English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 29 August 2022 — It is one thing to say that Cuba will overcome the current energy crisis; what Díaz-Canel did is quite another matter, he insulted the Cuban people who are fed up with so many lies, and with waiting for “The New Man” who will never arrive. Even … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel and the Blackouts: Enemies On All Sides”
14ymedio, Havana, 30 August 2022 — The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, in Matanzas, left the National Electric System this Tuesday, according to the Cuban Electric Union (UNE), “due to losses of turbine parameters (empty).” Although the state company then assured that “work will be done immediately on the solution to the leak in the boiler … Continue reading “A New Fault Delays the Promise of Diaz-Canel and Raul Castro About the End of the Blackouts”
14ymedio, Yankiel Gutiérrez Faife, Taguayabón (Villa Clara), 23 August 2022 — A blackout in the city is not the same as one in a rural area. When the power goes out in an urban center, even in smaller towns, the buzz of voices begins to break the silence, the heat gets people to talk, scream, … Continue reading “No Blackouts in Taguayabon, Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 August 22, 2022 — The Camagüey city of Nuevitas, a protagonist on Thursday and Friday of the largest demonstrations in Cuba since July 11, 2021, wakes up on this repressed and silent Monday. Throughout the weekend, its inhabitants had their Internet access restricted, and the streets were patrolled by police, soldiers and … Continue reading “More Police and Arrests and Fewer Blackouts to Calm Things Down in Nuevitas, Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 August 2022 — “Noiseless and efficient,” according to the text that accompanies the photo of a power generator that, for about $4,000, promises to exorcise the demon from the blackouts. The most precious status symbol on the Island is a device that keeps appliances running when the government cuts off the power. … Continue reading “Every Man for Himself, Blackouts are Growing in Cuba and so is the Market for Generators”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 19 August 2022 — María de los Ángeles spent the hours after the electrical service returned to her Los Sitios neighborhood in Centro Habana with her balcony doors open and the air conditioner turned on. Like many Cubans, the 64-year-old refuses to save energy in the short time that she … Continue reading “Wasting Electricity to Take Revenge on the Blackouts and the Cuban Regime”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 August 2022 — This Friday night another popular protest took place in Cuba motivated by power outages, this time in the Güira de Melena municipality in the province of Artemisa. To the cry of “Turn on the current, dickhead!” and banging on pots and pans, dozens of residents from the El Pulguero … Continue reading “Residents Take to the Streets of Guira de Melena Banging Pots and Pans in Protest of Blackouts in Cuba”
14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 10 August 2022 — In the midst of an almost absolute blackout in Havana’s Vedado, the Grand Aston Hotel Havana seemed to have fallen from another world, less precarious and underdeveloped. All its lamps, windows, spotlights, reflectors and even humble light bulbs were at their maximum capacity, without any attention to … Continue reading “In the Midst of the Blackouts, a Luxury Hotel Without Customers Illuminates Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 August 2022 — Nearly 200 people took to the streets on Tuesday morning in Alcides Pino, one of the 21 popular councils of city of Holguín, to protest the prolonged blackouts that the city is suffering. “Turn on the electricity dickhead,” was the majority cry of the people, between the sounds of people … Continue reading “In Cuba, Protests Against Blackouts, and for Freedom, Spread to Holguin”
14ymedio, Bayamo, 4 August 2022 — Things are changing in Cuba and not only in the capital. The residents of Bayamo, in modest Granma Province, no longer remain silent in the face of blackouts and openly challenge the authorities. Last Tuesday, a group of people gathered at the Altar of the Heroes, next to the … Continue reading “Cubans Respond to the Blackouts in Bayamo with Protests, Mockery and Posters”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 August 2022 — Block 5 of the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant, in Camagüey, left the electrical system a few hours after it was incorporated. Official journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso confirmed the news through his Facebook account and warned of the increase in the energy deficit that the new incident would entail. “That unit … Continue reading “In Camaguey, Cuba, Another Protest Against Blackouts While More Luxury Hotels are Announced”
14ymedio, Havana/Santiago de Cuba, 1 August 2022 — A demonstration in the Luis Dagnes neighborhood, at the Altamira People’s Council, Santiago de Cuba, included several residents protesting the blackouts and the precarious economic situation which the city is experiencing. The rally quickly caused the presence of several military and law enforcement forces, while the demonstrators … Continue reading “Residents Take to the Streets of Altamira in Santiago de Cuba to Protest Against the Blackouts”
14ymedio, Havana, 31 July 2022 — At least three protests, in different provinces of the country, took place on Saturday night demanding the restoration of electricity service. The suburb, La Minina de Bauta, Artemisa; the community of Central Australia, in Jagüey Grande, Matanzas; and the Covadonga neighborhood in the municipality of Aguada de Pasajeros in … Continue reading “Cuban Residents of Bauta, Jaguey Grande and Covadonga Protest in the Streets Against the Long Blackouts”
14ymedio, Havana, 15 July 2022 — The state telecommunications monopoly, Etecsa, kept the internet cut off for at least half an hour in Cuba, coinciding with two protests that took place almost simultaneously, in the early morning this Friday, in the capital and in the west of the country. In Los Palacios, Pinar del Río, … Continue reading “Night Protests in the Midst of Blackouts in Pinar del Rio and Havana”
14ymedio, Elias Amor Bravo, Economist, 9 July 2022 — We are approaching the first anniversary of July 11, the day when the Cuban people peacefully and courageously expressed that they were in a position to demand a political change for democracy, freedom and human rights in Cuba. And while the regime recreates itself in propaganda … Continue reading “Cuba One Year Since July 11 (11J): The Blackouts Get Worse”
