English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Diario de Cuba, Joan Antoni Guerrero Vall, 4 October 2015 — After being held in the country for eight months by the regime, in punishment for attempting to bring her performance Tatlin’s Whisper to the Plaza of the Revolution, Tania Bruguera refuses to give in. She recognizes that even when she was put in the … Continue reading “Tania Bruguera: “Cuba needs massive civic literacy in the streets” / Diario de Cuba”
Final Declaration of the Second National Conference of the Somos+ Movement – Havana, Cuba, 13 September 2015 We find it unacceptable and offensive that the police tried to thwart this meeting. As distinguished, responsible, Cuban adults, who have not broken the law or caused anyone harm, we demand respect for our organization, movement, and freedom … Continue reading “Final Declaration of the Second National Conference of the Somos+ Movement / Somos+”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 31 July 2015 — Shy, but with a quick wit and a direct expression, the filmmaker Miguel Coyula (b. Havana 1977) opens the door the room where he works and lets 14ymedio into this creative space in a Vedado apartment. The director of Memories of Underdevelopment is craftsman of the cinema: … Continue reading ““I want more movies and fewer laws” / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 26 July 2015 — The liturgy does not change. The anniversary event for the Day of National Rebellion took place this Sunday in front of the Moncada Barracks. A script where each detail is repeated year after year, like a rite empty of emotion and surprises. The only novelty on this occasion … Continue reading “The Revolutionary Mass is Held at Dawn / 14ymedio, 26 July 2015”
A pandemic of freedom floods our senses. Juan Carlos Cremata 14ymedio, Pedro Campos and other authors, Havana, 25 July 2015 – It will soon be 62 years since a group of young men headed by Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, an event that catapulted that figure to the foreground of … Continue reading “Restore Sovereignty to the People If You Want To Avoid another Revolution / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”
A few days after the censorship of Juan Carlos Cremata’s production of The King is Dying, cultural policy has been the topic of discussion on Monday at the National Assembly commission dedicated to these issues. The first vice president of the Councils of States and of Ministers Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, participated in the debate. The … Continue reading “Cuban Vice President Diaz-Canel: “The Cultural Policy Of The Cuban Revolution Is Unique” / 14ymedio”
Regina Coyula, 8 July 2015 — A note about this work by Juan Carlos Cremata arrived by mail. The final phrase is not mine: Regrettably, the National Council of Performing Arts has decided to take down the poster of Eugene Ionesco’s Exit the King by El Ingenio theater group after its first two inaugural performances last … Continue reading “Debut and Dismissal / Regina Coyula”
Among the films presented at the Festival of New Latin American Cinema, which began here on the December 4, is one entitled With You, Bread and Onions. In a recent interview on the television program Afternoon at Home, the director Juan Carlos Cremata commented that he had decided not to submit his film for judging because he … Continue reading “Digressions on “With You, Bread and Onions” / Rebeca Monzo”
Presided over by Cuba’s General-President, on Friday, March 15, 2013 there was an extended meeting of the Council of Ministers, which, in addition to resembling any other, at the same time typifies both the inefficiency of the entire government apparatus and the impossibility of renewing the so-called “Cuban model.” The witches’ sabbath of official mediocrity … Continue reading “Total Alienation / Miriam Celaya”
Art has always been feared by dictators for its silent and devastating property of exposing the occult. Because it is the messenger pigeon that conveys the feeling of the people, their fears and hopes. It also has the power to move public opinions and to help displace the warlords. The response of totalitarian governments, as … Continue reading “Art that Challenges / Angel Santiesteban”
I do not think there is a single Cuban who has not seen his face at some point, on the big screen or small, or in a theater. He is one of the most recognizable actors on the national scene. No doubt this is influenced by the not inconsiderable number of his films: 80 works, … Continue reading “Under the Skin of a Real Nicanor / Ernesto Morales Licea”