English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Panama, 8 April 2015 — Young Latin American leaders gathered Tuesday on the second day of the 2nd Youth and Democracy Regional Forum in Panama and addressed issues such as the rise of populist regimes in the region, and agreed on the need to organize civil society at the hemispheric level to fight against political … Continue reading “Young Latin Americans call to fight against political apathy / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 7 April 2015 — The Second Regional Youth and Democracy Forum started Monday in Panama City with the challenge of becoming a “dialogue space for young leaders of student, social and political movements in the region.” The meeting, which runs until Tuesday and is organized by the Latin American Youth for Democracy Network … Continue reading “Young people call to fight against fear and self-censorship / 14ymedio”
Cubanet, Luis Cino Alvarez, Havana, 30 March 2015 — Despite the fact that on the three occasions I ever visited Varadero my experiences were not particularly pleasant, that beach – which today for the majority of Cubans is almost as inaccessible as Waikiki – occupies a special place in my nostalgia. The first time I … Continue reading “When I got to Varadero* / Cubanet, Luis Cino Alvarez”
No blogger, no cry. Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo 1 In the beginning was the Blog. 2 But blogs were formless and empty. 3 Repression was all over the blogosphere. 4 And the citizens saw the blogs were good. 5 So that lacking other channels of expression, the Cuban civil society occupied blogosphere as a tool for … Continue reading “No blogger, no Obama / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
Generation Y*, Yoani Sanchez, 25 March 2015 – “Peace broke out!” the old teacher was heard to say, on the day that Barack Obama and Raul Castro reported the reestablishment of relations between Cuba and the United States. The phrase captured the symbolism of a moment that had all the connotations of an armistice reached … Continue reading “The Day Peace Broke Out / Yoani Sanchez”
Markets all over the Island are supplied with objects made on the illegal circuit of a material mostly derived from industrial waste or leftovers from the dump 14ymedio, Lilianne Ruiz, Havana, 20 March 2015 – At the market of La Cuevita in San Miguel del Padron, some thousand people from all over the Island daily … Continue reading “Wheeling and Dealing with Plastic / 14ymedio, Lilianne Ruiz”
Ivan Garcia, 11 March 2015 — During the hot summer of 2013 I remember Blanca Reyes, wife of the poet and journalist Raul Rivero, writing letters to the pope in the Vatican, to the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina and to Nelson Mandela in South Africa, reminding them that Fidel Castro had … Continue reading “The Ladies in White Should Change Their Political Profile / Ivan Garcia”
Diario de Cuba, Havana, 19 March 2015 — It prohibits bloggers from publishing “content that is illegal, counterrevolutionary, harmful, threatening, harassing, salacious, defamatory, or vulgar,” among other characteristics. The regime announced this Thursday that it is now equipped with a “solid blogging platform, open to the entire national .cu online domain,” which is accessible outside … Continue reading “The Regime Advances in the “Chinese Internet Model” and Creates Its Own Internet Platform / Diario de Cuba”
MantleThought.org, Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, 18 March 2015 — The U.S. embargo against the Cuban government is like those recurrent childhood nightmares, for both Cubans living on the Island and abroad. Oh, the Embargo Embargo: limit of our life, fire of our leaders… During decadent decades the Cuban Revolution has been defined by that urge … Continue reading “NO EMBARGO, NO CRY / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
14ymedio, Rosa Lopez, Havana, 23 February 2015 – The line reached the corner and was moving with agonizing slowness. They were not selling eggs or potatoes. It wasn’t even a line for seeking a visa. Those who waited just wanted access to the automatic teller, the only one working last Saturday afternoon near Havana’s Central … Continue reading “The Ordeal of Automated Teller Machines / 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez”
Ivan Garcia, Havana, 14 December 2015 — “The truce ended,” bawled a newspaper vendor on the bustling central Calzada de 10 de Octubre, in south Havana. Leaning against a peeling wall in the lobby of an old neighborhood movie theater, the vendor offers the newspaper Juventud Rebelde (Rebel Youth) to passersby who read, while they … Continue reading “Cubans of Milkless Coffee Put Their Feet on the Ground / Ivan Garcia”
Cubanet, Ernesto Perez Chang, Havana, 7 February 2015 — More than a decade has passed since the first big purchase of busses from China and Russia was made in order to ameliorate the transportation problem in Cuba, and no improvement is in sight. Contrary to what was promised then, moving from one point to another … Continue reading “Corruption, the Cancer of Cuban Public Transportation / Cubanet, Ernesto Perez Chang”
In tribute to El Caso de Sandra (The Sandra Case) by Luis Manuel García Méndez 14ymedio, Lilianne Ruiz, Havana, 30 January 2015 — A farmer wakes up before dawn to brand with a burning iron the last cow he has left. It’s a ritual of pain and possession. A tourist brands a young person in … Continue reading “The ‘Sandor Case’ / 14ymedio, Lilianne Ruiz”
The unusual story of ‘Granma’ journalist sentenced to 14 years in prison 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Santiago de Cuba, 27 January 2015 — Just outside the building, a ditch carries sewage down the street. Several children jump from side to side of the stinking canal which later runs through Micro 7, a neighborhood in the José Martí … Continue reading “The spy who never wanted to be one / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
Announcements made by United States President Barack Obama and his administration have sparked an intense controversy about the Cuban conflict. Many opponents and civil society activists, within the island and in exile, have lamented, especially, the lack of transparency and the unilateral and unconditional nature of the new measures. It is indisputable and indispensable that … Continue reading “Forum for Rights and Freedoms / Estado de Sats (see endnote)”