Search results for: UPEC

Prison Diary LIV: The Uselessness of Cuban Journalism / Angel Santiesteban

The actor Roberto Albellar playing José Martí at the Congress of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC) On national television, with great fanfare and bombast, they present the approaches of the IX Congress of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC), the most useless group in the country, among the many unproductive institutions on the Island, … Continue reading “Prison Diary LIV: The Uselessness of Cuban Journalism / Angel Santiesteban”

We Are Still Olive Green* / Yusimi Rodriguez Lopez

On Saturday July 20, as I was getting ready to go out with my niece, among the TV news items I heard was a piece about a town that was going to celebrate the provincial commemoration of — at this point I assumed it would be Children’s Day, which was to take place on the following … Continue reading “We Are Still Olive Green* / Yusimi Rodriguez Lopez”

Little Paper Boat*. My disloyal friend. / Fernando Damaso

The mess about the North Korean boat loaded in Cuba with obsolete arms for repair, hidden under some tons of sacks of sugar, suitable for the captain’s suicide attempts and the crew’s hunger strike, all lunatics of Kim Il Sung and his descendants, continues to monopolize international media attention.  Nevertheless, for Cubans, after the concise initial report, … Continue reading “Little Paper Boat*. My disloyal friend. / Fernando Damaso”

The “Crisis of the Sugar Missiles” / Yoani Sanchez

 The Congress of the Journalists Union of Cuba (UPEC) has just been contradicted. Barely a few days after that meeting of official reporters, reality has put them to the test … and they failed. Yesterday, the news that a freighter flying under the North Korean flag, coming from Havana and found with missiles and other … Continue reading “The “Crisis of the Sugar Missiles” / Yoani Sanchez”

The Tagline, Putative Mother of Censorship / Rebeca Monzo

It all started very early, at the beginning of the seventies. Soon the Maximum figures of the triumph of the ’fifty-nine revolution, realized that they if they wanted to install themselves in power, firmly and indefinitely, they are going to have to take over the mass media of communication, in the then flat press, radio … Continue reading “The Tagline, Putative Mother of Censorship / Rebeca Monzo”

Wasting Time and Resources / Fernando Dámaso

The Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC), a governmental organization that tries to sell itself as being non-governmental (NGO), has announced the dates for its congress in 2013. Its theme of “a revolutionary journalism in defense of socialism” is unambiguous. We now know with certainty what will be discussed and what will be unanimously approved. They … Continue reading “Wasting Time and Resources / Fernando Dámaso”

A Good Psychiatrist / Fernando Dámaso

Cubans who did not have to rush off to a psychiatrist’s office in order to prevent a nervous breakdown after reading their nation’s newspapers this week should consider themselves lucky. The front page began with an official announcement on the moringa plant—a type of American tree grown in the French tropics, with a white trunk … Continue reading “A Good Psychiatrist / Fernando Dámaso”

For a Culture Without Custodians / Miguel Iturria Savón

In Cuba we barely acknowledge the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, on October 12, 1492, and his arrival on our shores on the 24th, as if the conquest and colonization by Spain were an outstanding bill and not an event from the past of historical and cultural significance. Officially, National Culture Day celebrates the … Continue reading “For a Culture Without Custodians / Miguel Iturria Savón”

Julio Martinez’s Last Stunt / Reinaldo Escobar

In the summer of 1991 the poet and journalist Julio Martinez asked me to write the forward for a book he titled “Red Acrobatics poems against opportunism.” At that time he was still working for the newspaper Trabajadores — Workers — and fortunately I had already been fired from Juventud Rebelde — Rebel Youth. That … Continue reading “Julio Martinez’s Last Stunt / Reinaldo Escobar”

Is It So Easy to Have a Blog in Cuba, Silvio? / Francis Sánchez

Personalities on television, as a matter of privilege, exercise basic rights that are denied to viewers. There appears to have been considerable impact from the TV program “Where there is true affection, two… [are enough],” directed and hosted by the singer Amaury Perez. The guest to close a first and long season was none other … Continue reading “Is It So Easy to Have a Blog in Cuba, Silvio? / Francis Sánchez”