English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 23 September 2020 — No authorized representative came to knock on my door. I found out from my neighbor. “Hey, did you hear they locked us up?” That was it. I leaned out the window and saw the building’s “political factions” [the ‘watchdogs’] gathered in the park at the entrance and … Continue reading “The Afternoon I Found Out I Was in Quarantine”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 17 September 2020 — The young influencer and reporter Jancel Moreno was summoned this Wednesday afternoon by the police of the city of Matanzas and was threatened with up to four years in prison if he does not stop publishing criticism against the Cuban authorities on social networks. Moreno, who is also … Continue reading “Cuban Police Threaten the Young ‘Influencer’ Jancel Moreno with Prison”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 17 September 2020 — A woman died on Wednesday night in the collapse of a multi-family building in Old Havana, which occurred around 7:00 pm on Cuba Street, between Luz and Acosta. “Rosa died, she was trapped under the rubble,” said Lucero, a neighbor on the same block, speaking to 14ymedio earlier this Thursday. … Continue reading “A Building Collapse in Old Havana Leaves One Dead”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 16 September 2020 — “I had never eaten better or so easily,” says Ivis with a big smile, despite being locked up for a week with hundreds of families in one of the largest buildings in Havana. The 12-story housing complex located at Calle Tulipán and 39th in Nuevo Vedado is cordoned … Continue reading ““They Completely Locked Us Up, But We Were Spared Having to Stand in Lines””
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 16 September 2020 — This Wednesday, September 16, the scheduled blackouts begin in Havana to reduce energy consumption and, according to the official press, stop “a tendency to overuse that the country cannot afford.” This completes prophecy made by the Government a year ago when Miguel Díaz-Canel announced, on September 11, … Continue reading “With the Blackouts, the ‘Temporary Situation’ Becomes Permanent”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 12 September 2020 — If it weren’t for the pandemic, it would seem that the group gathered on 23rd Street is waiting for a bus. But this Friday, people in front of the Municipal Court at the Plaza de la Revolución were waiting to find out the fate of their relatives, detained for allegedly … Continue reading “Trials Designed to Set an Example Overwhelm a Court of Law in Havana”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 8 September 2020 — Omar Mena is an artist without fear when it comes to expressing himself. The author of more than 11 albums since he began his career in rap more than a decade ago, he is known in his genre as El Analista [The Analyst]. Mena has always been … Continue reading ““When You are Censored, All Doors Close and the Locksmith Keeps All the Keys””
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 6 September 2020 — At five in the morning this Saturday, Beatriz Delgado went out to the streets in search of food for her family. It is already two in the afternoon and she is still standing on line to buy groceries and some vegetables. Her daily routine has become more … Continue reading “Two Bags of Food for a Six Hour Wait”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar and Mario J. Pentón, Havana/Miami | 27 August 2020 — Thousands of followers of Alex Otaola have enthusiastically received the creation of the People’s Party, announced on Tuesday by the Cuban presenter living in Miami. This initiative wants to be an “alternative” to the monopoly exercised by the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), the only one authorized … Continue reading “The Cuban Opposition Cautiously Welcomes the Creation of the People’s Party”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 28 August 2020 — Long before the pandemic began, even before the “economic situation” was announced last September, the verbs mark (your place in line), wake up early and wait have been the most conjugated in Cuba. The lines that have accompanied our lives for decades have increased in size and gained prominence in the streets of … Continue reading “Cubans Prohibited From Lining Up at Stores at Night”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, August 12, 2020 — Along with hoarders and coleros — people paid to wait in line — unofficial money changers are on the police’s radar. They are after individuals who exchange dollars and other hard currency on the black market. Raids began after digital classifieds began appearing on internet portals, where … Continue reading “Cuban Police Fight Illegal Currency Trafficking”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 15 August 2020 — The pain appears on Sunday night. That tooth that broke months ago shows its face. I try to think that the discomfort will pass, as we always think when we have pain. And it may happen, but for the moment: pain is just a symptom that something is rotten. The next day, … Continue reading “Quarantine and a Toothache”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 11 August 2020 — Although Havana has just resumed the most drastic measures to stop the pandemic after the increase in cases of Covid-19 on the island, the Coppelia ice cream parlor has not completely closed its doors. In the middle of August, one of the hottest months of the year, … Continue reading “Ice Cream Flavors are Convoyed* in a ‘Militarized’ Coppelia”
14ymedio, Havana, August 3, 2020 — The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH), headquartered in Madrid, in its July report, denounced the consolidation of a new pattern of repression on the Island, keeping activists in their homes. According to the NGO, although the practice isn’t new, it has increased this year. Already in February, before … Continue reading “Cuba is Criticized for Home Detentions, Dollarization and Persecution of ‘Coleros’”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havanan, 30 July 2020 — The group, of more or less 8 or 9 young people, was sitting this on the wall of the Havana’s Malecon Wednesday afternoon, at a quarter to six in the afternoon. With their feet dangling towards the sea, they laugh, chat, take selfies while listening to music … Continue reading “Havana’s Malecon: “If it becomes a wall, what will become of our view?””
