English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 8 August 2021 — The auxiliary bishop of Havana, Alfredo Petit Vergel, died this Saturday in the Cuban capital, at the age of 85, according to a note released by the San Julián De Los Güines parish. Born on July 24, 1936 in Havana, Petit studied at the College of the Brothers of the … Continue reading “Havana Auxiliary Bishop Alfredo Petit Vergel, Dies at 85”
14ymedio, Yaiza Santos, Madrid, July 31, 2021 — The singer, composer and music producer Pavel Urkiza was born in Kiev (Ukraine), but right away, when he was three months old, he was taken to Havana where he grew up. His parents, both engineers, were part of the first Cuban student brigade in the Soviet Union. … Continue reading “The Change in Cuba Has No Turning Back”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, July 27, 2021 — They say that the Díaz-Canel government is not responsible for the national economic disaster. But every day they give us evidence of it. The State newspaper Granma now echoes a report of the communist leader’s day of “voluntary work” in the Havana neighborhood of Fontanar, in the Base Business Unit (UEB) … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel Hides Behind “Voluntary Work””
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, February 25, 2020 — The cliché has been coined that in that process called the Cuban Revolution, the first 30 years were those of the greatest ideological intolerance. The firing squads, the Military Units to Aid Production (UMAP) [agricultural forced labor camps for gays, religious and non-conformists], the obligatory atheism, the Revolutionary … Continue reading “The Ideological Weaknesses of the Cuban Communist Party”
14ymedio, Havana, November 11, 2019 — The revolution of the aquatics, by Abraham Jiménez Enoa, was one of the winning reports at Cubacron, although its author was unable to collect his prize because he is one of those on the list of persons “regulated” by the Cuban government. The reporter from the magazine El Estornudo has … Continue reading “One Of The Winners Of Cubacron Cannot Collect Prize Because He Is "Regulated"”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Valencia, 30 September 2019 — The Spanish newspaper ABC dedicated an interesting report to tourism during the third German Reich, and how Hitler fooled millions of tourists in World War II. All this comes from a book by Julia Boyd entitled Travelers in the Third Reich from the Atico Libros publishing house, filled with letters, documents and testimonies … Continue reading “The Extraordinary Resemblance Between Tourism in Nazi Germany and Communist Cuba”
Luz Escobar and Mario J. Penton, Havana/Miami, 26 July 2019– Cardinal Jaime Ortega (1936-2019), a key figure in the secret talks that led to the reestablishment of relations between the United States and Cuba, died at age 82 on 26 July in Havana, after a long illness, according to ecclesiastical sources. “Jaime Ortega was a … Continue reading “Jaime Ortega, Cardinal of the Thaw, Dies in Havana”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 4 April 2019 — “I’m waiting for day someone is going to offer Pablo and the other people an apology.” This phrase, from the recently deceased Sergio Vitier, is part of the documentary Pablo Milanés, which addresses, among other topics, the time in the 1960s that the singer-songwriter spent in Cuba’s … Continue reading “"They Managed to Gather All the ‘Despicables’ in a Concentration Camp"”
14ymedio, Ariel Hidalgo, Miami, 1 December 2018 — A patriarchal group that has governed Cuba for 60 years is presenting a project for a revised constitution to become the law of the country. But this cosntitutional project has not been prepared by a Constituent Assembly, one composed of delegates chosen through an electoral process with all the … Continue reading “The Regenerative Power of NO!”
Fernando Damaso, 25 September 2018 — When I argue that the Cuban Communist Party lacks aby historical endorsement for calling itself the “leading force of society and of the state,” I do so based on concrete facts of its trajectory. One of them is in reference to their current acceptance of sexual diversity. Although, before 1959, the original Communist Party was never … Continue reading “A Time That Should Not Be Forgotten / Fernando Damaso”
14ymedio, Abel Sierra Madero, New York | August 28, 2018 — For the past few years the Cuban regime has been producing some sudden changes meant to guarantee the continuity of the system and to erase the past. I called this process of “gatopardism” (a political strategy of changing things so that everything remains the … Continue reading “From State Homophobia to Marriage Equality in Cuba”
Veronica Vega, Alas Tensas, 5 July 2018 — Billie Jean King is a former American tennis player. She is among the greatest in the world sports and is a recognized activist for the defense of LGBT rights in the United States. In 1973, she threatened to boycott the Tennis US Open if the women did not receive the … Continue reading “The Battle For Life / Veronica Vega”
Miriam Celaya, Cubanet, West Palm Beach, 28 June 2018 — A recent inquiry by colleagues Ana León and Augusto César San Martín about the expectations of several citizens, in the face of the constitutional reform, arouses reflection on some of the numerous gaps in the field of civic culture and rights ailing the Cuban population. … Continue reading “The “New” Cuban Constitution: Defeat or Opportunity? / Cubanet, Miriam Celaya”
14ymedio, Maite Rico, Madrid, February 26, 2018 — Mario Vargas Llosa, who was born in 1936 in Areuquipa, Peru, is in full form. Combative, ebullient, brimming with laughter, the Nobel laureate travels widely and operates on a variety of intellectual fronts, crafting fiction and scrutinizing facts. In a recently published essay, “The Call of the … Continue reading “Vargas Llosa: ‘No Moderately Sane Person Would Want a System Like Cuba’s for Their Country’”
Wednesday, 10 October 2017 Ángel Santiesteban Havana, Cuba. Your Holiness: Now that your name is no longer so popular on the Island of Cuba, I have decided to write you these lines. I suspect that this decline in your prestige has to do with the scant companionship you have provided us, as well as with … Continue reading “Open Letter to Pope Francis / Ángel Santiesteban”
