English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 10 October 2021 — On October 10, the date on which the wars of independence began in Cuba in 1868, this Sunday, the island has faced a lackluster official celebration, police operations around the houses of activists, and cuts in the internet service. The 153rd anniversary of the start of that long ago … Continue reading “On October 10, Cuba is Living with Police Operations and Internet Cuts”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 28 September 2021 — Almost three weeks after the inauguration of La Case de las Conservas (The House of Preserves), the products that the store sells today are far from the presentation and quality of those initially praised by authorities and the official press at the opening of the establishment. This … Continue reading “The ‘House of Preserves’ Falls a Few Days After Opening”
14ymedio, Vicente Echerri, New York, 23 August 2021 — We are living in the aftermath of what happened in Cuba on July 11, when thousands of people, in more than forty cities and towns of the country, came out to protest against an asphyxiating dictatorship and to demand the freedom that they have lacked for … Continue reading “The Battle for Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, August 6, 2021 – Ariel González Falcón, one of the main promoters of the #SOSCuba label, has been forced to delete all messages tagged with that “call for help” after State Security detained him on Wednesday for about two hours in a police station where he was taken without a summons. The medical … Continue reading “The Cuban Police Intimidate Young People to Force Them to Delete Content on Their Social Networks”
14ymedio, Havana, July 12, 2021 — The opposition rapper Denis Solís was released from jail, according to confirmation today by his colleague Eliexer “El Funky” Márquez, after being imprisoned for eight months. According to the sentence he received, the activist should have been released on Friday, July 9, but that day State Security summoned the young … Continue reading “Opposition Cuban Rapper Denis Solis Leaves Prison”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 24 February 2021 — Since the Cuban Government released the news that Architecture is among the 124 activities that individuals are prohibited from engaging in privately, the profession has not stopped looking for spaces to express its discontent, sometimes from pessimism and disenchantment, other times from searching for solutions. After two … Continue reading “Architects Working ‘Under the Table’ are Called Party Decorators in Cuba”
Iván García, 7 December 2018 — Luis Manuel Otero, an independent artist, the day before his 31st birthday, walks hand in hand with his wife Yanelys Núñez, an art historian, aged 29, along a dark narrow street going to an art gallery in an old cinema which showed porn movies in the Chinese district in Havana. … Continue reading “Independent Cuban artists say NO to Decree 349 / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 5 July 2015 — “Everyone knows which teachers accept money,” a group of young people tells me. In fact, some not only accept, but clearly require it from students who know they would not be able to pass the exam on their own. The final days of the 2015-2016 school year … Continue reading “The Blackboard Mafia / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya”
One of the central figures of the Cuban opposition, who participated in the revolution before its ultimate victory but ended up being sentenced to 20 years in Castro’s prisons, was the independent economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, who died in Madrid. He recounts his life and ideas in this interview. Born in Cienfuegos on November 29, … Continue reading ““I Always Did What My Conscience Dictated” / Dimas Castellano, Oscar Espinosa Chepe”
The so-called Cuban justice, which is nothing more than another of the pathetic military arms of the political police of the dynastic dictatorship which is clinging to power for more than half a century, has shown – once again, of course – the audacity and impunity with which it always tramples on the law and … Continue reading “Another Scandalous Political Maneuver in the Trial Against Angel Santiesteban / Angel Santiesteban”
With regards to the new amendment presented in the U.S. Congress to restrict travel and remittances to Cuba. We lived in a dark time in 1992 and this daughter of a train engineer with no train had decided to drop out of high school. I got up early and told my mother. Hands on my … Continue reading “My Reasons for the Bridge / Yoani Sánchez”
Dear Friends, I took the month of June off on vacation, and now I am going to add a few days until Monday the 11th. On Saturday the 7th we will have a party at home to celebrate three events: Claudia Cadelo’s birthday (with is the 8th); mine (the 10th); and the 18th anniversary of … Continue reading “End of Vacation / Reinaldo Escobar”
“We have never lied to the people. The unity of our people is not based on the worship of an individual or of the cult of personality of a certain individual. It is based on a solid and profound political conscience. The relationships of the direction of our Revolution and the people are based on … Continue reading “The Lie of Lies / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Photo: Luis Felipe Rojas On Saturday, I was finishing telling my friends over the phone to upload this post onto my blog, and on Sunday, the 10th, two political police officers show up to my house once again to take me to San German police station. Like always, the reasons for this detention are unknown … Continue reading “Repressive Machine Without a Counterpart / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Photos / Luis Felipe Rojas The Alianza Democrática Oriental (Eastern Democratic Alliance) energetically condemns the imminent arrests under a prosecution devoid of legal guarantees of five brave activists from Eastern Cuba. Néstor and Rolando Rodríguez Lobaina, Enyor Díaz Allen, Francisco Luis Manzanet Ortíz and Roberto González Pelegrín received non-written communication, that is, only verbally from the secret police, that … Continue reading “The Double Standard Policy, a Daily Routine / Luis Felipe Rojas”