English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Desde Aqui, Havana, August 5, 2021 — The popular program Escriba y Lea [Write and Read] familiarized viewers with one of the most delicate operations a historian can make: dating the beginning and end of an era. When the panelists had to figure out, sometimes by guessing, the historical fact or character suggested in a … Continue reading “Cuba: Before and After July 11”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 22 July 2021 — The month of July has borne witness to a number of events that have been turning points in Cuba’s history: Fidel Castro’s assault on the Moncada Barracks in July 1953, which ignited the revolution; the execution of the revolutionary general Arnaldo Ochoa that shocked many Cubans in 1989; and … Continue reading “A New Generation of Cubans Will Not Be Silenced”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 20 July 2021 — In flip-flops and shirtless, Yander ran down Galiano Street to join the crowd shouting “Freedom!” that had just passed his door. In the rush, he forgot the mandatory mask. The mother of this 35-year-old from Havana reached him short-of-breath. “Mi’jo, you left your mask!” she said, and handed him a piece … Continue reading “July 11: The Day Cuban Youth Overturned a Police Car”
Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 14 July 2021 — July 11, 2021 entered Cuban history through the front door when the dignified spark ignited in San Antonio de los Baños spread throughout the rest of the island: in a few hours more than fifty Cuban cities, from east to west, rose spontaneously in a massive outcry and millions of … Continue reading “July 11 in Cuba: The Hour of the Homeland / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 July 12, 2021 — Injuries, threats and arbitrary arrests were the culmination of massive and unprecedented protests that took place across Cuba on Sunday, a story that made the front pages of the world’s newspapers today. Among those arrested or attacked was Associated Press photographer Ramon Espinosa, an action that was condemned … Continue reading “The Eyes of the World Are on Cuba”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Generation Y, Havana, 31 December 2020 – Cuba is going through a very difficult time. What is problematic this December lies not only in the economic crisis expressed in an 11% fall in the gross domestic product, nor is it entirely due to the confinement and pain imposed by the pandemic. The … Continue reading “2021 in Cuba, Goodbye to the Revolutionary Mask”
Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 17 June 2019 — Several weeks ago we received the news of the tragedy of the Armila River, in shock. On the night of April 23rd, dozens of Cuban families were mourning when more than fifty young people, who traveled north into Panamanian jungle, died dragged by a sudden flood. Despite its obvious … Continue reading “Tragedy in the Darien Jungle: a Warning to the Returnee / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”
14ymedio, Havana, December 4, 2019 — The Cuban journalist José Ramírez Pantoja, who requested political asylum at the United States border seven months ago, was freed on parole this week, although he will remain in detention until he pays bail. The reporter is asking for help from the community to pay what remains of the $10,000 … Continue reading “US Grants Parole To Cuban Journalist Jose Ramirez Pantoja”
14ymedio, Leandro Cansino, Stockholm, 6 September 2019 — I dare to assert what is happening to you right now while you are reading me, when you look around and see how much you’ve been robbed of, how much you have accepted losing to see yourself live in a merely decent way. The exchange is more … Continue reading “Early Emigration”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 13 July 2019 — From that year I remember the wait, it was a feeling that filled everything like the unstoppable ticking of a story that was about to end. More than hunger, the heat of summer and the blackouts, the most difficult thing to endure was that prolonged parenthesis that … Continue reading “The Day Innocence Drowned”
14ymedio, Mario J. Pentón, 8 May 2019 — José Ramírez Pantoja, who was expelled in 2016 from Radio Holguín for a publication the government found uncomfortable, requested political asylum in the United States on Wednesday, convinced that “escape” is his only option. “They left me without work or sustenance, without caring about the years I … Continue reading “Fired Cuban Journalist Asks for Asylum in the US”
14ymedio, Ariel Hidalgo, Miami, May 4, 2019 — The comings and goings of Trump officials in Florida lately to meet with exiled Cubans and Venezuelans, and the measures taken against the Maduro dictatorship and Castroism, clearly have an electoral interest, which is very common. All politicians, Republicans and Democrats, have always done the same thing. … Continue reading “Trumpa’s “Pressure Cooker” Policy”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, 14 April 2019 — In several Cuban universities, professors and directors are being required to ratify their membership in the Rapid Response Brigades (BRR), para-police groups destined to confront popular protests. Teachers must sign a document with the commitment to join these groups, according to testimonies and documents collected by 14ymedio. … Continue reading “Rapid Response Brigades Reactivated in Cuban Universities”
Iván García, 7 January 2019 — Although Magela and her boyfriend Damián were dressed in black to a salsa dance with Haila and Isaac Delgado, on January 1 at Red Square in La Víbora, south of Havana, they were unaware of the campaign that Cuban dissident activists are carrying out in social networks with the label … Continue reading “"Not One More": A Trending Topic, or One More Dissident Campaign? / Ivan Garcia”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, West Palm Beach, 16 August 2018 –With its lights and its shadows, the virtual debates surrounding the constitutional reform undertaken by the Cuban government have created the benefit of uncovering a host of non-conformities and claims long repressed by Cubans from all corners of the globe, and at the same time, stirring … Continue reading “Cuba: Without a Real Transition There Will Be No Winners / Miriam Celaya”
