Search results for: UNEAC

Los Van Van, Chucho Valdés, Leo Brouwer and Other Cuban Artists Take ‘The People’s Side’

14ymedio, Madrid | 14 July 2021 — Voices of international Cuban artists, critical of the repression unleashed by the regime since Sunday’s protests, are multiplying. Among them are those of figures formerly related to the regime, and those of figures who have been very prudent in expressing their political opinion are striking, for example the … Continue reading “Los Van Van, Chucho Valdés, Leo Brouwer and Other Cuban Artists Take ‘The People’s Side’”

San Isidro Movement Calls for a National Dialogue Without Excluding the Cuban Authorities

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 5 March 2021 — The San Isidro Movement (MSI) has launched the Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life] platform to convene a “national dialogue” with all actors in society, including the Government, and build a Cuba that represents “a safe home for all,” and to overcome the serious crisis that the nation is … Continue reading “San Isidro Movement Calls for a National Dialogue Without Excluding the Cuban Authorities”

14ymedio’s Faces of 2020: Pedro Junco, Writer from Camaguey

Pedro Armando Junco (b. Camagüey, 1947), was one of the most successful writers and intellectuals in Cuba. But as he became more belligerent in his political demonstrations, his luck changed, to the point of being expelled from the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac), to which he had belonged for dozens of years and … Continue reading “14ymedio’s Faces of 2020: Pedro Junco, Writer from Camaguey”

“You Should Be the Ones Talking to Us, Not State Security”

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””

Tales Along the Way / Fernando Damaso

Fernando Damaso, 16 September 2020 — It has become commonplace for the authorities, starting with the present and ending with the last of his minister, when speaking about why there is lack of products that are only exported, and about the high taxes and the high prices in state stores, to justify it saying that … Continue reading “Tales Along the Way / Fernando Damaso”

When The Intellectuals Supported “The Terror Of Castrismo.” Seventeen Years After The “Message From Havana.”

Yolanda Huerga (Radio Televisión Martí), April, 19, 2020 — It’s been 17 years since that April 19 when a group of Cuban artists and writers signed a letter supporting the imprisonment of 75 dissidents, the execution of three young men and life sentences for the other four, after they hijacked a boat with the intention … Continue reading “When The Intellectuals Supported “The Terror Of Castrismo.” Seventeen Years After The “Message From Havana.””

The Artist Alcantara Again Sparks Controversy by Auctioning the Flag of his ‘Performance’

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 23 March 2020 — Just one week after his release, the controversy has returned to the work of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who announced the auction of the flag that starred in Drapeau, the performance for which the Government accuses him of the crime of “insult to the national symbols.” This flag bears … Continue reading “The Artist Alcantara Again Sparks Controversy by Auctioning the Flag of his ‘Performance’”

Social Media Censorship In Cuba: Another Turn Of The Screw / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 11 July 2019 — In the last few days we have seen the crystallisation of the Cuban government’s posture on the use of social media and websites in our country. The authorities in Havana have decided that from now on they will regulate even more closely the activity in these sites by … Continue reading “Social Media Censorship In Cuba: Another Turn Of The Screw / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Cuban President Diaz-Canel Takes Up Fidel Castro’s Obsolete Discourse on Intellectuals

14ymedio, Havana, 1 July 2019 — Miguel Díaz-Canel used his closing speech to the IX Congress of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) to recall the controversial Words to the Intellectuals delivered by Fidel Castro in 1961 and to call for fighting the “cultural mercenaries, those willing to lynch how many artists and creators … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel Takes Up Fidel Castro’s Obsolete Discourse on Intellectuals”

Why Do Independent Journalists Matter? / Cubanet, Luis Cino

Cubanet, Luis Cino Álvarez, Havana, 11 March 2019 — Oftentimes while traveling in other countries, independent journalists are challenged for, as some say, being “hyper-critical” and “lacking objectivity.” Thus, their dispatches are received with doubts and skepticism. But it turns out that the detractors of Cuban independent journalism do not harbor good intentions. Among those … Continue reading “Why Do Independent Journalists Matter? / Cubanet, Luis Cino”

The Book Fair: A Communist Vanity Project / Angel Santiesteban

Ángel Santiesteban, Havana, 23 February 2019 — They slammed shut the doors of La Cabaña, ending the 28th Havana Book Fair; and one which, I suppose, has been the most disturbing of all of them up until now. I can imagine everything those culture officials had to do to prepare an event scheduled for the … Continue reading “The Book Fair: A Communist Vanity Project / Angel Santiesteban”

Independent Cuban artists say NO to Decree 349 / Ivan Garcia

Iván García, 7 December 2018 — Luis Manuel Otero, an independent artist, the day before his 31st birthday, walks hand in hand with his wife  Yanelys Núñez, an art historian, aged 29, along a dark narrow street going to an art gallery in an old cinema which showed porn movies in the Chinese district in Havana. … Continue reading “Independent Cuban artists say NO to Decree 349 / Ivan Garcia”

14ymedio Faces of 2018: Yanelys Nunez, the Artist Who Stands Against Decree 349

14ymedio, Havana, December 27, 2018 — A graduate in Art History in 2012, Yanelys Núñez Leyva (b. Havana, 1989) has this year been one of the most visible faces on the independent art scene of the Island. Along with Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and another group of artists she defied the country’s cultural authorities by … Continue reading “14ymedio Faces of 2018: Yanelys Nunez, the Artist Who Stands Against Decree 349”

"Artistic creation in Cuba is free," says Diaz-Canel After Controversial Law

EFE via 14ymedio, Havana, December 23, 2018 — Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel insisted this Saturday that “artistic creation in Cuba is free and will continue to be so,” after Decree 349, intended to regulate the cultural industry on the Island, put a good part of that sector on a war footing. “Some tried to twist … Continue reading “"Artistic creation in Cuba is free," says Diaz-Canel After Controversial Law”

Cuban Government Puts the Brakes on Full Implementation of Decree 349, Proposing it be Gradual

14ymedio, Havana, 8 December 2018 — The Cuban government has decided to stop the full implementation of Decree 349, a few days after it also backed off on fully implementing a package of measures to control the private sector. On Cuban TV’s Roundtable program this Friday, Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso, announced that the unpopular Decree 349 … Continue reading “Cuban Government Puts the Brakes on Full Implementation of Decree 349, Proposing it be Gradual”