English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
At a gathering last February with young people interested in the political history of Cuba, on my referring to the protest of Thirteen, one of those present threw out the question: Why do these events do not occur today? I reproduce here my response in honor of the 88th anniversary of that memorable event and … Continue reading “The Protest of the 13 / Dimas Castellanos”
A ghost runs around Cuba: the Internet ghost. A month after the arrival of fiber optics from Venezuela to create a much faster information and telecommunications highway — some media outlets are predicting speeds three thousand percent faster — the government seems to be looking for excuses to justify why, once again, it will continue … Continue reading “Death Penalty for Internet in Cuba?”
Regina Coyula, 17 March 2011 — Half a century ago, Fidel Castro made a Revolution that was known throughout the world thanks to the technology of his time. From the television studios he opined, harangued, called a general strike, lashed out at his enemies and consolidated his power with popular support. If the reach of … Continue reading “From TV to the Web: The Pathway of Revolutions / Regina Coyula”
Punta Brava, La Habana After several weeks of communication and interaction with the different segments of Cuban Civil Society, the Neighborhood Spokespeople decided to call a working meeting Saturday morning, with the aim of analyzing and evaluating the results of the first stage of the proposed modification of the current Electoral Law. Through admirable effort, … Continue reading “Neighborhood Voices Discuss Strategies / Silvio Benítez Márquez”
Starting today, Friday March 4, is the trail of Alan Gross, an American subcontractor accused of the crime “Acts against the independence and territorial integrity of the Cuban state.” The prosecutor is requesting a sentence of 20 years in prison. Gross, 61, has been detained without charges since December 3, 2009, for distributing satellite links … Continue reading “The Trial of Alan Gross Begins / Laritza Diversent”
Fidelism Cuba emerged on the international map as a tiny little island threatened and blocked by a powerful neighbor. With an excellent lecture from Sun Tzu and Machiavelli; without forgetting Gustave Le Bon, Fidel convinced the majority that he was speaking for the Fatherland, and the Fatherland was the Revolution and was Socialism. Fidel was … Continue reading “More About Egypt and Cuba. Popular Uprising: Between “Papa” and Potatoes / Regina Coyula”
Enemy Campaigns and The Politics of Confrontation with Counterrevolutionary Groups Download a PDF of this transcript here. La ciber policia en Cuba from Coral Negro on Vimeo. Presenter: Eduardo Fontes Suárez Introduction The title more or less says it all, we can adjust [the talk to meet] your interests, comrades, when it’s time for discussion. … Continue reading “MININT Cyber Lecture Video – English Transcript”
Note: This interview with a former prisoner of Cuba’s Black Spring of 2003, recently sent into exile in Spain, is from the blog Pedazos de la Isla, Pieces of the Island. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque, better known simply as “Paneque”, is an example of the brutality practiced by the Cuban government. In his face and … Continue reading ““Though separated by distance, we are still able to struggle for the return of democracy and freedom for our country” / Jose Luis Garcia Paneque”
Divinations Note: This work was originally written for and published in Voices magazine #5, in January, 2011. I want to start with a statement of principle absolutely rigorous and rigorously true: I respect the religious beliefs of all people anywhere in the world. The second statement I will make is as vertical and solid as … Continue reading “Of Oracles and Soothsayers: Cuba, Predictions and Realities / Miriam Celaya”
Exploding on the sands of the world, the dissatisfied burst. Mobs of low-paid workers, fed up with lies and empty promises, remember that governments have no more power than their subjects choose to give them, and they say, “Enough already.” They say: “Out with the tyrants.” Out with the perpetual satraps, who have made of … Continue reading “The Pharaohs of My Egypt / Ernesto Morales Licea”
About the text “A little ashamed of ourselves” by Luis Manuel Pérez Boitel, in response to “The crisis of low culture” of Francis Sánchez. My friend Riverón, Although I consider friendship one of the gifts that should be defended at all costs, I also think that standards about things that happen in life, art and … Continue reading “Message from Jorge Ángel Hernández / POLEMICA: The 2007 Intellectual Debate”
Bárbaro López Villavicencio, 44, and Rafael Felipe Martínez Irizar, 41, both from Cienfuegos and addicted to alcohol, decided, midway through 2009, to take over a boat to leave the country for Mexico, and from there, to go to the United States. When making their plan they assigned themselves certain tasks. Martínez Irizar was responsible to … Continue reading “Punished to “Set an Example” / Laritza Diversent”
Since the last week of December, the Cuban news media turned the propaganda time chart on the 52nd anniversary of the Revolution, whose reviled founders stayed in power and in the disgust of the population, submerged in silence and the routine of a half-century of slogans and promises. There was a Revolution but at these … Continue reading “A Tarnished Revolution / Miguel Iturria Savón”
“It is always good to be, even in serious cases, as least hypocritical as possible.” April started off with good news for Havana’s lovers of the seventh art. I refer to the exhibit in the Charles Chaplin cinema of Martí: the Eye of the Canary, a fictionalized feature-length film, passionate and emotional, that successfully explores … Continue reading “Martí: The Eye of the Canary, a paean to dignity / Dimas Castellanos”
As always, a macabre joke summarizes a Cuban reality with unsurpassed accuracy: Three guests of different nationalities celebrate the courage of certain practices that take place in their countries. The Dutchman says: “Brave men that we are, we went in a group to find prostitutes, knowing that among them, it is almost certain that one … Continue reading “The Untouchables / Ernesto Morales Licea”
