English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Ivan Garcia, 8 July 2017 — Without too much caution, the CUPET tanker truck painted green and white begins to deposit fuel in the underground basement of a gas station located at the intersection of Calle San Miguel and Mayía Rodríguez, just in front of Villa Marista, headquarters of State Security, in the quiet Sevillano neighborhood, … Continue reading “If Trump Ends Our Remittances? / Iván García”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, David (Panama), 23 June 2017 — The green seems to fill everything in Chiriquí, in the western Panamanian province where the government hosts 126 undocumented Cubans in a camp in the region of Gualaca. The stillness of the morning in the middle of the huge pines that grow in the foothills of the … Continue reading ““We Exist Between Illusions And Fears””
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 14 February 2017 — Hundreds of Cubans were stranded in Mexico after the Obama administration ended the wet-foot/dry-foot policy that favored Cuban’s immigration to the United States, but for the 90 who are detained at the 21st Century Migrant Station in Tapachula, and for their relatives in the United States, the … Continue reading “Extortions, Kidnappings And Limbo: Daily Life Of Cubans Stranded In Mexico / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
14ymedio/Agencies, 10 September 2016 — Multinational financial companies took part in a luncheon Friday with Cuban officials to discuss financial transactions between the US and Cuba, reports Reuters. At the event, organized by the Chamber of Commerce in New York City, Cuban officials again noted that despite the easing of the embargo decreed by President … Continue reading “US Banks “Are Afraid” Of Doing Business With Cuba / 14ymedio”
Ivan Garcia, 31 August 2106 — Nothing pleases Germán more than having a cold beer by a swimming pool or indulging in the all-you-can-eat buffet at a resort hotel. The fifty-five-year-old blacksmith worker also likes people calling him Sir, watching foreign TV channels and having something for breakfast other than coffee with milk and bread … Continue reading “Domestic Cuban Tourism Growing on the Island / Ivan Garcia”
EFE (via 14ymedio), 23 June 2016 – The sending of remittances – money primarily from family and friends to Cubans on the island – has experienced the “most dynamic growth” in Latin America, with a record 3.354 billion dollars sent in 2015, according to the Havana Consulting Group. Between 2008 and 2015, remittances to Cuba … Continue reading “Remittances To Cuba A Record $3.3+ Billion in 2015 / EFE, 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 5 May 2016 — Panama began selling airline tickets, on Thursday, to Mexico for Cuban migrants who find themselves stranded in the country. Tickets cost $805 and the first to benefit from the measure will be those staying at the Millennium Hotel, in the province of Chiriqui, according to a high … Continue reading “Sale of Airline Tickets to Mexico Begins for Cuban Migrants Stranded In Panama / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 7 March 2016 — One’s last will reveals much about the life one had or wanted to have. Some ask for a glass of rum or a lit cigar at their wake, while others dream of returning their ashes to the courtyard where they took their first steps. To achieve these … Continue reading “Coffins First, Boxes Second / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar”
Ivan Garcia, 4 January 2016 — José Manual Cordoví keeps his savings in a rusty cookie tin. He runs a business forging windows, doors and iron in a suburb of low hovels in Arroyo Naranjo, a municipality 40 minutes by car from the heart of Havana. Cordoví has no relatives or friends who are close … Continue reading “The Dollar Gains Strength in Cuba / Ivan Garcia”
Ivan Garcia, 21 December 2015 — December is a month of summing up and partying. And of opening the purse. Yusmel, a private entrepreneur, believes that the tropical winter and the holidays lend a different air to Havana. “It’s not so hot as in the summer, and the atmosphere smells different. After the government authorized the … Continue reading “Cuba: Christmas-by-Caste and Without Discounts”
Ivan Garcia, Costa Rica, 9 December 2015 — Following the guide dictated by a relative who in the Spring of 2015 pointed out the Central American route of eight countries up to the frontier of Laredo in United States, Norberto Fumero, 34-year-old truck driver in Cuba, since his departure from Ecuador has always traveled in … Continue reading “Cubans in Costa Rica: Hardship and Waste / Ivan Garcia”
Ivan Garcia, Costa Rica, 2 December 2015 — Just after 5:30 in the afternoon, night falls on the Costa Rican village of La Cruz, some 12 miles from the Nicaraguan border. It is a neighborhood of gentle slopes, clean streets and an agreeable climate. Architecturally there’s not much that stands out. One or two-story houses … Continue reading “The Stay of Some Cubans in Costa Rica / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Sol Garcia Basulto Camagüey, 25 November 2015 – One year since the start of the issuing new identity cars in Cuba, many recognize the advantages of the modern ID card, but criticize the complex process to get one. In Camagüey province the manufacture and distribution of the new identify card started last May, but delays … Continue reading “Annoyances of the New Identity Card / 14ymedio, Sol Garcia Basulto”
Rosa Maria Rodriguez, 10 September 2015 — Ever since WiFi service was activated in Vedado in the area of 23rd and L a few months ago, there have been rumors that it will be available in Monaco — a narrow swath of land in the Havana neighborhood of La Vibora — starting in September of … Continue reading “Wifi in Havana’s Monaco Neighborhood / Rosa Maria Rodriguez”
14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana | August 18, 2015 — A crowd of shoppers and dozens of neighbors in the vicinity stood together at around 3 PM last Monday across from the popular Carlos III Market, in the capital municipality of Centro Habana. In a matter a minutes, and in a flurry of confusion, they had … Continue reading “Unusual “bomb alert” at the Carlos III Market / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya”
