English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Ivan Garcia, 8 June 2017 — The die is cast. At the special session of the National Assembly of People’s Power held on May 31 and June 1 at the Palace of Conventions, delegates have, as expected, approved the economic plan for 2016 to 2021 and a national plan for economic and social development for … Continue reading “Being Rich Is Banned in Cuba / Iván García”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 12 June 2017 — His mother died, his brother emigrated and now no one brings flowers to the tomb of one of those many young Cubans who lost their lives on the African plains. His death served to build the authoritarian regime of José Eduardo dos Santos in Angola, a caudillo who, … Continue reading “The End Of The Cycle For Two Caudillos”
Fernando Dámaso, 29 October 2016 — Creating a brand name respected around the world requires resources, effort and time. In the colonial and republican eras certain Havana names became famous established brands over time. Among retail department stores there were El Encanto, Fin de Siglo, La Epoca, La Opera, Filosofia, Sanchez Mola and Los Precios … Continue reading “Names and Brands / Fernando Dámaso”
14ymedio, 12 January 2017 – Cuba’s master of humor, Panfilo, hit the nail on the head on Monday when he complained about the animosity many compatriots display on seeing the prosperity of others. “If we could export envy from this country, the gross national product would be through the roof,” said the sympathetic old man, obsessed with his ration … Continue reading “A Magic Spell Against Envy / 14ymedio”
Ivan Garcia, 19 December 2016 — According to Luisa, 76, a former prostitute, the first time she collected money for sex, she bathed herself three times trying to remove the smell of an old man who sweated over her body. “I was once young and pretty. The dawn that Batista fled from Cuba, I was in bed … Continue reading “What Fidel Castro Left Us (Part 2) / Iván García”
Pánfilo’s program has not been broadcast for three weeks. In the video above Obama and Pánfilo appear in a ‘sketch’ recorded during the visit of the American president to the Island. 14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 15 December 2016 — Celebrations postponed, revelry suspended and a call not to party in the street, is the reality … Continue reading “Party In A Whisper: The End Of The Year To Come / 14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez”
Ivan Garcia, 16 June 2016 — It was a winter morning in 1978. The director of Antonio Maceo secondary school — housed in the old Teachers’ Normal School in the Havana burough of Cerro — announced in melodramatic tones that students at the campus must prepare for an imminent attack by the United States. His … Continue reading “Venezuela and the Years of Fidel Castro’s Hysteria / Iván García”
Ivan Garcia, 23 May 2016 — It was a warm autumn night in 2015. The Mikasuki casino, in a swamp in the Everglades, thirty minutes from downtown Miami, was crammed full of anxious people, frantically pressing buttons on the slot-machine screen. The cushioned floor absorbed the footsteps of good-natured assistants who manoeuvred about like the captain of … Continue reading “The Castros Will Miss Obama / Iván García”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 April 2016 — Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez harshly criticized Barack Obama’s trip to Havana this Monday. It was “a visit in which there was an all out attack on our conception, our history, our culture and our symbols,” the minister told the 7th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party. The Foreign Minister’s comments … Continue reading “Foreign Minister’s Criticism Of Obama’s Cuba Visit Betrays Nervousness / 14ymedio”
Before Obama’s visit he appeared on Cuba’s most popular comedy show, “direct from the White House,” and while he was in Havana, he dropped in, in person. Miriam Celaya had this to say about the earlier episode: In fact, the talk in Havana is Barack Obama’s daring appearance in the comedy show with the greatest … Continue reading “Obama Drops in on a Game of Dominoes in Havana”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, 21 March 2016 — A group of government opponents and activists from independent Cuban civil society have scheduled a meeting with President Barack Obama on Tuesday morning. This newspaper has contacted three of them to ask them what they plan to say at that meeting. Jose Daniel Ferrer is one of the eleven … Continue reading “The Independent Voices Obama Will Hear From / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
Barely a few hours after his arrival in Cuba, President Barack Obama stole the hearts of Cubans. 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 21 March 2016 — First, there was an accomplice rain that intensified as the presidential plane taxied down the runway after landing at the airport. The initial image that Cubans had of the president … Continue reading “Barack Obama Seduces Cubans / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Generation Y, Havana, 20 March 2016 – He arrives on the Island on Palm Sunday, will attend a baseball game, and has already spoken by phone with the most popular humorist on the Island. Barack Obama’s plane has not yet landed and already he has stolen the hearts of a legion of … Continue reading “Obama Is Surrounded By Symbols To Win The Hearts Of Cubans / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
By Ambrosio Fornet / See here for background information on this series of posts. 1 It seemed as if the nightmare was something from a remote past, but the truth is that when we awoke, the dinosaur was still there. We haven’t found out — and perhaps will never know — if the media folly was … Continue reading “The Five Grey Years: Revisiting the Term / Ambrosio Fornet”
HAVANA, Cuba – Not that my neighbors would agree. It was purely coincidence. While the workers on the state payroll marched in the Plaza of the Revolution, my closest neighbors ran out of patience; they rebelled and demanded that I cut down my moringa tree. It had been planted in November 2011, less than three … Continue reading “Rebellion Against the Moringa / Tania Diaz Castro”