English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
I saw him. I’m sure it was him. He didn’t recognize me, absorbed in himself as he was, sitting in a bar on Belascoaín Street, listening to Olga Guillot on a decrepit RCA Victrola. It was four in the afternoon on September 8th. A desert sun seemed like it was going to melt the Havana … Continue reading “On the Virgin’s Day, The Poet Was Listening to Boleros / Iván García”
The gala included a wide repertoire of ballads, boleros, romantic and traditional music, as well as songs in English, the language that makes officials nervous. 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 16 November 2024 – On Friday night, Havana had a respite from its long decline. In the Plaza de Armas, a few meters from the point … Continue reading “Battered by Exodus and Crisis, Havana Takes Refuge “Behind the Wall” To Celebrate Its 505th Anniversary”
This Saturday, at the Ermita de la Caridad in Miami, Cubans commemorated the 30th anniversary of the barbaric act 14ymedio, Jose Antonio Garcia Molina, Miami, 14 July 2024 — A dozen white crosses with images of children’s faces commemorated the children who died in the sinking of the 13 de Marzo tugboat. The commemoration of … Continue reading “‘Castro, Do You Know These Children?’ The Cry of the Relatives of the ‘13 de Marzo’ Tugboat Victims”
14ymedio, 26 March 2024 Havana — Several churches will see their Holy Week celebrations scaled back because the Cuban Communist Party is not issuing permits for street processions. Sources within the Catholic Church have informed 14ymedio that celebrations in at least two parishes in Villa Clara province have been suspended, while other members of the … Continue reading “Cuba’s Communist Party Forbids Holy Week Processions”
14ymedio, Madrid, Juan Ramos, 25 March 2024 — Rumors about the suspension of Holy Week processions in the diocese of Bayamo-Manzanillo, in Granma province, are true, as confirmed to 14ymedio by a priest who asked to remain anonymous. “The Government does not want people on the street for fear of possible demonstrations. That has obliged … Continue reading “Outrage in Manzanillo Over the Prohibition of Holy Week Processions”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 26 October 2023 — Cachita, the sea is beautiful, and the wind arrives somewhat autumnal this October in Havana. Dressed in yellow, the doll that represents the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, patron saint of Cuba, remained this Thursday on the marble of a bench in the Parque de La Fraternidad, … Continue reading “Cachita, the Sea Is Beautiful, and the Wind…”
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”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 19 July 2021 — In his Sunday homily, Dionisio García – archbishop of the easternmost diocese of Santiago de Cuba – pleaded for the resolution of differences on the Island through peaceful means, and “never with violence and intolerance.” “In the midst of the difficulties, the protests, the demonstrations of recent … Continue reading “The Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba Pleads for Non-Violent Resolution of Differences”
14ymedio, Havana, 7 September 2019 — The headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu) in Santiago de Cuba was assaulted by police at dawn on Saturday, according to Martha Beatriz Ferrer, daughter of opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, who reported it on her Facebook account. “They arrested 24 people. My father was forcibly prevented from leaving … Continue reading “Police Assault National Unpacu Headquarters in Santiago de Cuba”
To Raúl Castro Ruz on the 20th anniversary of the Mass for the Homeland celebrated by Saint John Paul II and the words of Bishop Pedro Meurice at Antonio Maceo Plaza in Santiago de Cuba, on January 24, 1998. On the first of January, the 59th anniversary of the triumph of a Revolution was commemorated. A … Continue reading “Letter to Raul Castro from Three Cuban Priests”
Ivan Garcia, 18 December 2017 — On the night of Thursday, 14 December at night, after fifteen hours on the road under a copious downpour, from Sagua de Tánamo, in Holguín, province 530 miles northwest of Havana, in an old General Motors truck from the 1950s, Erasmus and his wife arrived in Havana ready to fulfill … Continue reading “Cuba: The Devotion to Saint Lazarus / Iván García”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 4 November 2017 — The Catholic priest José Conrado Rodríguez, parish priest of the church of San Francisco de Paula in Trinidad, visited Miami last week to present his book Dreams and Nightmares of a Priest in Cuba. On the way to Miami’s Ermita de la Caridad, where he planned to offer … Continue reading “Obama Made The Mistake Of “Giving In Without Demanding,” Regrets Father Conrado”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 October 2017 — A brief communiqué issued Sunday by the Dignity Movement demands for its activists “the citizen’s right to exercise freedom of movement and communication,” following several arrests during this weekend in Palmarito del Cauto, in the province of Santiago de Cuba. The activist Belkis Cantillo, leader of the Dignity Movement, … Continue reading “Dignity Movement Activists Denounce “Repression And Arbitrary Arrests””
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 9 September 2017 — While the winds were pummeling the eastern and central parts of the island, thousands of faithful devotees gathered this Friday in Havana to participate in the procession for the Virgin of the Charity of Cobre, Cuba’s Patron Saint, which is celebrated every 8th September. To the traditional requests … Continue reading “Cubans Ask Cachita To “Take Pity” On The Island”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 23 January 2017 — The leader of the Dignity Movement, Belkis Cantillo, who was arrested last Thursday was released Monday afternoon, as confirmed to 14ymedio by Moraima Diaz, an activist of the same movement. Shortly after being released, in a telephone conversation with this newspaper, Cantillo explained that she was given a warning … Continue reading “Belkis Cantillo, Leader Of The Dignity Movement Released / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar”