef, Only for the Privileged / Cubanet, Roberto Jesús Quiñones Haces”
Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 5 May 2015 – For a long time the extraordinary, the unusual, was our hope. On this Island which must have been Atlantis, the reincarnation of Alexander the Great was born and there lived a cow who gave the most quarts of milk in the history of humanity. Like all … Continue reading “From “White Udder” to the seven-legged bull / Yoani Sanchez”
14ymedio, Orlando Palma, Villa Clara, 15 November 2014 – Around 7,000 head of beef cattle were presumed disappeared in the space of a year during a count carried out in ten cattle ranches in the province of Villa Clara, according to a report by the newspaper Juventud Rebelde. The inspection, carried out by the province’s … Continue reading “Some Seven Thousand Cows ‘Disappear” in Villa Clara Province / 14ymedio, Orlando Palma”
The “National Defense Council” is, in exceptional situations, the highest institution of power. Whenever it meets, it is charged with internal order, security, foreign policy, military forces, plus all the economic, legal and social activity of the country. So it is logical to understand why the luggage of the Cuban leaders are filled with reserves … Continue reading “Cuba: National Security and Defense of Cattle / Juan Juan Almeida”
With a speech that lasted 35 minutes, Commander in Chief Raúl Castro destroyed the very last traces of the New Man that would complete the 1959 Castroist revolution. In doing so he created a paradox in which a leader accused the masses of living without moral and civic values: Without honesty or decency or shame … Continue reading “Castro vs. the Cuban People: Where was the President? / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
Young man sentenced to 10 years for “illegal slaughter of cattle” based solely on evidence from a dog, granted new trial. By Yaremis Flores Carlos Raul Concepcion Rangel, Deputy Attorney General of the Republic of Cuba, asked the Supreme Court to review the penalty of 10 years imprisonment imposed on Michel Martinez Perez. The common … Continue reading “Deputy Attorney General of Cuba Questions the Conviction of Inmate Michel Martinez Perez / Yaremis Flores / Laritza Diversent”
For years I’ve heard the popular saying that initially provoked skepticism and today, after learning something about the law, makes me uncomfortable. Surely almost all of us have heard it, and many have said it. It’s said that, under the Law, someone who kills a cow is more severely published than someone who takes the … Continue reading “Is Killing a Cow Worse than Murder? / Miguel Iturria Medina #Cuba”
“The responsibility of Cuban writers, more than ever, is to protest, to make their disagreements public.” For more than a decade, starting with invisible struggles that happened during literary events that were taking place in Cuban literature in the 90’s, the name of Angel Santiesteban was mentioned several times, but always strangely linked to the … Continue reading “Interview of Cuban writer Ángel Santiesteban Prats by Amir Valle – Part 1 of 4”
The problem of cattle has been a major problem in Cuba, for decades. In 1958 Cuba was in fourth place worldwide in cattle per capita (six million head of cattle for six million five hundred thousand inhabitants, for a 0.90), surpassed only by Uruguay (3.01), Argentina (2.39) and Brazil (1.01) — as a matter of … Continue reading “The Reasons for One Without Reasons / Fernando Dámaso”
A farmer friend of mine, whose name I will keep to myself, was rather confused and astonished by an article published in the newspaper Granma on 21 October of this year, which mentioned the notable decline in the livestock herds in our fields (22,980 head as of the end of August this year) due to … Continue reading “Neither Fat, Nor Skinny, Nor Crazy / Rebeca Monzo”
