English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, 6 March 2020 — “It’s 985 pesos,” the employee says when she brings the bill for a lunch for three people in a state restaurant in the municipality of Playa, in Havana. It exceeds the monthly salary of one of the customers, an engineer, who does not like the payment in CUP (Cuban … Continue reading “The Cuban ’Chavito’ Smells of Death”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 February 2019 — The Habana Libre Hotel, an emblem of the Cuban capital and the entire Island, has been converted, lately, into a symbol of the times that are coming. Little by little, the sign with the name of the celebrated lodging place has been losing letters, a deterioration that has not … Continue reading “Free Letters”
14ymedio, Miami, 11 April 2018 — A billboard calling for the end of repression, corruption and impunity in Cuba was vandalized on Tuesday in Lima, Peru, where the forums parallel to the VIII Summit of the Americas are being held. The billboard, placed near airport and addressed to those who are participating in the hemispheric … Continue reading ““Friends Of Cuba” in Peru Destroy Billboard That Supports Human Rights”
Ivan Garcia, 17 October 2017 — Chest pains, migraines and inflamed feet alerted Oneida’s family that the 82-year-old with a long history of diabetes and cancer was not well. Her children rushed her to the emergency room at Miguel Enriquez Hospital, in the Luyano neighborhood in south Havana, where their mother was admitted to intermediate … Continue reading “Cuba and Its Perennial Shortages / Iván García”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar and Zunilda Mata, Havana/Varadero, 21 September 2017 — “This is what’s left of the gardens of the Blue Lagoon,” says an employee while looking at a cellphone photo of fallen palm trees and tangled vegetation. The bus in which he is traveling is responsible for distributing staff to the hotels in Varadero, Cuba’s … Continue reading “Irma Reconfigures Cuba’s Tourist Map”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 11 August 2017 — Military boots and olive green trousers drawn on a poster have provoked great anger among communist militants who seem to have managed, through their complaints, to get the organizers of a sanitation campaign to remove the poster from the streets and sewers near Havana’s Malecon. The initiative, … Continue reading “Communist Militants Force Withdrawal of a Poster For Being “Disrespectful” of Fidel Castro”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 15 May 2017 — The artist Danilo Maldonado, known as ‘El Sexto’ (The Sixth), announced his desire to reside in the United States, although he will remain attentive to what happens in Cuba to be able to denounce the arbitrary detentions. Maldonado, whose girlfriend, Alexandra Martinez, is a US citizen, declined to respond … Continue reading “‘El Sexto’ Will Stay In The US But Will Continue To Fight Against Arbitrary Detentions In Cuba”
14medio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 13 May 2017 – Three employees circulate among the tables, so similar that they seem cast from the same mold. “I want to give a good image to the place,” says the owner of a flourishing cafe on 26th Street in Havana. Like him, many private businesses are imposing a standard on female … Continue reading “Cuba’s Private Sector Demands “Young, White and Childless””
Ivan Garcia, 4 March 2017 — Twenty years later, Nivaldo (names changed), 43, an orthopedist, still remembers the hot morning when his parents said goodbye to him in the old train station in a small village in the depths of Cuba. The economy of his native village, with narrow streets of cracked asphalt and the … Continue reading “Cuba: Renting Out Medical Specialists / Iván García”
The video of Maldenado’s remarks is here. His prepared remarks begin at 01:18:00, and can be read here in English. He then answers questions at 2:18:31. 14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 16 February 2017 — Danilo Maldonado, El Sexto, a well-known Cuban graffiti artist and human rights activist, appeared before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, … Continue reading “‘El Sexto’ Appears Before US Senate to Speak of Human Rights / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 3 February 2017 — The uniform haircut imposed upon entering the Combinado del Este prison contrasts with the stains of fresh paint on the shoes of the super tall man, who stands nearly 6’5″. Danilo Maldonado Machado, known as ‘El Sexto’ (The Sixth), a graffiti artist and human rights activist in Cuba, embodies … Continue reading ““I come from the street, but I did not want to stay there,” says ‘El Sexto’ / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 1 Februday 2017 — The global organization Amnesty International on Tuesday called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of Cuban dissident Eduardo Cardet, who has been detained for two months accused of the crime of assault. Amnesty International believes that Cardet, the national coordinator of the illegal Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), is a prisoner of … Continue reading “Amnesty International Calls For Release Of Cuban Opponent Eduardo Cardet / EFE, 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 27 January 2017 — Since late last November Danilo Maldonado, El Sexto, has lived a nightmare. He passed from one police station to another until he reached the dreaded Combinado del Este jail in Havana. His crime: to write on several walls a graffiti that read “He left,” a few hours after the … Continue reading ““That day, like the kids, I went out to play,” says El Sexto / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar”
14ymedio, Pablo de Llano, Miami, 22 January 2017 — Minutes after the announcement of the death of Fidel Castro, last November 25, Danilo Maldonado Machado passed by his mother’s house and knocked on the window of her room. Maria Victoria Machado opened and her son asked: “Mom, are you afraid?” She, who had heard the news, told … Continue reading “The Punk Who Didn’t Cry For Fidel / 14ymedio, Pablo De LLano”
Regina Coyula, 20 January 2017 — I was asked for this by a press agency, and they didn’t publish it. Then came the official reaction and we couldn’t have much time without his image. It’s like what a wise lady said in line at the pharmacy, “It would be preferable that the (National) Assembly approved … Continue reading “Three Days Without Fidel / Regina Coyula”
