English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 16 June 2017 – The closure of three private restaurants in Havana last week has sparked doubts among owners of food service businesses. The fact that the three paladares – private restaurants – were rated “excellent” on Trip Advisor, one of the most important travel sites on the web, has fueled … Continue reading “Three “Paladares” Closed Were Among The Best Restaurants In Havana”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 29 May 2017 — They call him “Manolo 440” because a few years ago he had an electrocution accident in a building under construction. He managed to survive and has since been given the nickname of the voltage that almost killed him. He was lucky, unlike the 89 people who died in Cuba last … Continue reading “Danger, Men At Work”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 5 May 2017 — Uncensored, fun and with many varied themes — this defines the producers of the paketito (little packet), a new compendium of audiovisual material that aims to fill the gaps left by the popular weekly packet. Unlike its predecessor, which is made and distributed publicly, the paketito lurks in the … Continue reading “The ‘Little Packet’, A Clandestine Rival For The ‘Weekly Packet’”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 29 April 2017 — They stare, amazed, but they don’t buy anything. Their faces press against the glass and admire that unattainable wealth that is a few inches from their hands and an abyss from their pockets. The new luxury theme park in Havana is the newly opened boutiques on the lower floor … Continue reading “Hotel Manzana, a Luxury Theme Park in Havana”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 19 April 2017 – When the wind blows, the odor of burning overwhelms the town of El Guay, in the municipality of Mella (Santiago de Cuba). It is an odor that sticks to clothes, hair and food. Last Sunday a downpour put out the forest fire that burned 5,000 hectares in … Continue reading “Residents Thank The Rain That Put Out The Year’s Biggest Fire”
Note: The video above is not subtitled but the excerpts from Nadie here are subtitled. 14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 16 April 2017 – Cuba’s State Security and the National Revolutionary Police surrounded the independent gallery El Círculo to prevent this Saturday’s screening of the documentary Nadie (Nobody), directed by Miguel Coyula and featuring the censored … Continue reading “State Security Prevents Screening Of Miguel Coyula’s Documentary ‘Nadie’”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 12 April 2107 — Confined for more than 80 days in a punishment cell, without a single contact with the outside, the activist Lisandra Rivera Rodríguez of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) received her first family visit this Tuesday, in the Mar Verde Women’s Prison in Santiago de Cuba. Lisandra Rivera, … Continue reading “Lysandra Does Not Want To Be Reeducated”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, 8 April 2017 – Were the events like the books tell us? Is the official story a report of what really happened? The attempt to answer these questions inspires the documentary and two fictional shorts that were presented Wednesday in the ‘Moving Ideas’ section of the 16th edition of the Young Filmmakers … Continue reading “Young Cuban Filmmakers Challenge Official History”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 6 April 2017 — Airbnb hosts in Cuba, who were so enthusiastic at the beginning, have been complaining recently about the delays in receiving the payments made by the tourists who have stayed in their homes. The discontent is clear from the complaints published on the platform of the American company and the interviews conducted by … Continue reading “Cuban Hosts Complain About Airbnb’s Payment System”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 2 April 2017 — Not even the most unconditional followers of Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, known as ‘Titón’, have seen the movie Strawberry and Chocolate as many times as Alberto Maceo. This Cuban with the mischievous smile worked as a projectionist at Havana’s Acapulco cinema when the film was on the marquee for a year. The … Continue reading “‘Albertico’, Projectionist for ‘Strawberry And Chocolate’”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 30 March 2017 — Through the streets of Sagua la Grande, in the province of Villa Clara, people walk around with bottles, buckets and every kind of receptacle. This month’s break in the turbine that supplies the city’s water has forced its inhabitants to carry water from different towns. “It’s been … Continue reading “Sagua La Grande, The Village Where A Glass Of Water Is A Miracle”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar/Mario Penton, Havana/Miami, 25 March 2017 – Maria, 59, has a daughter in Miami she hasn’t seen for six years. Her visa applications have been denied three times and she promised herself that she would never “step foot in” the US consulate in Havana again. Cuba is the country with the most denials … Continue reading “Cuba Holds World Record For Visa Applications Rejected By The United States”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar/Mario Penton, Havana/Miami, 6 March 2017 — At age 67, struck by old age and a miserable pension, Raquel, an engineer “trained by the Revolution,” scavenges among the garbage for the sustenance of each day. Her hands, which once drew maps and measured spaces where promising crops would grow, are now collecting cartons, cans … Continue reading “With A Pension Of 240 Pesos, Raquel Survives Thanks To The Trash”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 2 March 2017 — A few minutes after noon, the Lettuce Women stood on the corner of Obispo and Mercaderes streets in Old Havana. They came with their unique message that promotes healthy food and a love of animals. Under the March sun, their lettuce bikinis generated more curiosity than their environmentalist discourse. … Continue reading “The Ladies In Green Can Not Sell Their Lettuce / 14ymedio, Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, 26 January 2016 — The National Council of the Performing Arts has taken measures against the resale of tickets at the Alicia Alonso Gran Teatro de La Habana. The Ministry of Culture, which controls the theater, emphasized that the new controls have been established jointly with the venue to eliminate “the unscrupulous action of the … Continue reading “The Gran Teatro De La Habana Is Guarded Against Ticket Scalpers / 14ymedio”
