English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Although Cecilio, an intensive care doctor, knows it will be hard spending two years in a desolate corner of Africa — a continent now synonymous with Ebola and death — there is no other option at hand for remodeling his dilapidated home in a poor neighborhood of Havana. Nor does he have the legal tools … Continue reading “Well-Being in Cuba Hides Behind a Visa / Ivan Garcia”
An official with the Housing Institute denounces corruption and privileges, as well as reprisals taken against his family. 14ymedio, September 24, 2014 – Before leaving Cuba in October, 2013, the author of this accusation occupied an important post at the Housing Institute and, as a jurist, saw firsthand the intrigues perpetrated by high-level officers of … Continue reading ““J’Accuse” from a High Position / 14ymedio”
Yesterday, July 28, I read in the Trabajadores [“Workers”] newspaper about the speech given by 6th grade pioneer Wendy Ferrer during the main event of a celebration in Artemisa marking the 61st anniversary of the attacks on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Barracks. I could not help feeling shame and indignation over the vile … Continue reading “Despicable Manipulation / Rebeca Monzo”
Grown in Exercises of Death, Wendy Guerra (Taken from her blog HABÁNAME) (Reposted by Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo in his blog) I have death as white and truth far away… – Don’t give me your fresh roses; I am terrible for roses. Give me the ocean…Dulce María Loynaz Death, solicitous and vigilant followed me until my fall. … Continue reading “Wendy War”
By Ambrosio Fornet / See here for background information on this series of posts. 1 It seemed as if the nightmare was something from a remote past, but the truth is that when we awoke, the dinosaur was still there. We haven’t found out — and perhaps will never know — if the media folly was … Continue reading “The Five Grey Years: Revisiting the Term / Ambrosio Fornet”
The fear of not being able to leave, of remaining locked on the island, is shared by many of my compatriots. Those who have never traveled fear they will grow old without ever knowing what’s on the other side of the sea. Cubans living abroad are not exempt from this fear. Many of them, when … Continue reading “Cold Kisses Under the Tropical Sun / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
Movie Magic Finally, by means of my son’s cell phone, in his visit to me in past days where they keep me locked up, I could appreciate the short film, “Death of the cat,” from the Cuban director Lilo Vilaplana, living for more than a decade in Colombia, the place where he took — in … Continue reading “Cuban Talent Bound for the Cannes International Film Festival / Angel Santiesteban”
Havana, Cuba — Hubert Matos is a symbol of the struggle against the tyranny that has dominated Cuba since 1959. As an admirer of his rebelliousness and perseverance — something that characterized him until he drew his last breath — I resolved during my visit to the United States in January of last year not … Continue reading “Fidel is a talented, egotistical guy who hates the Cuban people / Augusto Cesar San Martin”
Fidel Castro has been an effective gravedigger. He buried sugar crops and the agricultural abundance of old. Recently, Cuba had to import sugar from Brazil and the Dominican Republic to meet the consumption needs of international tourists. With this type of negative aura that has always surrounded Castro, it makes sense these days what baseball fans were saying after the dismal … Continue reading “Is Baseball Finished in Cuba? / Ivan Garcia”
Read more about Joaquin Albarran here.
Knowing I’ve been in Spain for one year, a friend from Valencia asks me what I lost since leaving the island. As I know she is trapped in the tapestry of her circumstances, I try to be brief. I tell her I came in search of lost time, to connect with my origins, wrapped in … Continue reading “What Did I Lose? / Miguel Iturria Savon”
HAVANA, Cuba , September 2013, www.cubanet.org.- He was the most in love Cienfuegan I knew. He was called Oscar Manual Espinosa Chepe, although to most of the people who knew him he was simply “Chepe.” His Dulcinea, Miriam Leiva, was at his side over the last thirty years with a loyalty tested in the harsh … Continue reading “Farewell to the Cienfuegan in Love / Aleaga Pesant”
By Yudel Rojas** I was born on December 24, 1980 in Manzanillo to a family committed to the Revolution. I always dreamed of being a member of the Special Forces and one morning they offered me a chance to work for the revolution. You might ask how. A captain in counter-intelligence, a man name Jorge Vázquez, … Continue reading “From State Security Agent to CID* Member / Yudel Rojas, CID”
HAVANA, Cuba, August, www.cubanet.org –The identity of El Vedado has been in jeopardy for a long time. This neighborhood in the old Elegant Havana is no longer a museum of modern architecture. Here Cuba entered modernity, which was always an accent of its identity. It wasn’t just a neighborhood founded by families of the aristocracy, … Continue reading “El Vedado: From Modernity to Brutality / Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna”
Text and Photos: Nilo Julián González Preval [From LFR: Today begins a series of photographs and texts from the experimentalist artist, Nilo Julián González Preval. My blog, Crossing the Barbed Wire, opens its windows to the artists and writers on the island. On this occasion Nilo presents us with a text, which is nothing more than a … Continue reading “A Dirty Text on This Wall / Luis Felipe Rojas”
