English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Dimas Castellenos, Mexico City, 1 September 2015 — In Cuba, the concurrence among the failure of its totalitarian model, the aging of its leaders and the society. For this impact to be a positive one requires the presence of a missing factor: the citizen. If this thesis begs the question of how it is possible … Continue reading “The New Scenario and the Absence of the Citizen / Dimas Castellano”
Freedom for Danilo Open Letter to the Pope Havana, September 8, 2015 Your Holiness, Pope Francis: In advance of your visit to our island, a group of Cuban citizens wish to call your attention to a case that needs an immediate solution. This is the politically motivated imprisonment of Danilo Maldonado Machado, a young artist … Continue reading “Open Letter to Pope Francis for the Release of “El Sexto””
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 12 August 2015 – In 1950 Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring presented to the Ninth Congress of History his controversial essay Cuba Owes its Independence to the United States. In it he laid out a little more than a century of facts and his nationalist and anti-imperialist view attributing the victory over Spain … Continue reading “May Cuba Not Owe Its Democracy To America / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
Somos+ Press, 11 August 2015 — The National Council of the Somos+ Movement met yesterday, attended by delegates from five provinces. The meeting lasted from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and ran smoothly. Issues vital for the movement were discussed, such as the consolidation of the national and territorial structure, communications, internet access, regulatory documents, management … Continue reading “National Council Session of the Somos+ Movement / Somos+”
Ivan Garcia, 28 June 2015 — Already by noon, Óscar has downloaded two terabytes of audiovisual material from the Internet. Taking advantage of his lunch hour some place nearby, he hands over the flash drive to the person who is in charge of loading the “weekly packet,” a compendium of documentaries, serials, soap operas and … Continue reading “Cuban Professionals do Business Under the Table / Ivan Garcia”
The Information Society (IS) is an effect of a process of convergence among technological advances, the democratization of information, and communications, which erupted in the 1980s with such force that it caused the United Nations to call a world summit on information, which took place in the Swiss city of Geneva in 2003. At this … Continue reading “Computerization The Old-Fashioned Way / Dimas Castellanos”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 8 June 2015 — In the beginning, there were the cassettes, first the ones we viewed on ancient Betamax equipment, and a bit later on VHS. In those dark years in the 90’s, the illegal dealers, better known as “messengers” would arrive with their backpacks, pedaling their inseparable bikes, from customer … Continue reading “Cuba: Capitalism has Won the War / Miriam Celaya”
Rafael Leon Rodriguez , 22 May 2015 — A little over five months have transpired since the conversations between the governments of Cuba and the United States of America were made public. After half a century of disconnected positions, hope has returned of renewing the ties that have historically linked the two nations. An exchange of … Continue reading “Five Months and… / Rafael Leon Rodriguez”
Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 18 May 2015 – Nimble fingers over the keyboard, a life divided between reality and the digital world, plus the gratification of amusing yourself, learning, teaching and being free through technology. These are some of the points shared by those of us in Cuba who have linked ourselves to information … Continue reading “How Do You Tame Computer Users? / Yoani Sanchez”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 May 2015 – Some twenty activists, political leaders, intellectuals and artists participated in a new meeting of Cuban Civil Society Open Forum last Friday morning. At the meeting they discussed the need to take into account in future discussions the organization of the parallel forums at the recent Summit of the Americas. The … Continue reading “Cuba Civil Society Open Forum meets for the 7th time / 14ymedio”
We have to wonder how much the Cuban government invests in restricting this essential information tool in our time, blocking it and even minimizing the “harmful effects” of its free and generalized use Cubanet.org, Ernesto Perez Chang, Havana, 24 April 2015 – Faced with the problem of the limits on access to the internet in … Continue reading “The Internet: A Space for Diversity and Freedom of Expression / Cubanet, Ernesto Perez Chang”
Dora Leonor Mesa, 24 April 2015 — The photos of Cuban President Raúl Castro conversing with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama during the Seventh Summit of the Americas are still appearing on the principal pages of the world’s most important newspapers. Images of Cuban volunteers who, risking their lives, went to fight the fatal Ebola … Continue reading “The Disparagement of Our Heroes Should End / Dora Leonor Mesa”
(EFE) Panama, 9 April 2015 — The president of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, Thursday called for “respect” among opposition groups and Cuban officials who staged violent incidents yesterday that ended with the temporary detention of about twenty people. “We are a country that welcomes everyone and we ask everyone to show respect. Last night those … Continue reading “Panama’s president warns Cubans he will not tolerate further incidents / EFE via 14ymedio”
Forum for Rights and Freedoms: Declaration VII Summit of the Americas April 2015 Violations of fundamental rights in Cuba are enshrined in the current legal system. The full exercise of these fundamental rights is considered directly opposed to the interests “of the Cuban people in building socialism and communism.” The so-called constitution establishes the ownership … Continue reading “Forum for Rights and Freedoms, Declaration, VII Summit of the Americas”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, 6 April 2015 — Fernando Garcia del Rio was a correspondent in Cuba for the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia (Barcelona), from 2007 until his expulsion from Cuba in 2011. He has just published a book,“The Island of the Mills,” where he relates the “adventures and misfortunes of a correspondent in Havana in the final … Continue reading “Adventures and misfortunes of a correspondent in Cuba / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
