English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 7 December 2020 — The bad news is piling up in Cuba. One of the most emblematic products of the Island, tobacco, does not promise a good harvest after the blows of Hurricane Eta flooded the fields of Pinar del Río, where 70% of the country’s leaf is usually grown. In October there … Continue reading “Pinar del Rio’s Tobacco Growers Foresee a Bad Harvest Due to Excessive Rains”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Desde Aqui, Havana, 28 May 2020 — It was in the 1980s, durng one those trips to the provinces which I took as a journalist for the magazine Cuba International, accompanied by the Luis Manuel Fernández, better known as Pirole. In the midst of the boredom of those hotels with no diversions, … Continue reading “From ’Protoplin’ to Sugarcane Juice”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, September 23, 2018 — This September the sugar that has been distributed in the “basic basket” of the rationed market doesn’t come from Cuban fields, but rather from far-off France. The poor performance of the last sugar harvest forced the Island’s Government to import a product that, until a few years … Continue reading “In Cuba Sugar is Imported from France”
14ymedio, Miami, 15 June 2018 — The Cuban government has decided to cut sugar exports in the face of this year’s poor harvest, sources at the state conglomerate Azcuba told Reuters. “The next harvest will be advanced as much as possible to satisfy local consumption,” said Lourdes María Castellanos, director of international relations at Azcuba, who also … Continue reading “Cuba Will Limit Sugar Exports to Maintain Domestic Supply”
EFE, via 14ymedio, Havana, 5 June 2018 – Cuba finished the 2017-2018 sugar harvest ahead of schedule and without meeting the its production targets due to the effects of weather events including an intense drought, the scourge of Hurricane Irma last year, and the rains that fell on the island in recent days. This was … Continue reading “Cuban Government Blames the Weather for Worst Harvest in More Than a Century”
EFE, via 14ymedio, Havana, 28 February 2018 — Cuba produced only 4,200 tonnes of organic sugar, 60% of the plan forecast for the current cane harvest, mainly due to the intense rains of recent months and the reduced concentration of sugar in the cane, the official media reported this Tuesday. The Carlos Baliño mill in the … Continue reading “Cuba Produced 4,200 Tonnes of Organic Sugar, 60% of the Plan”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 4 February 2017 — Colombia’s sugar mill whistle sounded again at the end of January, like a giant awakened from a seven-year-long lethargy. The residents in the area breathed a sign of relief: the driving force behind the local economy seems to be the sugar mill, but technical and organizational problems … Continue reading “Colombia Sugar Mill, A Giant That Is Slow To Wake Up / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar”
Cubanet, Rafael Alcides, Havana, 13 May 2015 – Extremely worried, doctoral candidate in physics Antonio Rodiles and his wife the actress and political activist Ailer Gonzalez, in their home, related to me two events that I have prayed over, that those events that started with the blood of Moncada wouldn’t end up being a circular … Continue reading “The Harvest of the Sowing of Violence / Cubanet, Rafael Alcides”
On December 10, 1868, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes liberated the slaves of his sugar center La Demajagua and invited them to join him in the fight for Cuban’s independence. The Cry of Yara was the beginning of the 10 Years’ War. These are the ruins of Demajagua. The great capitals of the Cuban economy were … Continue reading “Legacies of Castroism: The Destruction of the Sugar Industry / CID, Victor Ariel Gonzalez”
Given how the sugar harvest is going, I’m thinking of planting some sugar cane in a flowerpot so I’ll be able to sweeten my coffee.
Carrying sacks of sugar – Taken from the Repeating Islands Blog In 23 years, Cuba has gone from being one of the world’s sugar refining nations to importing the sweet grass for the consumption of the tourist sector. If in 1990, in the dawning of that silent war that was the “Special Period,” 8.2 million tons … Continue reading “Cuba: The Bitterness of its Sugar / Ivan Garcia”
“It seems that every year is the first harvest the country has ever done. Every year we start fresh, even though we’ve been producing sugar for more than 200 years. If we are talking about the need for change, the first thing we have to change is the routine.” So begins, “Attacking the problems and … Continue reading “The Harvest of 2012 or the Last Call / Dimas Castellano”
The 2011-2012 sugar harvest carries the same difficulties as those of the past two decades. Although this time enough cane has been planted to fulfill the production plan and from the start of the contest they could count on almost all of the resources planned for, the problems were repeated from previous harvests. The 2011-2012 … Continue reading “Is the Cuban Sugar Industry Facing Extinction? / Dimas Castellanos”
The announcement came straight from the voice of General President Raul Castro himself, as he shared an analysis with the Council of Ministers. The current sugar harvest is going down a very bad path, he said. And the arguments for such a statement reside in the lack of foresight on behalf of the socialist businessmen. … Continue reading “A Harvest with Far Too Many Thorns / Luis Felipe Rojas”
(diagram) Closing of sugar mills >> reduces direct employment of workers in the sugar agro-industry >> diminishes planting of sugarcane >> reduces production of derivatives of sugarcane >> depresses services and production related to the sector >> impoverishes the quality of life of communities of farm workers >> affects in general sugar production >> hurts … Continue reading “Sugarcane Flower / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”
