English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Ciro in his uniform as Lt. “Telaplico” with Hebert to the left, behind. This weekend La Babosa Azul and Porno para Ricardo played a concert in the distant suburbs of Havana. The concert was outstanding, my legs hurt from dancing so much and I’m hoarse from singing “El Comandante.” I’m going to upload a video … Continue reading “There Was a Concert / Claudia Cadelo”
Dark night, a blackout in the vicinity of the Buena Vista neighborhood in Playa. The dilapidated shared taxi I’m taking stalls, and with an exhausted snort refuses to start again. A passenger and the driver are trying to fix it, while on both sides of the street we see people are sitting outside their houses, … Continue reading “Cubacel, In Bed With The Censorship / Yoani Sánchez”
On Friday, October 22, at 6:00 PM, Gorki Águila, leader of the rock band Porno para Ricardo, hosted in his apartment the opening of the Paja Recold studio, and the collective exposition, We Put The Wall and What, which can be enjoyed by those interested until the end of November, at Avenida 35, number 4204, … Continue reading “Half Joking, But Serious / Miguel Iturria Savón”
“Citas históricas” by Gorki Aguila The photos of Hebert Domínguez Above Ricardo Orta (from Porno para Ricardo), on the left Guillermo Portieles and on the right Claudio Fuentes Madan “Drunks” by Heriberto Manero and “Cop with walkie-talkie” by Guillermo Portieles On the left los Graffiteros, above Arturo Cuenca and below Luis Trápaga Fernando Ruiz and … Continue reading “Photos of the Opening of “La Paja Recold” Gallery by Claudio Fuentes Madan / Claudia Cadelo”
There are regions in my country where I still cannot enter. At least not unless if I am loaded with official documents, authorizations, guarantees, and recommendation letters. An entire list can be made out of these things. I’m used to it: In Cuba, one can write – actually, those in power have already done so … Continue reading “Closed, for Cubans / Henry Constantín”
How Did I Get Here? Photo: Claudio Fuentes Madan I was born in 1983, and was a happy child living in the socialist paradise until I was six, when the disintegration of the Soviet Union showed me that I had been raised in an atmosphere of privilege. Economic necessity, however, did not make my parents … Continue reading “Claudia Cadelo”
The Cuban musician Ciro Diaz, from the group Porno para Ricardo (Porn for Ricardo) made a rock version of Swan Lake, written by the Russian composer, Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). For the title he put “I Hate Swans.” It was recorded on La Paja Records,* an underground music studio in Havana. The drawings are by Charlie Bravo, … Continue reading “Ciro’s Swans”
1. Discovery comes accompanied by emotion. Those who have felt it know that, under its effects, people can go beyond any limits – we remember Archimedes jumping out of his bath. Revealing the hidden, getting it out into the light, making the limits of ignorance, even your own, retreat, heighten the discoverer’s pride, and encourage … Continue reading “Discoveries in fragments…”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 13 August 2018 — The artists of the campaign against Decree 349, who tried to organize a concert on Saturday at the house of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, were freed at the stroke of midnight on Sunday. Otero Alcántara explained to 14ymedio that he and Yanelys Núñez were arrested in the … Continue reading “"They Warned Us That Cuba Can’t Turn Into Another Nicaragua," Say Detained Artists”
Cubanet, María Matienzo, Havana, 23 November 2017 — According to Claudio Fuentes, photographer and human rights activist, he’s started doing something like ten interviews and they haven’t published any of them. Maybe it has to do with that mania he has to be always behind the camera, pointing the lens at the Ladies in White, other activists … Continue reading “Claudio Fuentes: "I Do Not Want to be an Opponent One More Day"”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 4 January 2017 – All one has to do is turn on a small wifi antenna and aim it toward the balcony for a computer screen to show the long list of wireless networks that link the entire neighborhood. Invisible threads that connect hundreds of users. The material support of this network … Continue reading “Cuba’s Wireless Networks, the Web that Envelops the Island / 14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez”
14ymedio, 19 July 2015 — This Sunday has led to the arrest of forty Ladies in White and thirty activists, at the conclusion of their usual march on 5th Avenue in the Havana neighborhood of Miramar. After Mass in the church of Santa Rita, the Ladies in White gathered together with several activists in Gandhi … Continue reading “About 70 Ladies in White and Activists Arrested Sunday / 14ymedio”
Translator’s Note: These photos originally appeared in Translating Cuba in October 2011. They are re-posted here to introduce “El Sexto” (Danilo Maldonado Machado) who will be the newest blogger on Translating Cuba, beginning today. Related posts: Free El Sexto Now!; Cuban Graffiti Artist Demands Freedom With His Spray Can.
Photo: Claudio Fuentes Madan I’ve been left a little traumatized after the celebrations of the CDR. Between the discussion on the bus, my neighbors’ Sunday volunteer work, and the reggaeton on the 28th until 1:00 in the morning; right now I feel a sense of “been there, done that… and never again would be too … Continue reading “Spontaneous / Claudia Cadelo”
