English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Perhaps I’m not the right person to write this chronicle. Or perhaps I am. I know of colleagues who personally knew Silvio Rodriguez in that first stage of the revolution, ingenuous and difficult, crude and contradictory, where children, as if by magic, were converted into men. Again I am going to talk about the spell … Continue reading “Chronicle with a First Quarter Moon”
Río Cristal, a tourist center inaugurated in 1960, is located on Avenida Rancho Boyeros, close to one of the airports in the capital, after passing the Aqueduct of Wind. It’s on the site where, in the 18th century, a slave barracks existed, and, later, a convent for nuns. Remodeled on different occasions, it still enjoys … Continue reading “The Cristal River”
You lend something to a friend. This time you do not forget who it is. Time passes and he doesn’t return it. Trusting, you decide to wait a little longer as, after all, it is a friend. Time passes and he still does not return the item, but you don’t worry. You trust your friend. … Continue reading “Daily miseries – Part 2”
Rufino Delagado, 38 years old, in his occasional lucid moments, admits that his life has already hit rock bottom. And he looks up to the sky, impotent, as if looking for an answer to his problem with alcohol. He has not always been a dirty and rude guy. Six years ago, he used to work … Continue reading “An alcoholic with a name”
If the Cuban generals had liked rock, things in Cuba might have been different. Perhaps the soldiers would not have gone out in their vulgar Russian jeeps, scissors in hand, cutting the hair of those devoted to this type of music. And they would not have had to arrest thousands of young people whose only … Continue reading “If the comandante danced to rock…”
I would like to understand certain radical leaders of our America. I share many of the social political views of the left and I have my doubts about a liberal economy. Above all, when it is poorly applied by the leaders of the continent. For almost two centuries there have been enough Latin American presidents who … Continue reading “Carrots and Sticks”
The First Act: The Executioner’s Weeping (1999) For a long time, Jorge Gonzalez, 47, suffered the same nightmares. A discharge from a rifleman on a misty and starless night. Then, he senses the sound of a shot dealt to a condemned man who is he himself. He always wakes up the same: bathed in sweat … Continue reading “A Drama in Two Acts”
If bad luck had a name it would be Antonio Fonseca. An enormous black man of almost 400 pounds, with a wide nose, sharp cheekbones and lips two fingers thick, who was born one cold, wet night in January 1981. His mother, stark raving mad, set her husband and son on fire, when the latter was … Continue reading “Bad Luck”
The new influenza is gaining ground in Cuba. With the change in the weather, according to epidemiologists, it’s expected that the H1N1 virus will reap its harvest among the population of the island. As of October 1, the Ministry of Public Health reported the detection of 457 cases. Now the Hubert de Blanck High School, … Continue reading “H1N1 Attacks”
I saw him. It was he. He did not recognize me, engrossed as he was, in a bar on Belascoaín Street, listening to one of Orlando Contreras’ boleros, or perhaps it was La Lupe, with “Yours is Pure Theater,” on a decrepit, recycled RCA Victor record player. It was 4:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday, September 8. An almost desert-like … Continue reading “The Poet Was Listening to Boleros”
Public transport has always been a pending issue of the government of Fidel Castro. In spite of the fact that in the 80’s (when the country had more resources and support from Hungary and other former socialist countries), the Cuban government set up a factory that assembled the “Ikarus” brand buses in the village of … Continue reading “Riding on Route P”
Not his fault. Jacques Rogge was born in Belgium. And everyone knows: in Europe, baseball is a sport that doesn’t draws crowds. Unlike football (or “soccer” as they call it in the U.S.). The International Olympic Committee president prefers other sports for the summer Olympics. In London, 2012, baseball has already been eliminated. Many hope … Continue reading “Jacques Rogge Does Not Like Baseball”
He knocked on my door when the Brazilian soap opera was starting. He was sweating, after climbing several flights of stairs with his bike in tow. “I’m going to Spain,” he cried, by way of greeting. To give me time to get over my surprise he greeted my wife, returned the USB drive we were … Continue reading “Adiós, Roberto!”
Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 24 July 2009 — The idea of combining study with work in high schools looked very good on paper. It had the air of an immortal future in the office where they turned it into a ministerial order. But reality, stubborn as always, had its own interpretation of the schools in the … Continue reading “Adios to Schools in the Countryside / Yoani Sanchez”
She walks slowly towards the exit of the neighborhood. The sun burns. Her skin suffers from the accumulation of lesions. In the mornings she looks in the mirror and discovers a new spot, small wrinkles on her temple, or a sprout of gray hairs, noting that the years, the house, the kids, the tension, the … Continue reading “Life of Sisyphus – Part Six”