English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Francis Sanchez, 29 March 2017 – Cuba is the country with the second highest levels of depression in Latin America, exceeded only by Brazil. The statistics appear in a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) released in Geneva. From this report, paradoxically, this data is omitted by Cuban publications that otherwise echo the report. The … Continue reading “Depressed But Happy? / Francis Sanchez”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 11 April 2017 — HAVANA, Cuba. – “Thank goodness oil is something we don’t have in Cuba.” So said the lyrics of a popular song by Cuban musical group Habana Abierta. However, now Cuba’s official media insist the opposite is true: “The enterprise Cuba-Petroleum Union (CUPET), which promotes prospecting projects with … Continue reading “Oil in Cuba: Dream or Nightmare?”
Fernando Damaso, 9 March 2017 — The Electric Union (UNE), the Cuban State Electric Company, plans blackouts for repairs, maintenance and tree pruning that affect its aerial networks. Generally, the extend from 8:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon, directly affecting citizens in their homes, and the production of state and private services. … Continue reading “Very Little Unites Us / Fernando Dámaso”
Ivan Garcia, 18 February 2017 — Seven in the morning at the bus stop at Acosta Avenue and Poey Street, in the dense La Vibora neighborhood in southern Havana. Almost a hundred people are waiting for the No. 174 bus to Vedado. While waiting for the bus, some take the opportunity to have a coffee from … Continue reading “Do We Have to Wait for the Government to Sell the Peugeot 508s to Improve Public Transport? / Iván García”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 30 January 2017 — The controversy between the most radical wing of Cuban officialdom and the correspondent of Uruguayan origin resident in Cuba, Fernando Ravsberg, is rising in tone. The latest blasts from the most orthodox defenders of “revolutionary” journalism call out nine alleged false pieces of news from the communicator. … Continue reading “Voices Of Official Journalism Strike Against A Foreign Correspondent / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
Iván García, 6 January 2017 — When you live on the edge of an abyss, you lose your capacity to think about the future. Just ask Giraldo, who works as a plumber for Aguas de La Habana, what his plans are for 2017, and you’ll see an expression of surprise on his face. He takes … Continue reading “Cubans Don’t Have Big Plans For 2017 / Iván García”
Somos+, Arlenys Miranda Mesa, 21 December 2016 — December 3rd was the ceremony in Santiago de Cuba after the death of Fidel Castro and the procession of his ashes across the entire Cuban archipelago. I sat down to observe the ceremony, although I knew it would be repeated many times, but I preferred to be … Continue reading “It Is Not Because Fidel Says It, It Is Because I Believe It / Somos+, Arlenys Miranda Mesa”
Ivan Garcia, 10 December 2016 — In a country sculpted by slogans, intolerance and symbols, the departure of Fidel Castro — absolute ruler and founding father of the Cuban Revolution — changes the rules of the game. Nothing will ever be the same again. No future autocrat will be able to summon a million people … Continue reading “The Seven Phases of Fidel Castro / Iván García”
Iván García, 4 December 2016 — There are three things in the spirituality of the island. Rumba, Santeria, and baseball, which for a decade has been replaced by the passion for football (soccer) among Cubans, especially the youngest generation. But Fidel Castro is overwhelming. When the cedar casket reposed in Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago … Continue reading “Barcelona-Real Madrid: Also Mourning in Cuba / Iván García”
Vicente Botín, Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE), The Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel, 29 July 2016. Once upon a time… A female cat fell in love with a handsome young man and prayed to the goddess Aphrodite to turn her into a woman. The goddess, pitying the cat’s yearning, … Continue reading “Cuba: Tallies and Tales of the Reforms / Vicente Botín”
Juan Juan Almeida, 5 August 2016 — In Cuba 1994 marked the low point of an economic downturn which has been ongoing since the demise of the Eastern bloc in 1989. At the time the government was anticipating social unrest in the east of the country. Discontent within the military had reached dangerous levels due to … Continue reading “Cuba, 5 August 1994: Spontaneous Revolt, Expected Response / Juan Juan Almeida”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 6 August 2016 — She split the plate into two meager rations. “Mommy, you’re not going to eat?” asked one of the daughters voraciously swallowing the mashed banana without oil, free of protein and with hardly any salt. The image of this skimpy dinner in the summer of 1993 is recalled by Maria … Continue reading “The Special Period: The Return Of The Cuban Middle Ages / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
Juan Juan Almeida, 25 July 2016 — Although it is not the first case of a Cuban doctor suddenly abandoning his mission overseas, the desertion in Brazil of Dr. Alejandro Guerrero Gonzalez — a leading specialist in general medicine and a former director of Lucia Iñiguez Landin Surgical and Clinical Hospital in Holguin province — is one … Continue reading “Prominent Holguin Physician "Escapes" Mission in Brazil / Juan Juan Almeida”
Iván García, 19 July 2016 — At the traffic signal on Infanta and Carlos III, in the heart of Havana, Guenady takes advantage of the red light to thirstily take a swig out of a half-liter of ice water that he keeps at one side of his driver’s seat. Perhaps the cold water helps to … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Wants to Regulate Prices for Collective Taxis / Iván García”
Iván García, 23 July 2016 — It was announced on Friday, July 8 that Cuba had experienced an economic recession in the first half of this year and that there would be cutbacks in fuel consumption. If the country had a stock exchange or a convertible national currency, their fall would have been dramatic. It was … Continue reading “A Lighter Version of Cuba’s Special Period / Iván García”
