Search results for: Pablo Milanés

Quinones breaks the silence of UNEAC with respect to the case of Angel Santiesteban / Angel Santiesteban

From Montenegro to Santiesteban   By Roberto Jesus Quinones Haces Guantanamo, Cuba, Apri, http://www.cubanet.org — Carlos Montenegro and Angel Santiesteban are not the only Cuban writers to have suffered the misfortune of incarceration; the latter twice. At barely 19 years of age, Carlos Montenegro was condemned to 14 years and eight months in jail for … Continue reading “Quinones breaks the silence of UNEAC with respect to the case of Angel Santiesteban / Angel Santiesteban”

Can You Be Happy in Cuba? / Iván García

There are lots of things that can make a person happy. A sunset. Contemplating a full moon. Chatting with friends. Reading a good book. Watching a baseball game. Enjoying a favourite meal. Playing Monopoly with the kids. Sitting on the Malecon* with a guitar, half a litre of run and breaking down the musical offerings … Continue reading “Can You Be Happy in Cuba? / Iván García”

What Would the Virgin Do? / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada

Almost 400 years after Juan de Hoyos, Rodrigo de Hoyos and Juan Moreno — the three Juans, as the Cubans affectionately called them — saw the appearance of a virgin that held a baby Jesus, while they rowed their little boat in the middle of a storm, I had the blessing of seeing the statue … Continue reading “What Would the Virgin Do? / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”

What Confusion. What Joy. What Pain. / Francis Sánchez

What confusion. Pablo Milanes, the mythical founder of the Movement for the Nueva Trova (1972), began the second part of his nationwide tour “For Cuba” in the center of the island, only about ten minutes on a bike from my home. They premiered, even a rebuilt stage for large events on a track between insulated … Continue reading “What Confusion. What Joy. What Pain. / Francis Sánchez”

Concave and Convex / Juan Juan Almeida

The good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly are just points of view. The legal or illegal is something different altogether. I don’t believe in the truthfulness of any political discourse, at least not until someone begins by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, what I’m about to say is false and manipulative.” I’m all for … Continue reading “Concave and Convex / Juan Juan Almeida”

Eleven News Stories Not Reported in Cuba in 2011 / Ernesto Morales Licea

1. The Arab spring Only when the events in Egypt exceeded the predictions, did the Cuban press note (with tweezers) some isolated incidents. Nor had it published anything earlier about the riots in Tunisia and Yemen, nor did it later dig into the deposition of Hosni Mubarak. On Libya and and the fall of Muammar … Continue reading “Eleven News Stories Not Reported in Cuba in 2011 / Ernesto Morales Licea”

Media Saturation / Rebeca Monzo

On my planet more than fifteen days ago the media was bombarding you at all hours and at every moment with The Five Heros, The Criminal Blockade, and the battle-hardened and invincible people who are our athletes. From all this this, of course, the most refreshing thing is to spend time watching the Pan American … Continue reading “Media Saturation / Rebeca Monzo”

One Step Forward, One Step Back / Ernesto Morales Licea

The diplomacy of the absurd. A kind of indecipherable political cha cha cha, with steps lacking any harmony with each other, forming no coherent dance. The thinking of the top leadership in Cuba is an unfathomable mystery to me, every day more difficult to understand. I have come to think: Not even the powers-that-be are … Continue reading “One Step Forward, One Step Back / Ernesto Morales Licea”

La Mala Letra in La Joven Cuba (13) / Regina Coyula

For Peralo with regards to the Pablo Milanes concert. Much ado over Pablo Milanes’ concert in Miami. As I am in favor of eliminating all tensions between Cubans, the concert seems positive to me. I’m sure that Pablo has a great many fans in Miami, Cubans and otherwise. I’m struck by so much virulence toward … Continue reading “La Mala Letra in La Joven Cuba (13) / Regina Coyula”

The Cuba Up North / Miriam Celaya

They say some things never change. This assertion, which at first may seem too pessimistic, could perfectly serve to illustrate the attitude of a Cuban immigrant sector living in Miami, who insist in mimicking in their own way the same proceedings of the Caribbean dictatorship they so disapprove of. I am referring, of course, to … Continue reading “The Cuba Up North / Miriam Celaya”

I Still Don’t Know If You Will Sing / Yoani Sánchez

I greatly fear the response of “never” Pablo Milanés The last time I went to a Pablo Milanés concert I couldn’t hum a single one of his songs. In the middle of the anti-imperialist bandstand* several friends and I unfurled a cloth with the name Gorki on it, to demand the release from jail — … Continue reading “I Still Don’t Know If You Will Sing / Yoani Sánchez”

Divine Providence and the Assassination of Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia / Ricardo Medina

“Life is worth nothing if I ignore that the assassin took a different path and is preparing another ambush.” – Pablo Milanes When I retrospectively analyze my pastoral relationship with Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia, I discover that neither international forces or media campaigns were interested in him. Instead, God, who is never neutral before the … Continue reading “Divine Providence and the Assassination of Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia / Ricardo Medina”

Ciro Diaz, Guitar Player for Porno Para Ricardo / Iván García

Ciro Diaz, 33, guitar player for the group Porno for Ricardo and musical producer, had all the ingredients to be a jet setter of the Revolution. He was born and raised in the heart of a family who listened to Fidel Castro’s long speeches and went to the Revolutionary celebrations cyclically generated by the olive … Continue reading “Ciro Diaz, Guitar Player for Porno Para Ricardo / Iván García”

Brother, you only have one life, to live it with fear, what sense is there in that? – Rafter. Amaury Gutierrez / Juan Juan Almeida

JJ You are a well-known singer, graduate of the National School of Art Instructors in Cuba. Nominated for and winner of several major awards, without a doubt you have achieved something enviable. Tell me about your home, in Santa Clara. AG I am what you see, I was born in a small village on the … Continue reading “Brother, you only have one life, to live it with fear, what sense is there in that? – Rafter. Amaury Gutierrez / Juan Juan Almeida”

Intellectuals: Between Loyalty and Complicit Silence / Miriam Celaya

Haroldo Dilla, Cuban historian and sociologist. Photograph from the internet. A few days ago, a friend of mine gave me an interesting opinion piece by Haroldo Dilla Alfonso, entitled “From Loyalty to Complicity.” I can’t tell the readers where it was published, because I don’t know, though it is dated Tuesday, September 14th, 2010, but … Continue reading “Intellectuals: Between Loyalty and Complicit Silence / Miriam Celaya”