English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Narcissus stares fixedly into the water which reflects his own image, but at moments he also perceives in it the flashes of a city with crumbling columns and shattered stained glass. Since September 23rd the oil painting of a young man leaning over a lake, attributed to Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, has been on display … Continue reading “Models for Caravaggio / Yoani Sánchez”
Of Militants and Queers Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo …s they have tried to call it. They weren’t “five gray years.” Much less a “black decade.” The ‘70s were the splendor, the Cuban Revolution’s era of luxury. The ‘70s are and will be the crystal clear incarnation of the world totalitarian utopia, the twentieth century ideal. … Continue reading “ISLAND STASIOLOGY / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
JJ.- Hector, whether some like it or not, your name is relevant when we speak of the internal opposition in Cuba. How do you see Hector Palacios? HP.- Well, first I want to introduce myself because you already know me, but many readers do not. I am a farmer who was born in the Escambray. … Continue reading “Noble as a Farmer, Wise as a Priest / Juan Juan Almeida”
The 32nd Festival of New Latin American Cinema, which ended in Havana last December 2, showed that the seventh art is on the upswing in Latin America and that Cuba is no exception. Among the over 500 participants, the Cuban films–independently of their themes, of their directors’ degree of success, and of the quality of … Continue reading “Social Criticism Widespread in Cuban Films / Dimas Castellanos”
As a child whenever I heard the name of Perico*, a town in Matanzas Province, I ended up with a pain in my stomach from laughing so hard. Until I learned that a part of my father’s family was from that area and the joke didn’t seem so funny to me any more. Last Saturday … Continue reading “Twelve Men in Brief / Yoani Sánchez”
I have read the words of the famous Cuban painter Pedro Pablo Oliva, 2006 National Prize of Plastic Arts, published on his website following his demotion from the post he occupied as a delegate of the Provincial Assembly of Popular Power in Pinar del Río which, once again, demonstrates the perverse nature of the system. … Continue reading “Pedro Pablo Oliva: The Art of Honesty / Miriam Celaya”
In tune with the new airs of delayed economic reforms that General Raul Castro aims to promote, under one of the measures made public on Monday 9th May, Cubans on the island can take holidays abroad. On the street it has been the story of the year. It displaced the Brazilian soap opera, the gossip … Continue reading “Will Cubans Be Able to Holiday Abroad? / Iván García”
“Year of our Lord Jesus Christ” Mr. Freddy Perez Cabrera Granma Newspaper Editor and Administrator General Suarez and Territorial Plaza of the Revolution, Havana Email: correo@granma.cip.cu Freddy: Greetings to you. Moved by the painful events which led to death of my fellow citizen, Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia, during the early morning hours of Sunday May … Continue reading “Cuba Manipulates the Truth / Ricardo Medina”
Tuesday 9 May, on listening to the reading, on the National Television News, of the official daily press note from Granma, the official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba, I remembered the old joke about Napoleon, Granma and the Battle of Waterloo: “If Napoleon had had a newspaper like Granma nobody would know, yet, … Continue reading “Granma, Napoleon and the Insurgents / Miguel Iturria Savón”
DEATH IN MAY Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo It begins happening more every day. First as an accident, then as business-as-usual. The despicable childishness of the police beating innocents (in the street and in prison) is also a sinister little game, eventually an assassination. As the pyramid of governability disintegrates in Cuba, as the budget for … Continue reading “DEATH, DEATH AND MORE DEATH / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
My brother, Raul, came over to my house on Saturday, very happy because he had gotten a job at one of the newly emerging food stands. He works twelve hours a day and goes home with 60 Cuban pesos (the equivalent of 2.50 CUC — less than $2.50 U.S.) every day, plus breakfast, lunch and … Continue reading “The Illustrious Fry Cook / Regina Coyula”
Lately on my planet, whenever friends get together the conversation revolves around the past. Why is this? Nothing pleasant is ever said in the present tense. We must always conjugate the imperfect indicative form of the verb, ending in “aba” or “ía,” i.e. comía, bebía, salía, bailaba, ganaba, viajaba, disfrutaba, etc. (used to eat, used … Continue reading “Imperfect Indicative Tense / Rebeca Monzo”
“Hidden Declaration in a Lighter” by Pablo Pacheco Avila After the success of the hunger strike, we began to elaborate a plan to confront the ex-Minister of Exterior Relations, Felipe Perez Roque. The lies he had told the national and foreign press about the existence of services for political prisoners were about to be proved … Continue reading “Notes from Captivity XIII / Pablo Pacheco”
Rebellion in the “Polish” Various weeks had passed with normality in the “Polish”. My life was similar to the routine-driven life of any other prisoner, until I realized that if I wanted to get out of that hell I was forced to live in with the least amount of damage as possible, then I had … Continue reading “Notes from Captivity XII / Pablo Pacheco”
It is, without a doubt, the news-of-the-day for Cuba. It has been news on the Island and off the Island. The new revelation of the identities of Moises Rodriguez and Carlos Serpa Maceira, two State Security agents whom the Cuban government, until Saturday 26 February, infiltrated into opposition groups, is just another case, another grain … Continue reading “Pawns of What Empire? Pieces of What Puzzle? / Ernesto Morales Licea”
