English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 7 December 2017 — In recent days, “political analyst” Daisy Gómez – one of the faithful among the most faithful deans of the Castro press – offered a commentary on the primetime Cuban television news program, questioning the legitimacy of the results of the controversial Honduran elections, based on suspicions that “in … Continue reading “The Castro Regime’s Biggest “Electoral” Farce / Miriam Celaya”
Cubanet, María Matienzo, Havana, 23 November 2017 — According to Claudio Fuentes, photographer and human rights activist, he’s started doing something like ten interviews and they haven’t published any of them. Maybe it has to do with that mania he has to be always behind the camera, pointing the lens at the Ladies in White, other activists … Continue reading “Claudio Fuentes: "I Do Not Want to be an Opponent One More Day"”
14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 2 November 2017 — Three days and thirty calls, this is how Carla summarizes the time immediately after the announcement of the new travel and immigration measures. “I dialed all the numbers I had on hand,” she says, with a cup of tea in her hands at her home in … Continue reading “Navigating Among the Travel and Immigration Nonsense”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 September 2017 — The independent candidate Yusniel Pupo Carralero denounced on Wednesday that he had been detained by State Security to prevent him from participating in the People’s Power Nominating Assembly for his district in the municipality of San Juan y Martinez in Pinar del Río. Once communications were restored in his town … Continue reading “State Security Blocks Independent Candidate Yusniel Pupo Carralero”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 27 July 2017 — The starting point for the Cuban electoral process is undoubtedly the disclosure of the voter register, the list of all those who have the right to mark a ballot at the polls. The preparation, public character and possible omissions of these lists decisively influence the course of the … Continue reading “The Dark Side of Voter Registration in Cuba”
14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 4 May 2017 – I was in the third grade and the teacher chose the most aggressive girl in my class to be the room monitor. She was given carte blanche to control the other children. Later, the abuser rose to a position in the Federation of Middle School Students and … Continue reading “When The Abuser Is The Government”
The video shows Eliecer Avila and other human rights activists at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, protesting the confiscation of Avila’s laptop when he returned to the country from abroad. 14ymedio, Havana, 8 April 2017 – Some fifty uniformed members of the National Revolutionary Police and the Ministry of the Interior raided the … Continue reading “Police Arrest Activist Eliécer Ávila and Raid His Home”
14ymedio, Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, Havana, 28 March 2017 — The stench fills the air and permeates the clothes of El Fanguito residents near the Almendares River. Those who live there carry that stink everywhere, it gets into your nose and into your pores. The main river flowing through Havana barely shows any signs of recovery despite … Continue reading ““All You Can Catch in the Almendares River is a Good Infection””
14ymedio, 12 January 2017 – Cuba’s master of humor, Panfilo, hit the nail on the head on Monday when he complained about the animosity many compatriots display on seeing the prosperity of others. “If we could export envy from this country, the gross national product would be through the roof,” said the sympathetic old man, obsessed with his ration … Continue reading “A Magic Spell Against Envy / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Leandro Cansino, Stockholm 31 December 2016– It was very necessary for me to write to you. Let me send you something that comes from my soul: thank you for existing, thank you for all the bad things you do for me. You have no idea how much I have to thank you, it is not sarcasm … Continue reading “To My Beloved Enemy / 14ymedio, Leandro Cansino”
14ymedio, Ignacio de la Paz, Camaguey, 11 November 2016 — Closed and silent. Thus are several of the most successful private restaurants – known as paladares – in Las Tunas and Camaguey these days. Their proprietors are accused of several economic crimes and are in jail awaiting prosecution, despite requests from their lawyers to release them on … Continue reading “Private Restaurants Closed, Owners in Jail / 14ymedio, Ignacio de la Paz”
Video: Police search of Cubalex: breaking open the gate. 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 26 September 2016 – The headquarters of the independent legal group Cubalex, this weekend, lacked the hectic bustle of the many users who normally flock to the site for legal advice, especially the families of inmates who come with thick folders of … Continue reading “Laritza Diversent: “We Have The Right To Participate In The Social And Political Life Of The Country” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Miami, 2 July 2016 — In October of 1988, students of the School of Journalism at the University of Havana, formulated 28 awkward questions posed to Fidel Castro at a meeting held in the theater of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Havana. One question touched on the thorny issue of … Continue reading “The Hour of Truth / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
Ivan Garcia, 11 May 2016 — Daniel Llorente Miranda, 52, is a spontaneous dissident. He doesn’t belong to any opposition party, nor is he an un-gagged journalist. He is on his own. Last 22 March, with the stars and stripes on his shoulders, Llorente found himself in the area of the United State Embassy, waiting … Continue reading “State Security Tactics in Cuba / Iván García”
14ymedio, Manuel Pereira, Mexico, 3 April 2016 — One day in 1983 I took Gabo to see my grandmother, who lived in a tenement on Old Havana, at No. 105 Aguiar Street at the corner of Cuarteles. She was a Galician who had come to the island in 1926, the year of the devastating cyclone, … Continue reading “The Incredible Story Of Sad Gabo And My Beloved Grandmother / 14ymedio, Manuel Pereira”
