Search results for: roque

The Honey of Power, the Reforms… and the Inheritance? / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado

Given the different and legitimate concerns that are displayed by a large part of society with regard to the measures outlined in the Cuban economic and social future, I offer my opinion, because of the indifference and the disbelief as well as the indolence and concerns of the citizens, which deserve attention. There are concerns … Continue reading “The Honey of Power, the Reforms… and the Inheritance? / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”

The Honey of Power, the Reforms… and the Inheritance?

Given the different and legitimate concerns that are displayed by a large part of society with regard to the measures outlined in the Cuban economic and social future, I offer my opinion, because of the indifference and the disbelief as well as the indolence and concerns of the citizens, which deserve attention. There are concerns … Continue reading “The Honey of Power, the Reforms… and the Inheritance?”

Political Immunity / Laritza Diversent

Revolutionary justice is extremely rigorous: it punishes illegal exit or plans to hijack a boat. The law also gives a more severe punishment to someone who kills a cow than to someone who commits murder. However, such intransigence is left aside when dealing with misconduct by a government official. Raúl Castro, in his last speech … Continue reading “Political Immunity / Laritza Diversent”

A LEZAMA FOR MOPPING (DUPING) / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

FROM “THE FLIGHT OF THE CAT”* TO YOUR MOTHER’S TWAT** Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo There’s the lyrical Lezama Lima, of unintelligible flight, before whose spirals we bow because to read them would be in vain, and a pain. And good for us. That Lezamian lyricism never had much success, except for quoting and thus accumulating … Continue reading “A LEZAMA FOR MOPPING (DUPING) / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

Havana Without Water, Another Headache for the Regime / Iván García

“Not even by paying 10 CUC (12 dollars) can a family get a pipa (water truck) in order to fill buckets, tanks and containers,” says Liudmila, a resident of El Calvario, a desolate hamlet south of Havana. Although there have been deliveries of water lately, shortages continue. In the first week of January, in El … Continue reading “Havana Without Water, Another Headache for the Regime / Iván García”

They Ate It All / Antunez

In the afternoon hours of the 7th of December, the neighbors of the Las Minas neighborhood in Placetas showed themselves to be extremely indignant with the police and State Security. But this time, ire and indignation did not have anything to do with police brutality against those who, in my house, were founding the Academy … Continue reading “They Ate It All / Antunez”

Gladys, or the Fantasy of “Renovating the Model“ / Miriam Celaya

Since all the talk started about the new process for awarding self-employment licenses, Gladys sharpened her pencil, did her accounts, and finally concluded that the time had come for her savings of many years, jealously guarded for “the bad times,” to be turned into an investment to support her precarious condition as a divorced mother … Continue reading “Gladys, or the Fantasy of “Renovating the Model“ / Miriam Celaya”

100 Years of the Fat One of Trocadero / Iván García

Jose Lezama Lima (1910-1976) is not gone. This is the feeling you get when you visit the museum of the master of Cuban prose in Trocadero street, in central Havana. You don’t need to be supernatural to sense the weary, asthmatic breathing of the fat Lezama while you pass through the halls of this house, … Continue reading “100 Years of the Fat One of Trocadero / Iván García”

Cuba: More than 50 Opponents Arrested on Human Rights Day / Iván García

More than 50 dissidents and activists were arrested on December 10 in Cuba by the combined forces of the National Police and State Security for attempting to mark the International Day of Human Rights, according to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation led by Elizardo Sánchez Santacruz. The Universal Declaration of Human … Continue reading “Cuba: More than 50 Opponents Arrested on Human Rights Day / Iván García”

The Time of the Cuban Opposition / Iván García

There is no doubt the dissidence on the island is looking for a space. The document: A Future for Cuba. Issued on December 2, it is counter-proposals to the government’s measures — a balanced document that fits this time in Cuba — from a group of ten people, among them the economist Martha Beatriz Roque … Continue reading “The Time of the Cuban Opposition / Iván García”

Who is Arnaldo Ramos? / Iván García

He arrived home on Saturday. After 7 years and 8 months behind the bars of a cell and the creaking of locks, the dissident economist Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique, 68, at 6:30 in the morning of his first Sunday in freedom, sat in the park facing the modest apartment where he lives in the neighborhood of … Continue reading “Who is Arnaldo Ramos? / Iván García”

Corruption Made in Cuba / Ernesto Morales Licea

The news, in keeping with tradition, was common knowledge long before the establishment gave the order to publish it. On November 6, when it was already an open secret, the Gramna province newspaper La Demajagua published an “Official Note” that seemed like it didn’t want to be read, hidden away as it was on a … Continue reading “Corruption Made in Cuba / Ernesto Morales Licea”

The “Decentralization” of Responsibility / Miriam Celaya

Photo: Orlando Luis “The first time you deceive me, it will be your fault, the second time, the fault will be mine” (Arab proverb) One of the skills we Cubans in the Island have developed in the face of the persistent ability of leaders to “speak without saying,” is figuring out official positions and intentions, … Continue reading “The “Decentralization” of Responsibility / Miriam Celaya”

Under the Skin of a Real Nicanor / Ernesto Morales Licea

I do not think there is a single Cuban who has not seen his face at some point, on the big screen or small, or in a theater. He is one of the most recognizable actors on the national scene. No doubt this is influenced by the not inconsiderable number of his films: 80 works, … Continue reading “Under the Skin of a Real Nicanor / Ernesto Morales Licea”

From Honey to Bile / Yoani Sánchez

He was wearing a cap pulled down over his ears, but I still recognized in his face the features of the former vice president. Carlos Lage passed in front of me at the intersections of Infanta and Manglar streets with that gait typical of the deposed, a cadence fallen into when all hope of vindication … Continue reading “From Honey to Bile / Yoani Sánchez”