English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Iván García, 16 November 2015 — In the depths of the peeling, unpainted building where the journalist and independent writer Víctor Manuel Domínguez lives, a lady, who is waiting for customers behind a display counter of cheap Chinese jewelry, is reading a well-used copy of a book by Corín Tellado. On a rusty, narrow vertigo-inducing … Continue reading “Eight Years of the Cuban Independent Writers Club / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 August 2015 – Under the title “Diplomatic Normalization and Democratic Normalization,” an even this Monday brought together some 25 Cuban activists of different points of view. The site of the meeting was the “Hannah Arendt Institute of Artivism” in Old Havana. The panel in the morning meeting discussed diplomatic normalization with the … Continue reading “Cuban Activists Discuss the Diplomatic Normalization with the United States / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 31 July 2015 – The meeting held Thursday in Havana by some twenty civil society organizations and the political community has been defined as a new step in a common agenda. The initiative aims to work for democracy, fundamental freedoms, and a Rule of Law in Cuba, according to the activist Manuel Cuesta … Continue reading “Cuban Dissidents Outline A Common Agenda / 14ymedio”
I want to thank my friend and excellent writer, Amir Valle, for this interview for his magazine Another Monday, and for publicizing the book that has just been published and will be presented shortly in Miami. Amir Valle (AV): Machine for Erasing Humanities is, after Feeding the Dog-Fight, your second book since you went into exile. Although some think … Continue reading ““There is no homeland other than poetry” / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Ivan Garcia, 8 March 2015 — When I decided to write a blog, at the end of December 2008, my pretensions were minimal. I had decided to take a break in order to dedicate my time to my daughter, Melany, who was then two years old. Although I wasn’t writing, mentally I continued to be … Continue reading “Five Years of the Blog “From Havana” / Ivan Garcia”
Your speech at the extraordinary ALBA summit reconfirms that you and your group are going to try to hold onto power at all costs. It doesn’t matter if the Cuban people are sunk in misery and desperation, it doesn’t matter if your children continue to escape this disaster, you people intend to remain and to … Continue reading “Raul Castro, you fear being unmasked / Antonio Rodiles”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 March 2015 — Twelve years after the Black Spring, 14ymedio chats with some of the former political prisoners currently living on the Island. Two questions have been posed to those activists condemned in March 2003: one about their decision to stay in Cuba, and the other about how they see the country today. José … Continue reading ““Recognizing changes does not mean we go along” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14ymedio, Antonio G. Rodiles, Havana, 6 February 2015 – My article published this Wednesday on the site Diario de Cuba has provoked a criticism from blogger Miriam Celaya that motivates me to touch on various points I consider important. In order to mainly refer to the political themes, I will avoid personal attacks; yet without failing … Continue reading “Notes About a Polemic / 14ymedio, Antonio Rodiles”
Announcements made by United States President Barack Obama and his administration have sparked an intense controversy about the Cuban conflict. Many opponents and civil society activists, within the island and in exile, have lamented, especially, the lack of transparency and the unilateral and unconditional nature of the new measures. It is indisputable and indispensable that … Continue reading “Forum for Rights and Freedoms / Estado de Sats (see endnote)”
All said and done, more than half of a list of 53 political prisoners that nobody knows are already free, completely secret and that nobody we ask clarifies for us. Of the fifty who were out, I have the list of 36 prisoners who were surprised to be free again, without formal charges and under … Continue reading “The Sword of Raul Castro / Luis Felipe Rojas”
My baby, my third child, this blog, is five years old and at times I ask myself this question. How long should I continue? I started writing against the grain of what a blog was, doing it like a daily without wi-fi, nor nearby cybercages, but with the recklessness with which one distributes a samizdat. … Continue reading “Five Years of “Crossing the Barbed Wire”: How Long Should I Continue? / Luis Felipe Rojas”
The morning of December 17 had not heralded anything new for Silvio, who is 43 years old. The previous night, after crawling a kilometer and half tied to a stone of considerable proportions along a narrow carriageway road to the Sanctuary of San Lazaro, south of Havana, to fulfill a religious vow and to pray … Continue reading “Cuba and the United States Conclude the Cold War / Ivan Garcia”
14YMEDIO, Havana, September 25, 2014 – An important meeting of Cuban civil society took place this Thursday in Havana, involving 16 activists from across the country, including five ex-prisoners from the 2013 Black Spring. The meeting was not announced ahead of time, and several of the invitees were unable to attend due to other commitments. … Continue reading “Activists Gather Around Four Points of Consensus / 14ymedio”
For Zoila, 38-year old nurse, the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that is now going on in Havana adds up to “politically correct” speeches, banquets and photos. “It’s more of the same. They talk about poverty, integration and social inclusion while in Cuba inequality grows. It is a cheeky … Continue reading “CELAC for Cubans: Indifference and Repression / Ivan Garcia”
The Democracy Bridge Program of the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL) and internal dissidents activists have organized the Second Democratic Forum on International Relations and Human Rights, which they are planning to coincide in Havana with the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The Summit … Continue reading “Activists and CADAL Prepare a Forum Parallel to the CELAC Summit in Havana”
