English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Manuel Díaz Martínez, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 21 January 2018 — Betania Publishers, in print and digital editions, has released the book La familia Loynaz y Cuba, by Luis García de la Torre, with a prologue by the Cuban essayist and professor Alejandro González Acosta, who is living in Mexico. In this book we … Continue reading “The Loynaz Family and Cuba”
Juan Juan Almeida, 6 February 2017 — Officials, students, athletes, workers, members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, foreign journalists and even tourists. Almost all have been victims of a flagrant, illicit operation authorized by the Cuban government. It is a business that involves millions, one that the Castro family is not inclined … Continue reading “A Million Dollar Business Run by Fidel Castro’s Son / Juan Juan Almeida”
14ymedio, Yosmany Mayeta, Havana, 31 January 2017 — A fire reduced to ashes, on Monday, a warehouse and the offices of the Cultural Assets Fund, which managed raw materials for artistic productions on Subirana Street, between Benjumeda and Santo Tomás, in Central Havana. The fire spread quickly and it required several fire brigades to put itout, due … Continue reading “Fire Destroys Cultural Assets Warehouse in Central Havana /”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 10 January 2017 — – I have often heard or read about the supposed Cuban “culture and education,” a fabulous academic record based on official Cuban statistics and, of course, the Cuban Revolution and its (literally) ashen leader. A few weeks ago, during the prolonged funerals of the Deceased in Chief, … Continue reading “The Learned Illiterates of the Revolution / Cubanet, Miriam Celaya”
14ymedio, Lilianne Ruiz, Havana, 16 February 2016 – Spending her days among needles, threads and fabrics, the dressmaker Yansa Muniz defends handmade garments against the widespread trend to prefer brand name clothes. Her tenacity has led to the creation of Impar (Unparalleled), a workshop in Havana’s Nuevo Vedado neighborhood, where she dedicates herself to made-to-measure … Continue reading “Dressmaker, A Dying Profession / 14ymedio, Lilianne Ruiz”
Rebeca Monzo, 13 November 2015 — As I see it, it would be incorrect to claim there is a Cuban style. During the last fifty years Cuban men and women on the island have been dressing any way they can with whatever was sent to them by overseas relatives, by repurposing old clothes or, in … Continue reading “Is There a Cuban Style? / Rebeca Monzo”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 3 October 2015 — There was no mistaking it. It was the same face that smiles defiantly from some paintings in which it resembles an unrepentant Christ. I had seen the signature of El Sexto at bus stops, followed his ironies on Havana’s walls, and wondered if this young man really existed, … Continue reading “El Sexto: He Who Laughs First, Laughs Twice / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
Ivan Garcia, Havana, 4 May 2015 — In a wide, dusty, half-paved alleyway very near an old slaughterhouse with a faded sign that reads “Socialism or Death,” lives Reinerio, a gentleman who, in addition to repairing zippers and umbrellas, also sells earthworms. In the corner of a dark room, with a piano in need of … Continue reading “Occupations (?) You Can Find in Cuba / Ivan Garcia”
In an album for weddings there are photos of blouses, pants, shoes. They aren’t good photos, but you can see the labels and brands, which is most important to the buyers. They have everything: evening wear, tennis outfits, socks for teenagers, sportswear, underwear. Most of the goods come from Panama and Ecuador, but they also … Continue reading “From Doorways to Catalogs / Yoani Sanchez”
HAVANA, Cuba, August, www.cubanet.org — Does Raul Castro have a vision for the state? After seven years in office the question bears asking. Perhaps few people thought about it during the previous forty-six years because most observers just assumed that Fidel Castro had a grand plan for the state. But in perspective I do not … Continue reading “Castro’s Strategy, in Short: A Perfect Manual for Disaster / Manuel Cuesta Morua”
It was a peaceful, bright morning, the sea, as usual, shone splendidly with its habitual shades of blues and greens, the treetops swayed to and fro in the soft breeze. The happy natives were all engaged in their daily work. Suddenly, all the birds, in unison, took flight to the high sky, squawking. Cats fled terrified … Continue reading “Trencadis / Rebeca Monzo”
It extends straight between Reina Street and the Havana Malecon. I remember it from my childhood with its large and polished doorways, with its beautiful display windows of clothing stores, jewelry stores, toy shops and establishments of all kinds. There were several important intersections with other streets also engaged in trade and services in the … Continue reading “Galiano Street / Rafael León Rodríguez”
The regressive count has now commenced for the Cuban government. A swarm of hungry men and women being chased down by entourages of state inspectors, and a rampant wave of people who snitch on others has launched a new massive wave against individual initiative, the primogenial production belt of any country in the modern age, … Continue reading “Working for Yourself? Or Working for Everyone? / Luis Felipe Rojas”
THE BLUEST CORNER OF THE FIRST WORLD Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo For August 13, the first ten years without my dad. Since I was a child I’ve lived in a neighborhood on the outskirts called Lawton. I am the “only child of older parents,” the reason why we barely went to the city center. In … Continue reading “August 13 / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
For a decade critics have been talking about the poetic, Baroque, telluric and zoomorphic painter Ibrahim Miranda Ramos (Pinar del Rio, 1969), who presents his swarm of metaphors in UNEAC’s Manuela Villa gallery, where he invites us to unravel his allegories on Cuba and the world through the prints of his series Punishment, Bondage and … Continue reading “An Invitation to the Pictoral Universe of I. Miranda”
