English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Republished from English edition of the Havana Times Lynn Cruz, HAVANA TIMES, 17 September 2019 – Photos of Cuban people stranded at bus stops, trying to reach their destination, are really quite outrageous. While the atmosphere in the capital is becoming more and more hostile, a doctor friend tells me that Carnival is being celebrated … Continue reading “Cuba’s President is an Android / Lynn Cruz, Havana Times”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 June 2019 — The authorities again prevented the independent journalist Henry Constantín from leaving the country, as he prepared to attend the next General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), in Colombia. The director of La Hora de Cuba will not be able to participate in the event because he is “regulated” — Cuban … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Forbid Journalist Henry Constantin to Travel Outside Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 2 June 2019 — Cuban authorities prevented the activists Enix Berrio, Alberto de la Nuez, Fernando Palacios and Boris González from boarding flights at Havana’s José Martí International Airport for Panama City, this Sunday. The opponent Abdel Legrá Pacheco was also unable to board his flight to Colombia and the political police arrested … Continue reading “Six Activists Prevented from Leaving Cuba”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 23 May 2019 — It had been like launching a ship into space. I had to get a new passport, arrange for a visa and take care of all the tasks to prepare my home and work for my days of absence. When it was time to leave for the airport … Continue reading “Not Allowed to Travel for Breaking Down the Wall of the Official Lie”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 20 April 2019 — As of April 10th the new Constitution is an accomplished fact. Although some equate it with the statutes of a party, compare it with prison regulations or identify it as “an old woman with some rouge,” it is already mandatory for everyone. Regardless of the irritation provoked … Continue reading “Cuba’s New Constitution Validates Squaring the Circle”
14ymedio, Ricardo Fernández, Havana/ Camagüey, 6 March 2019 — A long line of passengers loaded with bags, boxes and suitcases wait at Havana’s Central Bus Terminal to pay for excess baggage. The traditional practice of carrying large quantities of food on the bus routes is now allowed, although the cost is too high for the travelers. Since the beginning … Continue reading “The Art of Sharing Luggage to Pay Less on the Bus”
14ymedio, Mario J. Pentón, Miami, 6 June 2018 — The General Customs of the Republic of Cuba threatened on Wednesday to confiscate packages sent from the United States through ‘mules’ (people who travel specifically to the island to carry merchandise) who serve shipping agencies based in the U.S.. The practice of sending goods through agencies, which Havana … Continue reading “Cuban Customs Threatens to Seize Goods Brought by ‘Mules’ from the U.S.”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 May 2018 — The activist Iliana Hernandez, director of the television program Lente Cubano (Cuban Lens), was released on Saturday after being arrested on Friday when she tried to enter El Círculo gallery, where a show that is a part of the independent #00 Biennial currently taking place in Havana is on … Continue reading “Activist Iliana Hernandez Released from Jail”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 May 2018 — An editorial published this Wednesday in the independent magazine Alas Tensas denounces the sequence of attacks by State Security on members of its editorial team in recent months. Pressures that seek to make the “self-proclaimed feminist media disappear.” We have been subjected to “systematic harassment and attacks over the last two months,” says the … Continue reading “"We Have Committed the ’Sin’ of Showing That in Cuba There Are Also Women Who are Killed by Sexist Violence"”
Alas Tensas, Editorial, 2 May 2018 – Those of us publishing the feminist magazine Alas Tensas have been subject to systematic harassment and attacks over the last two months. No doubt they want or need our independent and self-proclaimed feminist media to disappear. As the British feminist Mary Beard says in her essay The Public … Continue reading “Why Do They Want to Cut Our Wings? / Alas Tensas”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 April 2018 – Calling him a “counterrevolutionary,” Cuban authorities have barred the designer Yaudel Estenoz from traveling. Estenoz, who works with several independent media, and had planned to leave for Trinidad and Tobago last Saturday to arrange a student visa to the United States. “I have been the victim of a violation of … Continue reading ““In Addition to the Truth, They Can’t Stand Beauty””
14ymedio, Havana, 12 April 2018 — The Cuban government has taken another step in its policy of restricting travel, by preventing the departure of Dora Leonor Mesa from the Cuban Association for Early Childhood Education, and Marthadela Tamayo and Juan Antonio Madrazo from the Committee for Racial Integration. The three were invited, as presenters, to the Universal … Continue reading “Cuba Imposes More Travel Bans on Dissidents”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 April 2018 — The official Cuban delegation that landed this Sunday in Lima, Peru, to participate in the events parallel to the VIII Summit of the Americas, is composed of almost a hundred individuals who will carry out an intense public agenda. In contrast to this pro-government group, independent activists on the Island have been … Continue reading “Cuban Government Disembarks in Lima "With Everything"”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 February 2018 — On Saturday immigration authorities prevented four members of the board of the Pro Press Freedom Association (APLP) from leaving the country. They were headed to Trinidad and Tobago to participate in a journalism workshop, the president of the independent organization, Jose Antonio Fornaris confirmed to 14ymedio. Julio César Álvarez, Amarilis … Continue reading “Four Members of the Pro Press Freedom Association Prevented from Traveling”
14ymedio, Havana, 26 February 2018 — The activists Jacqueline Madrazo Luna and Dora Leonor Mesa Crespo, members of the Citizens Committee for Racial Integration (CIR), were prevented from leaving the country at dawn on Saturday, according to information from Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna, coordinator of that independent organization, speaking to 14ymedio. Madrazo Luna explained that the … Continue reading “Two Cuban Activists Prohibited from Traveling to OAS Human Rights Meeting”
