English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Nobody knows her name or the sound of her voice. Except for her family or close friends, her individuality doesn’t matter. And yet she is a kind of atypical national celebrity. Her image has traveled the island from one end to the other, smuggled, multiplied by infinity in hundreds, thousands of personal computers and storage … Continue reading “Sex, Truths and Video Cameras / Ernesto Morales Licea”
On one of those nights in Havana, when the sky is clear with a handful of stars as a witness, someone told me that the Castro brothers feel a particular hatred for three Cubans. The list, what a coincidence, three writers: Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Reinaldo Arenas and Zoé Valdés. The resentment was so great, this … Continue reading “Zoé Valdés, a Pen Like a Whip / Iván García”
CUBA: DR. OSCAR E. BISCET CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE January 2010 “I say to my brothers in exile, the international community and the Cuban people that I feel kidnapped only for defending the right to life and the right of all Cubans to live in freedom. REMEMBER I WILL NEVER BETRAY A … Continue reading “Oscar Elías Biscet”
Minister of Finances and Prices In July 2009, The Minister of Finances and Prices, a member of the Council of Ministers, ordered the confiscation of property obtained by Teófilo Roberto, the father of Antonio Roberto, during the period from 1998 to 2008. The action was taken under the authority of Decree-Law 149 (“Regarding the seizure … Continue reading “Minister Places Citizen in Indefensible Position / Laritza Diversent”
The Minister of Finances and Prices, Lina Olinda Pedraza Rodriguez, ordered the execution of a process of confiscation against Teófilo Roberto López Licor, 66, based on Legal Decree 149 “on the confiscation of goods and accumulations made through improper enrichment,” known as the Law Against the Newly Rich and its regulation, Decree No. 187, both … Continue reading “The Powers of the Minister of Finances and Prices are Unconstitutional and Arbitrary / Laritza Diversent”
I think of Martí this very instant. I remember his fired up words on that document he named “Vindication of Cuba,” where, in name of the voiceless, the Master answered a diatribe of The Manufacturer newspaper that accused us of being inefficient and soft, weak on the thought of establishing a true nation. It also … Continue reading “My Own Vindication of Cuba / Ernesto Morales Licea”
General Raul Castro is trying to give shape to the land he’s promised. El Dorado, the “Cuban socialist paradise,” requires time and patience. And confidence in the old leaders who have ruled the destinies of Cubans for 51 years. The Castros want to dance the old-style danzón. No reggaeton. Farewell to emergencies and haste. The … Continue reading “Raul Castro, On the Fence / Iván García”
Written by: Yadaimí Domínguez On August 10, the hearing was held before the Supreme Court to review the Appeal brought by our family and promoted by the First Vice Minister of Justice. When the doors of the courtroom opened, we family and friends who had been waiting an hour for this tense moment began to … Continue reading “Hearing at the Supreme Court / Yamil Domínguez”
Yoani Sánchez, born in Havana, 1975. I studied for two terms at the Pedagogical Institute, majoring in Spanish Literature. In 1995, I moved to the Faculty of Arts of Letters, and after five years finished a degree in Hispanic Philology. I majored in contemporary Latin American Literature, presenting an incendiary thesis entitled, “Words Under Pressure: … Continue reading “Yoani Sánchez”
The Cuban Penal Code (CP) characterizes and punishes behavior that goes against the security of the state, the economy, public policy, etc. But in a different area of the law there is another criminal provision, which carries the same weight and promotes the same goals: Law No. 88, “Protection of National Independence and the Economy,” … Continue reading “The Gag Law / Laritza Diversent”
The Penal Code (CP) characterizes and punishes behavior that goes against the security of the state, the economy, public policy, etc. But in a different area of the law there is another criminal provision, which carries the same weight and promotes the same goals: Law No. 88, “Protection of National Independence and the Economy,” popularly … Continue reading “The Gag Law”
Havana, April 26, 2010 “Year 52 of the Revolution.” To: Director Maria Esther Reus Gonzalez Minister of Justice I, Ines Ramos Napoles, resident of Calle 4, number 119, between 1st and 3rd Playa, Havana, with ID Number 40012108557, in the name of my son, my family and myself, request the URGENT REVIEW of case No. … Continue reading “Request for Review Presented to the Minister of Justice”
For Rolando, a 56-year-old worker, the internet is science fiction. Fernandez, who has never navigated the information highway, thinks it is pure fantasy that someone sitting in their home can read a newspaper or magazine, watch television shows or listen to the radio. Laureano, a 61-year-old retired cigar-roller, looks at me with amazement like he … Continue reading “The Two Faces of the Internet in Cuba”
In Cuba we live on the edge of a precipice. If you want to get by, you have to take risks. In almost every sector of Cuban life you have to resort to illegal activity to be able to survive. Market shortages in freely convertible currencies have become a frequent prospect. Furthermore, its normal to … Continue reading “On the Edge of the Precipice”
The guardian angel of today is Abilio Estévez. Playwright, storyteller and poet, well-known and a winner of literary awards, this Cuban who lives in Barcelona has published mid-year the novel The Sleeping Navigator, the final part of a trilogy that examines three tragic moments of a family and a city. A family that tries, without … Continue reading “Nothing makes us different”