English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
1994 was an amazing year. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the disappearance of the USSR had been the trigger for the beginning in Cuba of the “Special Period in Times of Peace,” an economic crisis which lasted for 25 years. We returned to a subsistence economy. The factories shut down as they had … Continue reading “The Day the People of Havana Protested in the Streets / Ivan Garcia”
It has a woman’s name and the fatality of a widow. The Carolina center, in Matanzas province, not only ground sugar cane for decades, but gave sustenance and prosperity to an entire village. On dismantling the mill, the former workers and the neighbors had to learn to live in a ghost town. Carolina was one … Continue reading “The Second Shipwreck of the Granma / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
The State brigade arrived in Vibora’s Red Plaza and in no time at all erected a slapdash wood and metal platform. On the nights of December 31 and January 1, a crowd fueled by cheap rum and bad beer will see in 2014 dancing to a Cuban timba orchestra. The guys who set up the … Continue reading “New Years in Havana / Ivan Garcia”
Havana, Cuba, November 2013, www.cubanet.org – In Cuba there exists no consumer society. Or heavy industrial activity. The quantity of debris should not be frightening. But the treatment of waste is troubling, because it pollutes the country and promises to future generations. There exists no appropriate policy for dealing with the debris. And if it … Continue reading “Havana Smells Very Bad / Victor Ariel Gonzalez”
HAVANA, Cuba, October www.cubanet.org – Of the approximately 770,000 tons of rice consumed by the Cuban population last year*, 440,000 were imported from Vietnam, Brazil and the United States. As a ton of rice trades on the world market at $450, the Cuban government had to spend $200 million for the purchase of this food. … Continue reading “Cuba Imports Rice it Could Produce / Osmar Laffita Rojas”
At an extended meeting of the Council of Ministers held last Friday, May 13, the head of Foreign Commerce and Overseas Investments reported finding irregularities in business operations involving foreign capital and international contracts. Likewise, the minister of Finance and Planning spoke of irregularities and evidence of criminal activity related to fuel sales. Meanwhile, the … Continue reading “The Morality of the Survivor / Dimas Castellanos”
No social phenomenon arises suddenly or by spontaneous generation, rather it is the result of a long process of the accumulation of essential components. The rise of prostitution in “Socialist Cuba” is no exception. In fact, prostitution was not eliminated by policies dictated by the Government, which favored the mass incorporation of women into the … Continue reading “Revolutionary Prostitutes. Prostitution In Cuba, Part 2 / Miriam Celaya”
In Cuba there are no institutions that guarantee the rights of the most vulnerable. Prostitution is not even mentioned as a problem by the Government. It is said that prostitution is the oldest occupation in the world. There aren’t any cultures whose histories have not recorded the practice of sexual services in exchange for money … Continue reading “The Many Faces of a Conflict. Prostitution in Cuba, Part 1 / Miriam Celaya”
In the expanded meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Friday May 13, the head of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment reported on the irregularities in the operation of businesses with foreign capital and international contracts; the Minister of Economy and Planning spoke about the irregularities and criminal activity in the marketing of fuels; … Continue reading “The Morality of the Survivor / Dimas Castellanos”
Preliminary Note to readers: For reasons way beyond my control, I did not have the chance to update the blog for many days. The Desdecuba.com page was hacked twice, and Yoani Sánchez and other friends are still trying to get it fixed. I am posting a new article, and I hope complete service will be … Continue reading “Licentiousness of the Press / Miriam Celaya”
Presided over by Cuba’s General-President, on Friday, March 15, 2013 there was an extended meeting of the Council of Ministers, which, in addition to resembling any other, at the same time typifies both the inefficiency of the entire government apparatus and the impossibility of renewing the so-called “Cuban model.” The witches’ sabbath of official mediocrity … Continue reading “Total Alienation / Miriam Celaya”
For Joel, a 29-year-old engineer, the death of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez marks a before and after moment in the Cuban political landscape. “It’s too soon to be able to analyze the consequences, positive or negative, of someone new in Miraflores. Even if elections are held soon and Nicolás Maduro wins, the exchange of oil for Cuban … Continue reading “Uncertainty in Cuba After the Death of Hugo Chavez / Ivan Garcia”
The Cuban crisis is advancing inexorably towards its climax for reasons that are economic, political and social as well as genetic. With each passing day the situation for most citizens — shortages, price rises, low salaries and pensions, lack of opportunity — becomes even more complicated. The “update of the model,” now codified into law, … Continue reading “United in Diversity / Fernando Damaso”
Someone said that necessity is the mother of invention, a phrase that could explain the proverbial fame of Cuban “inventors”, always having excess necessities. However, to establish itself as a source of well-being and progress, the invention process requires certain material resources and civil freedoms beyond imagination, intelligence or the desire to do something, otherwise … Continue reading “El Biogas… or an Epilogue to the “Energy Revolution” / Miriam Celaya”
In the blink of an eye the voltage at the symmetrical hour of the prime time news, 8:08 on a Sunday evening, as boring as slitting your wrists, or walking naked in the street with a pacifist placard, or some other symptom of insanity. A blink of an eye and then black silence, deathly. The … Continue reading “Chronicle of the Blackout / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
