English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 15 March 2021 — “You can’t go out today.” It is the ninth day in a short span this year that I get the same blunt message from a State Security agent who prevents me from crossing the threshold of the building. Decried by various international organizations, besieging independent journalists and activists … Continue reading “The Failure of an Operation: I Continue to Do Journalism in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 15 March 2021 — Since last November 27, when some thirty artists managed to force a meeting with the Vice Minister of Culture, Fernando Rojas, after the unprecedented demonstration of some 300 people before the ministry, the question has divided activists: should the Cuban opposition recognize the Government as an interlocutor in a dialogue that guides … Continue reading “Should the Opposition Dialogue with the Cuban Government?”
14ymedio, Rodolfo Santacruz Castillo, Camagüey, 20 February 2021 — A few days ago, I attended one of those useless union meetings that, as a dogma, we have converted into a common practice in the workplace, where supposedly we have to discuss non-conformities and talk about something as sacred and at the same time as outrageous … Continue reading “‘Cuba Compulsively Trains Mediocre Doctors’”
14ymedio, Havana, 17 February 2021 — The video was released on social networks on Tuesday night and just twelve hours later it already exceeded 200,000 views on YouTube. No one expected anything less: for the first time Gente de Zona, Yotuel Romero and Descemer Bueno, residents outside of Cuba, work in a collaboration with the musicians Maykel Castillo Osorbo and El … Continue reading “‘Patria y Vida’, a Soundtrack for Change in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 February 2021 — The rebellious rapper Denis Solís, who is serving eight months in the Combinado del Este, the largest prison in Cuba, for an alleged crime of contempt, was transferred this Friday to the work camp inside the prison itself. The authorities lifted the ban on making phone calls and he … Continue reading “Denis Solis Sent to a Work Camp in the Largest Prison in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 2 February 2021 — The Cuban Youth Dialogue Table returned to the public scene on Monday with the launch of the #Exprésate! [Express Yourself] campaign, which promotes Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to freedom of expression and information. To do this, it released a video featuring the … Continue reading “#Exprésate! (Express yourself!): A New Campaign for Freedom in Cuba”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 30 January 2021 — Celia González (Havana, 1985) has arrived from Mexico to link Nicaragua and Cuba in an exhibition that reflects the political similarities of both nations. She is an artist who likes provocation, research and data who graduated from the Higher Institute of Art in 2009, but long before … Continue reading ““In Cuba, Our Parents’ Generation is Collapsing””
14ymedio, Havana | 24 January 2021 — A decade ago, alternative art in Cuba had a name, Omni Zona Franca, and its heart beat in the Alamar neighborhood in eastern Havana. David Escalona, who calls himself David D Omni, was part of that group of multifaceted artists – musicians, poets, graffiti artists and performers. After … Continue reading ““The Party Reigns in Cuba in the Style of the Medieval Church””
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 7 December 2020 — Actor Reinier Díaz and some other artists who attended last Saturday’s meeting with officials from the Ministry of Culture deny the interpretation that the official press is giving of what happened at the Abelardo Estorino theater. There were forceful interventions in favor of the San Isidro Movement and … Continue reading “‘The Counterrevolution Sneaked Into the Fabric of the Culture’, Complains Abel Prieto”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 December 2020 — The following document is the result of comparing the notes taken by various people who were present and what was remembered by the participants. Published on the Facebook Page 27N (for ‘November 27’) , it is reproduced with their permission. They point out that “there were more statements in … Continue reading ““You Should Be the Ones Talking to Us, Not State Security””
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 6 December 2020 — I have several friends who have not slept for days, glued to the phone or having conversations in front of the mirror, with their pillow or in the shower. They are some of the artists who were in front of the Ministry of Culture on November 27 and who … Continue reading “And Them? Were They ‘Mercenaries’ Too?”
According to reports from neighbors and dissidents, the opponents and activists for racial equality, Sonia Garro Alfonso and Ramón Alejandro Muñoz González, on the evening of Wednesday 21 March, specialized forces of state security and special troops used rubber bullets to make an arrest at their home, located on Avenida 47 No. 11638 between 116 … Continue reading “The Opponents Sonia Garro and Roman Munoz Detained with Extreme Violence / Iván García”
