English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 10 October 2017 — In a simple note consisting only of four paragraphs, the official Cuban press reported yesterday a fact as unexpected as it was unusual: this Tuesday, coinciding with the 149th anniversary of the beginning of the War of Independence, “the political act and military ceremony of the burial … Continue reading “Revolutionary Desecration”
14ymedio, Havana, 31 July 2016 – Since the proclamation in which Fidel Castro temporarily delegated power on 31 July 2006, the former president has met with two popes, has received visits several European, Asian and Latin American leaders and has written hundreds of articles under the title “Reflections.” However, his role in the daily lives … Continue reading “Chronology: Ten Years Without Fidel Castro / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Juan Carlos Fernandez, Pinar del Rio, 26 March 2015 – “How much everything has changed! How gorgeous the Cathedral is with those add-ons!” exclaimed a Catholic layman on returning to visit his native Pinar del Rio after three decades of exile. The improvement of the infrastructure of the diocese, which started with the arrival … Continue reading “Rise and Fall of a Diocese / 14ymedio, Juan Carlos Fernandez”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 4 August 2014 – To mark the publication of a letter sent by five young Cubans to Pope Francisco, 14ymedio interviewed Erick Álvarez Gil, coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) in Havana. At just 28, this young man joined the organization in 2009, and holds a degree in Electronics and … Continue reading ““We want to contribute to personal and community reflection of pastoral agents” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14ymedio, Santiago de Cuba, 18 September 2015 – The place where Cachita* — as we fondly call our patron saint — receives her devotees has seen busy days before the arrival of Pope Francis. In the Basilica of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, located in Santiago de Cuba Province, the details for the the … Continue reading “El Cobre Prepares to Welcome Pope Francis / 14ymedio”
Reinaldo Escobar, Mexico, 15 September 2015 – Two convocations have been made to the Cuban people asking them to receive Pope Francis, one from the Communist Party, and one from Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the Archbishop of Havana. Both give details of the apostolic visit of the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and the Head of … Continue reading “Crossed Convocations to Receive the Pope / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
Ivan Garcia, 4 July 2015 — Diplomacy does not seem to be Cardinal Jaime Ortega’s strongpoint. The archbishop of Havana behaved badly to a group of anti-Castro activists who were distributing a statement on a proposed amnesty law for political prisoners to diplomats attending 4th of July ceremonies at the home of Jeffrey DeLaurentis, head … Continue reading ““If You Keep Bothering Me, I’ll Have Them Call the Police,” Says Cardinal Jaime Ortega / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Rosa Lopez, Havana 6 February 2015 — Discreet and elusive, donning gray habits and cross-adorned veils, they attend mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Pinar del Río. The three nuns, originally from India, belong to the Order of the Most Holy Savior of Saint Bridget headed by the Italian religious … Continue reading “The Bridgettines, in the Shadows of Power / 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez”
In response to the Editorial in the May 2012 issue of the Cuban Catholic church’s journal Lay Space, group of journalists from the newspaper Granma created, as a joke, this apocryphal editorial, supposedly in response to the official text from the lay Catholics. This is only a joke, that former colleagues sent me, but I … Continue reading “Apocryphal Editorial From Granma / Reinaldo Escobar”
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40 In those years of UMAP*, when Mr. Jaime Ortega was one more in the concentration camps, no one would have imagined that the last but most important mission of what some still … Continue reading “The Missions of the Cardinal / Mario Barroso”
A FEW MONTHS AGO the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre passed by my house. The Virgin, who was making a tour around the island, stopped on this corner of Nuevo Vedado. “Come, neighbors, to receive to Our Mother!” the loudspeaker clamored. A small crowd gathered around the little car. I went up to my … Continue reading “HIGHER POWER / Jorge Enrique Lage”
Benedict: to Be an addict or not to Be an addict, that’s the question.cu…!!! www.quepasa.cl/articulo/opinion—posteos/2012/03/20-8088… World: The Island That Waits for the Pope Many years later, between the anti-imperialist icons of the ministries of the Armed Forces and the Interior (on whose facade Che Guevara survives the great hopes of the ideal New Man), facing … Continue reading “What’s up Pope? / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
One. I saw it this past Sunday, March 4th, in the film ‘El Camino’ (‘The Path’). Four pilgrims were going down the Way of St. James*. For diverse reasons, they form a team, bring their lives together, and after many prayers, discover a compass to their new lives. It turns out that sometimes literature and … Continue reading “The Path to Santiago…Three Times / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Photos by: Luis Felipe Rojas On numerous occasions I have said that this is not a news blog. Here I can only hope to accumulate my travel reports, to make a map (for me) about the days lived, and on many occasions to be in places but not be visible due to my double condition … Continue reading “Meurice, the Friend / Luis Felipe Rojas”