English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 27 January 2016 — An old Soviet joke from the time of Leonid Brezhnev relates his attempts to enthuse young people to celebrate the six decades of the October Revolution in the autumn of 1977. The septuagenarian leader entrusted to his friend, Aleksei Kosygin – who had a reputation of being a … Continue reading “Juvenile, Always Juvenile / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
Somos+, Pedro Lago Segura, 8 October 2015 — If you believe you can change me from your position of power, you don’t know where the real power lies. And if you think that with that sabre-rattling you prevent my voice from being heard by others or me from hearing others’ voices, you are not free in spirit … Continue reading “A Message From my Faith to the State Security Authority / Somos+”
14ymedio, 16 February 2015 — The Cuban filmmaker Ian Padrón announced his decision to leave the island and stay in the US in an interview broadcast by CNN Mexico last week. The artist admitted that he, “was tired of fighting, of the complications,” on the island. The son of film director Juan Padrón, in communication from … Continue reading “The Filmmaker Ian Padrón Announces his Decision to Leave Cuba / 14ymedio”
The State brigade arrived in Vibora’s Red Plaza and in no time at all erected a slapdash wood and metal platform. On the nights of December 31 and January 1, a crowd fueled by cheap rum and bad beer will see in 2014 dancing to a Cuban timba orchestra. The guys who set up the … Continue reading “New Years in Havana / Ivan Garcia”
HAVANA, Cuba December 10, 2013, Augusto César San Martín / www.cubanet.org.- The home of Antonio Rodiles, leader of the independent group Estado de Sats, which from today through tomorrow is celebrating the First International Conference on Human Rights, was besieged by the police and plainclothes agents as the sun rose this morning. Third Street, from … Continue reading “Antonio Rodiles’ House Besieged at Dawn / Augusto Cesar San Martin, Camilo Ernesto Olivera”
Yoel Martínez, guitarist and member of the duo Buena Fe, (Good Faith) bought a house facing the sea. He and Israel Rojas hired a brigade to repair it and convert it into a bar-cafeteria-restaurant, Melesio’s Grill, which opened its doors the public on July 12. With that name, and with both musicians being from Guantanamo, … Continue reading “Melesio’s Grill / Rosa Maria Rodriguez”
The launch last Thursday of the latest issue of the Cuban magazine Temas dedicated to the question “Values in Crisis?” brought together a heterogeneous audience that, in addition to its habitual followers, also included to my enjoyment young faces, perhaps attracted to the presence among the invited guests of Israel Rojas, the popular singer from … Continue reading “Some Notes Without too Much Value About Values / Regina Coyula”
Apparently the uneven playing field in the euphemistic “cultural exchange” that is happening today between the United States and Cuba alarms no one. Week after week, artists from this side of the ocean continue to arrive on American soil, filled with remarkable talent, an understandable excitement, and a willingness to return to the island that, … Continue reading “Moral Exchange / Ernesto Morales Licea”
Frank Delgado and Buena Fe have made a record together. I like the chemistry of these artists a lot, they have a very good eye for looking and for making music which is catchy and makes you think at the same time. The first song, Extremistas Nobles, from which the record gets its name, is … Continue reading “Binomial of Three”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 February 2024 — The families of Las Tunas “have continually sore arms from carrying so much water.” This was the statement on Wednesday in the local press for the umpteenth time about the water situation in the province, which has still not been resolved. On January 28, several leaks in the new … Continue reading “The Leaks From a New Pipe Are the Only Source of Water for the Population of Las Tunas”
14ymedio, Havana, November 24, 2023 — A week after the authorities promised that the water supply would stabilize in Las Tunas, thousands of residents in the province remain without service this Friday. The installation of a pump – to whose absence the authorities had attributed the shortage – did not improve the situation, and citizens, … Continue reading “Las Tunas Is Desperate Due to the Lack of Water and the Inaction of the Cuban Authorities”
14ymedio, Havana, October 4th 2023 – – “The idea sprang from desperation”, was the answer that Roberto Occhiuto, president of the region of Calabria (Italy), gave to Reuters regarding the hiring of Cuban doctors last August to alleviate the health crisis in that province. According to the politician, doctors from other countries do not want … Continue reading “Calabria Contracted Cuban Doctors Out of ‘Desperacion’, Say the Italian Authorities”
14ymedio, Madrid, September 26, 2023 — The Spanish hotel company Meliá received favorable attention from the official Cuban press on Monday. Reproducing a statement from the company itself on the occasion of the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, on September 16, the Prensa Latina agency highlighted that “several of the facilities” … Continue reading “Melia Is Congratulated for Its Respect for the Environment in an Area of Cuba Destroyed by Tourism”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 27 September 2023 — Cuban state press just released information on freight traffic through the port of Mariel’s container terminal. Forecasts for this year point to around 300,000 twenty-foot container units (TEUs), a figure close to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. But it’s too early to celebrate for … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime Has No Solution for the Port of Mariel Crisis”
14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, July 29, 2023 — I have rarely addressed Cuban economic issues or those of any other country, but upon receiving my fellow prisoner and friend Juan José Estrada a statement from the Vice Minister of the Food Industry of Cuba, Midalys Naranjo Blanco, I have no choice but to venture into … Continue reading “New Economic Actors in Cuba”
