English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, July 9, 2020 — The epidemiological situation is complicated in Havana, and the light at the end of the tunnel never arrives. This couldn’t be better said. On Wednesday, while part of the capital was living in a blackout that lasted for nine hours, the authorities, in their daily meeting about supervising the … Continue reading “Blackouts and Covid Outbreaks Appear in Havana”
Elias Amor Bravo, Economist, April 20, 2020 — Unión Nacional Eléctrica, the state enterprise that has a monopoly over Cuba’s electrical supply, wants people isolated in their homes due to the quarantine as a consequence of COVID 19 to consume less electricity. Let’s go, turn off the lights. The company declared in the state-run newspaper Granma that … Continue reading “Blackouts in Sight in the Midst of COVID19”
14ymedio, Havana, April 19th, 2020 — Cubans fear that added to the Covid-19 crisis on the Island will be electrical black-outs due to exhaustion of fuel supply, a concern that has increased this week when the authorities made an appeal to save energy on account of the increased consumption due to confinement and the elevated … Continue reading “Cubans Dread the Return of Lengthy Blackouts”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 7 October 2019 — The owner of a spacious restaurant in Vedado walks around the premises carrying a fan to place it near a table where some customers are sweating buckets. “I am very sorry but they have put me a fixed quota of electricity and I can barely turn on … Continue reading “Blackouts for Cuba’s Private Restaurants But Not for State Hotels”
14ymedio / Mario J. Pentón, Havana, 14 July 2019 — Despite the government’s commitment not to allow “programmed blackouts” this summer, power cuts of several hours are multiplying throughout the country and causing annoyance among the population. Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba are the most … Continue reading “Cubans Increasingly Annoyed by Blackouts and Government Silence”
This video is under two minutes long. Originally posted in 2012, we reposted it in 2014 given what was happening in Venezuela. It seems even more prescient now, in 2019, so here it is again. The subtitles appear to have stopped working. Here are the lyrics: IMPORTED BLACKOUTS – An original song by Ciro Diaz … Continue reading “Venezuela Now Has Imported Blackouts / Ciro Diaz”
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”
“If water and electricity have the same owner, why do they turn off my power when I need it most?” Cubanet.org, Gladys Linares, Havana, 28 April 2015 – The word “blackout” was eliminated by the Electric Company. Nevertheless, blackouts continue, managed, disguised, masked with terms like free channel, breakdown, maintenance, pole change, broken cables, etc., … Continue reading “No More Blackouts? / Cubanet, Gladys Linares”
This video is under two minutes long. We have re-posted it given what’s going on in Venezuela. The subtitles appear to have stopped working. Here are the lyrics in English: IMPORTED BLACKOUTS – An original song by Ciro Diaz Ohhh…. Fucking up a little island is nothing Anyone can fuck up a little island With … Continue reading “Venezuela Now Has Imported Blackouts / Ciro Javier Díaz Penedo”
SANTA CLARA, Cuba, October 9, 2013, Yoel Espinosa Medrano / www.cubanet.org.- Blackouts of up to ten hours a day have been seriously affecting residents in the province of Villa Clara for several weeks now. Electricity is the main choice for cooking. Last week in Santa Clara about 200 people in the Condado neighborhood went out … Continue reading “Blackouts Wreak Havoc in Villa Clara / Yoel Espinosa Medrano”
This video is under two minutes long. The subtitles appear to have stopped working. Here are the lyrics: IMPORTED BLACKOUTS – An original song by Ciro Diaz Ohhh…. Fucking up a little island is nothing Anyone can fuck up a little island With few natural resources it was easy, to drown it in misery But … Continue reading “Venezuela Now Has Imported Blackouts / Ciro Javier Diaz Penedo”
Fray Pascual Claro Valladares attempts suicide in prison upon learning of his sentence, 10 years in prison for sedition Between 4 and 15 years in prison for 13 peaceful protesters in the city of Camagüey 14ymedio, Madrid, April 28, 2024 — The judgments of the Provincial Court of Camagüey handed down against the demonstrators of … Continue reading “The Young Woman Who Broadcast the Nuevitas Protests Is Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison”
Between the 11J protests in 2021 and those of this March there are multiple points in common, as ’14ymedio’ and ‘Yucabyte’ confirmed 14ymedio/Yucabyte, Havana, 21 April 2024 — On March 17, the flood of rumors reached a fever pitch comparable to, though less intense, those of 11 July 2021 (which were quickly baptized ’11J’). Fed … Continue reading “A Flotilla from Miami on March 17, One of Many Rumors from Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 April 2024 — Ten Cuban engineers with “relevant skills” were hired last week by the Government of Guyana to help the state Power and Light (GPL) company solve its energy crisis. Also arriving to “cope with the blackouts” in Guyana is a Turkish “patana” (floating power plant) with 36 megawatts (MW) of … Continue reading “Guyana Hires Cuban Engineers and Makes off with a Turkish Floating Power Plant Anchored in Havana Bay”
The organization indicated that in March alone it added 31 people to its list, of them 24 linked to the demonstrations EFE (via 14ymedio), Madrid, 11 April 2024 — The NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD) reported this Thursday that at the end of last month it registered 1,092 people imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba, twenty more … Continue reading “Prisoners Defenders Raises the Number of Political Prisoners in Cuba to 1,092 After the March Protests”
