English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
What makes a city is its people. The Capitol is not the most important thing in Havana, nor are the abundance of churches and alleys what is most striking of Camagüey, nor is the Moncada Barracks the greatest thing in Santiago, nor are their seawall walks the most pleasant parts of Caibarién, Cienfuegos, Gibara and … Continue reading “The Best Site in Pinar del Rio / Henry Constantin”
The Cuban health authorities have admitted the existence of a cholera outbreak that so far has affected fifty people in Havana. Ten days after being detected by clinical epidemiological surveillance system and with rumors already circulating through the city, the newspaper Granma published on Tuesday’s front page an “Informative Note to the Population” where they … Continue reading “Havana Takes Measures to Control the Worst Outbreak of Cholera in Several Years / Yoani Sanchez #Cuba”
A year after his death how does Cuban civil society view the former Czech president? Václav Havel (1936-2011) In 1977, for me, just as presented in the official propaganda, the future seemed to belong entirely to Socialism. We spoke of “discovering” our African heritage; being internationalists was to pay our debt to humanity. Deeply immersed … Continue reading “Charter 77, Havel, and a Citizen / Regina Coyula #Cuba”
My first surprise on arriving at the local bakery is to find the windows painted with congratulatory phrases for the new year of the Revolution. Revolution no longer looks like a word. It is the image of a beast with many eyes that devours the hearts of people. Last year it wasn’t like this, sometimes … Continue reading “The Common Enemy / Lilianne Ruiz #Cuba”
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias announced that he will again have surgery for malignant cancerous cells found in in medical check up performed in Cuba. Cuban television interrupted regular programming on 8 December 2012 to let Cuban citizens know the current state of health of president Hugo Chavez. Chavez commented that he is having problems … Continue reading “The Cuban Government is Increasingly Concerned / Anddy Sierra Alvarez #Cuba”
Once again, a large swath of Nuevo Vedada saw its electricity cut off for almost eleven hours yesterday in order to replace worn-out electrical poles. I believe that in the end they replaced four. A great achievement really. As a result, the hard currency stores in our neighborhood—the majority—remained closed for the duration of the … Continue reading “Sloth / Rebeca Monzo”
It is Mayra’s first day on the street. The entire family is glad she is back. The atmosphere is very different from before, when she went to prison. Now her parents do not get upset when her eleven year old son tries to make them laugh with a stories about the comandante. Her mother, with … Continue reading “Self-Portrait of a Hooker* / Iván García”
Information is, without a doubt, one of the primary necessities in the world, especially at this time, when one can find out almost instantaneously what is happening anywhere in the world. When nearly six million people are affected by a cut in the flow of electricity in the middle of the night, the first thing … Continue reading “More Light! / Reinaldo Escobar”
Cuban society is the crazy punching bag on which the Cuban leaders and the national media train, and sometimes beat up. If there is an epidemic of dengue fever or some other illness it’s the people’s fault because they don’t maintain adequate hygiene in their home and in the city; as if we were responsible … Continue reading “Punching Bag / Rosa Maria Rodriguez Torrado”
The miter leans slightly with the rhythm of the ritual, leaving his back exposed to the stone face of José Martí. On the table of the Mass, the chalice rests and reflects from its golden surface a relief of Che Guevara mounted on the facade of the Ministry of the Interior. Benedict XVI officiates mass … Continue reading “The Papal Mantle and The Red Mass – Reflections on the Pope’s Visit to Cuba / Yoani Sanchez”
By: Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez Two separate power outages last week, one on Monday from early morning until well past noon and the other on Tuesday night occupying the afternoon, made me reflect again on the subject that was so fashionable a few years ago while the eldest in the hierarchy still ruled over us. The … Continue reading “The Energy Regression / Mario Barroso / Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez”
Very few people appreciate the electrical blackouts today the way those of us who live in “deep” Cuba do. From 9:30 PM to 11PM, Radio Marti drops their Nightly Show with the hoarse voice of Margarita Rojo. It is a true exercise of proper fluency, immediacy, and information. It’s a collection of subjects which develop … Continue reading “Moving the Night with Margarita Rojo / Luis Felipe Rojas”
By Dagoberto Valdes, Pinar del Rio Cuba is not the same as in 1998 when John Paul II made the first papal visit in our history. Its government is not the same, though essential and structurally, it remains the same system. Its Church is not the same in its workings and leadership, although essentially and … Continue reading “The Cuba That Will be Visited by Pope Benedict XVI / IntraMuros, Dagoberto Valdes”
Some might think that luck came to the aid of a beleaguered Fidel Castro, when back in 1998, the island economy was going down with an industry crippled by lack of oil, exports were in the toilet, finances in the red, international debt swelling, and expenditures of billions of dollars to feed 11 million Cubans … Continue reading “Hugo Chavez: Fidel Castro’s Bet / Iván García”
It arrived in March 2006, in a few days before April launched its frenetic downpours against us. It came in a truck, immaculately new, brilliantly useful. It was our electric plant, our own generator, that would run the elevator and the hall lights when the blackouts cast their shadows over our area. We were saved. … Continue reading “The Generator, Our Generator / Yoani Sánchez”
