English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
It’s something exclusive to the olive-green revolution. Fifty-three years ago, when Fidel Castro toured the island mounted on a Sherman tank, after overthrowing the Batista dictatorship, he was feted frankly and spontaneously by a sea of Cubans and he felt comfortable surrounded by crowds. Since that times, the baths of the masses were a weapon … Continue reading “Cuba Will Receive the Pope with a “Bath of Masses” / Iván García”
On November 6, 2008, published my first digital article on the site Kaosenlared (Chaos on the Web). Three months earlier I had graduated in journalist at the University of the Oriente, did not have this blog, and was about to begin working at the radio station where I would be located during my Social Service. … Continue reading “My Article about Eliécer Avila… Three Years Later / Ernesto Morales Licea”
The neverending story brings back bad omens. An official note from the Ministry of Interior – issued through the newspaper Granma on Friday – brings up again the perpetual drama of the rafters. This time 18 people were rescued off the coast of Palmarejo in the municipality of Santa Cruz del Norte, in the western … Continue reading “Rafters: A Neverending Story? / Jeovany J. Vega”
The recent ousting of the economic minister, Marino Murillo, seems to have proven the theory of the expiatory goat, that infinite night full of long knives aimed at all those who reside in power or who walk around anywhere near power. Murillo was the face used by the Castro tyranny to expose its own version … Continue reading “Murillo, the Headless Minister / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Hi, Gustavo, I am grateful that you sent me the debate. I don’t know how to get involved in the analysis but I think that I need to. If you can, send this opinion to whoever you want. Although I have to confess that I find it difficult to express myself and to organise my … Continue reading “Messages from Belkis Vega / POLEMICA: The 2007 Intellectual Debate”
Reina Luisa Tamayo and her daughter. Photo by: Claudio Fuentes Madan There are things I’ve thrown in the trunk of the “incomprehensible.” I would say I won, they defeated me, I couldn’t bear it, they beat me. I refuse to exhaust my brain one more instant in trying to find some logic, some, even minimal, … Continue reading “Inconceivable / Claudia Cadelo”
Being a journalist in Cuba is like performing black magic. Investigating a story or getting reliable data is like trying to catch hold of a mirage. With a faltering voice, people whisper information to you that there is no way of confirming. I will give examples. Having some drinks one hot night on the balcony of his … Continue reading “Being a Journalist is Almost Impossible in Cuba / Ivan Garcia”