English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, August 16, 2019 — “Of cowards nothing has been written” is very unjust. In addition to inaccurate it is unjust, especially when to be brave can turn out to be excessively costly. Many times in the commentaries of various texts that are published in the independent press there appear those whom … Continue reading “Speaking of Cowards”
Ivan Garcia, 22 February 2019 — Collecting the masonry rubble and the trees severed by the powerful tornado that it several Havana municipalities on 27 January, when the night falls the residents of Luyano take turns to stand guard until dawn to protect the construction materials piled on the sidewalk, bought at half price from … Continue reading “Havana: Venezuela Sneaks in Between the Tornado and the Referendum / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, 6 October 2018 — “We deliver products from stores to your home,” reads an advertisement for one of the most popular classified ad sites in Cuba. “No work, no walking no sweating,” the text adds in a jocular tone. In a country where access to Amazon is non-existent and most stores do … Continue reading “Private Sector Courier Beats Cuban Postal Service”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 August 2018 — Two weeks ago, Ileana Álvarez and her husband Francis Sánchez went into exile in Spain. Both are known for their prolific work as poets, writers and essayists. They decided to leave the country, along with their youngest son, due to the “pressures and threats” to which they were subjected by the authorities. … Continue reading “"Resisting For the Sake of Resisting Makes No Sense"”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 19 June 2018 – The only thing missing was the funeral band accompanied by some black crepe and sobbing. The closing ceremony of the XXIV Sao Paulo Forum, on Tuesday in Havana, had all the traces of a funeral. You could almost hear the shovels of earth falling on the Latin American left … Continue reading “The Funeral of the Revolutionary Left”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 12 July 2018 — The ‘Weekly Packet’ is not what it used to be, that space of semi-freedom where you could see audio-visual entertainment materials not offered on Cuban national television. The Government is intervening more and more in the content, imposing documentaries produced in Spanish by an Iranian channel and prohibiting productions … Continue reading ““The ‘Weekly Packet’ Looks More Like ‘Cubavision’ Every Day””
Veronica Vega, Alas Tensas, 5 July 2018 — Billie Jean King is a former American tennis player. She is among the greatest in the world sports and is a recognized activist for the defense of LGBT rights in the United States. In 1973, she threatened to boycott the Tennis US Open if the women did not receive the … Continue reading “The Battle For Life / Veronica Vega”
Iván García, 28 May 2018 — In the faded kiosk, hanging on a piece of string, is the Granma newspaper from two days ago, a Juventud Rebelde (Rebellious Youth) also outdated, and a Bohemian magazine for the month of April. A thin lady with heavy-frame glasses, unties a bundle of the Communist Party organ and while counting … Continue reading “How Cubans Get the News / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Miami, 11 April 2018 — A billboard calling for the end of repression, corruption and impunity in Cuba was vandalized on Tuesday in Lima, Peru, where the forums parallel to the VIII Summit of the Americas are being held. The billboard, placed near airport and addressed to those who are participating in the hemispheric … Continue reading ““Friends Of Cuba” in Peru Destroy Billboard That Supports Human Rights”
EFE, via 14ymedio, Havana, 22 February 2018 – “Unwarranted restrictions” on access to and freedom of expression on the internet have been added to the traditional forms of censorship in Cuba, where the government continues to arbitrarily detain and “harass” people critical of it, according to Amnesty International’s 2017-2018 report. The document, released on Wednesday, … Continue reading “Cuba Extends Internet Censorship and Continues to Harass and Arrest Opponents”
14ymedio, Ricardo Fernandez, Camagüey, 20 February 2018 — Darkness and silence envelops the nights in the city of Camagüey since the fire at the 10 de Octubre Thermoelectric Company, in Nuevitas, on 25 January. Almost a month later, blackouts and annoyance continue to affect residents. Brigades from various parts of the country are working under the … Continue reading “Blackouts and Annoyance Continue in Camagüey”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 December 2017 – A resident of Jagüey Grande in Matanzas, Alexei Gámez (b. 1981, Matanzas) has contributed to enabling a locality where almost three hundred residents connect to each other through wireless networks to exchange content, chat and enjoy audiovisual material without having to be connected to Internet. This computer engineer specializing … Continue reading “Cuban Faces 2017: Alexei Gámez, Computer Scientist”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 7 December 2017 – She pauses to think in front of a stand at the market. My mother is not evaluating the size of the tomatoes or the quality of the garlic, but making calculations. A mathematical operation where subtraction and division are the stars. With a pension of 250 Cuban … Continue reading “Life in Numbers”
14ymedio, Bertha Guillen, Candelaria, 10 November 2017 — It has not remained seated like the famous figure of Auguste Rodin, but nor has it been able to walk as much as its editors would like. The magazine El Pensador (The Thinker) edited in Guanajay, Artemisa, is two decades old and its founders dream of being able to publish … Continue reading “In Guanajay, the Editors of a Magazine Dream of Publishing in Digital Format”
