English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Once again Cuban society darkens from the avoidable death of another of its members. The peaceful protestor Wilman Villar Mendoza was detained in a police offensive carried out in Contramaestre, a province of Santiago of Cuba, unjustly and quickly condemned to 4 years in jail for working with a free conscience, in a trial behind … Continue reading “Another Irreplaceable Loss”
Wilman Villar was a human being, Orlando Zapata Tamayo was a human being. Human beings are capable of love and hate, of fear, or of fighting, to free us or to be submissive, to have a domestic dispute, to drink or not to drink. And yet, they are also be able to perform actions that … Continue reading “Lent / Lilianne Ruíz”
Foreign and domestic news pours forth in Cuba with extensive coverage of the international and national press; academic, intellectual, social, and cultural events, contests, speeches and appearances: all manipulated, at the convenience of the powers-that-be with a huge media coverage. Almost simultaneously the authorities unleash a wave of repression that stirs concern and solidarity. So … Continue reading “The Long Arm of Zorro / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”
Foreign and domestic news pours forth in Cuba with extensive coverage of the international and national press; academic, intellectual, social, and cultural events, contests, speeches and appearances: all manipulated, at the convenience of the powers-that-be with a huge media coverage. Almost simultaneously the authorities unleash a wave of repression that stirs concern and solidarity. So … Continue reading “The Long Arm of Zorro”
LOOK AT ME DEATH, AND DO NOT CRY FOR YOUR LOVE [Short video of the tanks on the train] When Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in Havana, I went to the Playa del Este to die a little too me. En route 462 we saw a convoy of trucks loaded with tanks. Tanks of war to … Continue reading “IN THE DEATH OF THE HEART / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
In remembrance of Wilman Villar Mendoza The Cuban state talks nonsense with the traditional verbiage with which they usually justify their inexcusable acts and remain silent about the reasons and abuse that led to the death of Wilman Mendoza. The chess strategy that “the best defense is an offense” ends whatever possibility of dialogue with … Continue reading “Macho State / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”
In remembrance of Wilman Villar Mendoza The Cuban state talks nonsense with the traditional verbiage with which they usually justify their inexcusable acts and remain silent about the reasons and abuse that led to the death of Wilman Mendoza. The chess strategy that “the best defense is an offense” ends whatever possibility of dialogue with … Continue reading “Macho State”
Another tragic event focused again on the eastern Cuban provinces started the year. Wilman Villar Mendoza, sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, died after conducting a hunger strike, which has rocked the Cuban dissidence and international public opinion which follows events of the island. The rapidity with which these events developed surprised everyone. In October of … Continue reading “One More Time / Rafael León Rodríguez”
One gray afternoon, after working an intense 12 house in her office in Planalto, Brasilia, the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, 63, took her laptop which she took everywhere, and confessed to the Newsweek reporter Marc Margolis, “When I was a little girl I wanted to be a firefighter or a ballerina, period.” It was not … Continue reading “Dilma Rousseff’s Trip to Cuba: A Return to the Past / Iván García”
At the end of December, at 8:30 at night, I was assaulted in public by State Security agent Volodia, along with another agent whose name I don’t know, at 26th Street and Zapata. They asked me to take off the T-shirt I was wearing with an image of Laura Pollán. Faced with my refusal, both … Continue reading “Faces Against Audacity / El Sexto – Danilo Maldonado Machado”
To the memory of Wilman Villar Mendoza A couple of years ago, my friend Eugenio Leal decided ask for the report of his criminal record, necessary paperwork when applying for certain jobs. With confidence, he applied for the form where it would say he had never been convicted of any crime but found, in its … Continue reading “Common Criminals / Yoani Sánchez”