English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 6 May 2019 / Translation from Latin American Herald Tribune — Leopoldo López says that some generals came to his home to express some kind of solidarity. It must be true. For now, Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, the former head of the SEBIN (Bolivarian Intelligence Service), is hiding. López fled his … Continue reading “Loyalty in Venezuela in Times of Crisis”
14ymedio, Ernesto Santana, Havana, May 2 2019 — There are many images of Cuba from the last 60 years that are shocking even for those who have grown up in it and should have already gotten used to it. But it is not easy to get used to those images that have something unnatural about them. One … Continue reading “The Students and the Elephant”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 21 March 2019 — The agricultural market on Tulipán Street opens its doors early and buyers start arriving from several municipalities in Havana. Just outside, a well-known figure waits to offer his delivery services. He is Alain Gómez Acuña, a Habanero of 40 years with Down Syndrome. With his supermarket cart … Continue reading “Alain Gomez Earns a Living with his Supermarket Cart”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 8 November 2018 – There are parents who cross their fingers that their children become independent and others who sigh in the distance because their offspring have emigrated or have moved away from home. In a country where there is a deficit of more than 800,000 houses and the housing problems … Continue reading “The Empty Nest”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 July 2018 — The biologist Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, sentenced to one year in prison for the alleged crime of “contempt of authority,” was released on Tuesday, 14ymedio confirmed through sources related to the case. “I feel alive, I do not fear death, but I can not stop thanking all the people inside and outside of … Continue reading “Biologist Ariel Ruiz Urquiola Released”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 16 June 2018 — Marcel runs through the park while his mother follows him everywhere and, between races, sits on a bench to rest. She is 47 with a small son who hasn’t started school yet. She is one of the many Cubans who preferred to give birth in her 40s despite the risks, … Continue reading “Giving Birth at 40, Late Motherhood in Cuba”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 26 March 2018 — Marta María Ramírez was given her first tampons in 1991, when she got her first period at age 15. The country was experiencing the deepest days of its economic crisis and sanitary pads were not available. Some 27 years later the situation is little changed and Ramírez, now a journalist … Continue reading “Pads, Rags or Menstrual Cups?”
14ymedio, Rolando Gallardo, Quito, 10 December 2016 — On the 58th anniversary of the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista, the seizure of power by Fidel Castro and the disappearance of the national hope of a return to the constitutional values of 1940, the people of Cuba, their emigration and the “historic exile” continue to ask the … Continue reading “Losing Fear To Get Freedom / 14ymedio, Rolando Gallardo”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 16 August 2016 — Recently, during my brief stay in Miami to participate in an academic meeting on legal issues, I was surprised to hear from a Cuban emigrant – fairly old in age – about his wish that, in a future democratic Cuba, a law of compulsory military service would … Continue reading “The Best Way to “Become a Man”? / Cubanet, Miriam Celaya”
14 May 2016 — We are now looking at another anniversary of the execution of the young men who, in 2003, tried to hijack the Regla ferryboat and were shot by the dictatorship. As is well known, it was one of the most vile assassinations of the so-called “Cuban Revolution, on an extensive list that has … Continue reading “Assassins, Accomplices and Victims / Ángel Santiesteban”
14ymedio, Regina Coyula, Havana, 13 May 2016 — The municipality of Old Havana had its ancient underground water and electrical systems renovated last year. The streets were dug up to replace the pipes and wiring. Beyond the mess and the dust, these works have brought the residents two precious services, services without which it is unthinkable to … Continue reading “In the Dark / 14ymedio, Regina Coyula”
EFE / 14ymedio, Havana, 7 March 2016 – Cuban President Raul Castro urged an increase in discipline and acting “energetically” against the unfinished and “constant” hygiene campaign undertaken on the island to combat the mosquito that transmits the Zika virus and other illnesses, according to the official media on Monday. “This cannot be one more … Continue reading “Raul Castro Calls For More Discipline In Combating The Mosquito That Transmits Zika / EFE, 14ymedio”
Cubanet.org, Ernesto Perez Chang, Havana, 28 July 2015 – Between the years 2004 and 2007, 65 children from the Los Sitios neighborhood in Central Havana, 7 to 10 years of age, underwent testing in order to determine their degree of lead poisoning. The research, conducted by a team of researchers from the Cuban National Institute … Continue reading “Cancer from High Levels of Metals in Reservoirs? (II) / Cubanet, Ernesto Perez Chang”
We passed the book from hand to hand. A worn-out volume, despite being a new edition. An edition in Cuba means a foreign edition. As readers in revolutionary Cuba, we suffered from the oxygenating syndrome of xenophillia. The title was “Less Than One.” The author, an exiled Soviet dissident. In the early 90s this mixture … Continue reading “OLPL at Americas Society (NYC), 5 March 2015”
