English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Reinaldo’s family had finished dinner when, in passing — it wasn’t headline news on the nightly broadcast — Rafael Serrano, the histrionic presenter, read an official press release from the Ministry of External Relations revealing the regime’s point of view with regards to the North Korean cargo ship Chong Chon Gang, intercepted at the port … Continue reading “Cuba: What’s Behind the Arms Smuggling? / Ivan Garcia”
Havana, Cuba, July, www.cubanet.org The sinking of the tugboat 13 de Marzo, on the morning of July 13, 1994, with over 70 people on board, ordered by the dictatorship that governs us, does not appear in the nation’s list of anniversaries. It is a taboo subject. It has been deleted from the official story, so … Continue reading “19th Anniversary of the Massacre of the Tugboat 13 de Marzo / Julio Cesar Alvarez”
HAVANA, Cuba, July 2013, www.cubanet.org. In Combinado del Este Prison, in the presence of a lieutenant from the Ministry of the Interior, a common prisoner threatened political prisoner Ernesto Borges with death. This past June, the common prisoner, who was appointed by the prison authorities as “Head of the Council of Prisoners” despite being a … Continue reading “Life or Death of a Political Prisoner: Instructions in a Sealed Envelope / Lilianne Ruiz”
This morning I was awakened by a call from a friend to tell me that finally señor Ricardo Alarcón had uttered words referring to our encounter*. I immediately started to make arrangements to see where I could download this post, but nothing worked. It was already around 11:00 and curiosity made me make a sad … Continue reading “Response to Ricardo Alarcon / Eliecer Avila”
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”
We are living in a world where, dangerously, what’s important for the work of many is just to show results. Perhaps for that reason, for nostalgia, convenience, desire, hope, belief, deception or passion; we make the mistake of looking to Havana and distorting the reality, imagining the Cuban government as a bankrupt controlling consortium. Sorry, … Continue reading “Raul Prepares His Retirement / Juan Juan Almeida”
Introduction by Tania Quintero On December 10, 2010, without resources, publicity, or fanfare, attorney and freelance journalist Laritza Diversent founded a modest office in her home to provide free, independent advice to Cubans and foreigners on national and international legal issues and human rights. She established the Cubalex Legal Information Center. Over time she was … Continue reading “Laritza Diversent Reports from Geneva / Laritza Diversent”
Yanelis Ramírez Cruz, Esq. The economic crisis and the new conditions in which the world finds itself have made the need for a serious and profound modification of the overall state of production and economic exchange in our system of commerce unavoidable. The foundation for the global process of adjustment and economic reform, which remains ongoing even … Continue reading “For a Diverse and Advanced Economy / Cuban Law Association, Yanelis Ramirez Cruz”
It’s been over a month since Sunday, May 26, when Cuba was named — in the 38th Congress of the International Federation of Human Rights in Istanbul, Turkey — as the country in Latin America that commits violations against each and every one of the civil and political rights. What should be a national holiday, … Continue reading “Prison Diary XXXV: The Silence of the Lambs / Angel Santiesteban”
When it seems to me that mediocrity will win the battle in our little country, there are things that make my day. Last week I passed by a privately-run cafe across from the Surgical Hospital on 26 Avenue and saw that they sell Purita brand dried rosemary, oregano, basil and celery. I asked for garlic, … Continue reading “A Purita Idea / Regina Coyula”
Photo: Peter Deel It is good that the President, although not part of his core responsibilities and somewhat belatedly, has spoken publicly about the loss of ethical values and disrespect for morality, problems about which many citizens had been warning, without being heard, for many years. It is also good to have noted the deterioration … Continue reading “Citizen Culture and Civics / Fernando Damaso”
In defense of the current Cuban model and its updating within the straitjacket of the so-called Guidelines, some citizens are frightened by the idea of the possible restoration of capitalism in Cuba, mechanically repeating verbally and in writing all the propaganda that has been overwhelmingly spread by the news media. Nobody stops to point out … Continue reading “Don’t Lose Any More Time / Fernando Damaso”
Note: This and other photos in this post are of State Security agents. HAVANA, Cuba, June 2013, Lilianne Ruiz, www.cubanet.org — On every street in Cuba there are so-called “revolutionary vigilantes,” people who work independently for the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR). They meet periodically with an official from the State Security … Continue reading ““The Lives of Others” Cuban Version / Lilianne Ruiz”
News on Mondays tends to be unflattering, and that is why, instead of writing a story, I would rather share a gossip, which if it doesn’t get you informed will entertain you. So I risk it. You may surely remember the spell of that magician who at the Pioneer parties, amid the heat of a … Continue reading “From La Finca, the Spy Asks for More / Juan Juan Almeida”
From Sampsonia Way Magazine. Since the end of the 1980s, Ángel Santiesteban has been known as one of the most brilliant writers of his generation. In this position he touches upon subjects that are pretty uncomfortable for Cuban political culture: The island’s military interference in Angola and Ethiopia, the genocide of people fleeing towards liberty … Continue reading “The Son that Nobody Wanted / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
