English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
It was the summer or autumn of 1984. Father Juan de Dios — who is now a bishop and yesterday celebrated the first funeral mass for Oswaldo Payá — chose several people to prepare a document that summarized what was said by Havana Catholics over the previous months in hundreds of meetings preparatory to the Cuban … Continue reading “Oswaldo Payá: the nights of San Juan de Letrán / Jorge Ignacio Domínguez”
About five hundred people accompanied the body of Oswaldo Payá to his final resting place in the Colon Cemetery. Family members, activists, Ladies in White, foreign correspondents and diplomats based on the island gathered at eleven in the morning. Dozens of dissidents traveled from the central and eastern provinces to the capital in Havana to … Continue reading “Rosa María Payá Honors Her Father Oswaldo Payá: “We do not seek revenge, but we thirst for the truth” / Yoani Sánchez”
Yesterday, Sunday the 22nd of July, through a telephone call from a friend, I learned of the tragic death of the leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas in a traffic accident that occurred in Granma province. The versions about what happened are dissimilar and will surely vary. What will not change is … Continue reading “Oswaldo Payá, a Part of Our History / Dimas Castellano”
La Coubre — the name that comes from a ship involved in a tragic eventthat killed many Cubans — is now a symbol of contemporary sadness: The National Railway Terminal, baptized with the same name. Its back patio consists of a large roofed space divided into several offices in the form of ships, which serve … Continue reading “An Odyssey That Begins in La Coubre / Eliécer Ávila”
Yesterday, after nearly a month, I finally resolved the mysterious business of my cell phone account having been recharged which, it seems, had caused great anxiety for a certain commercial enterprise which really seems more like a bureau of investigation. You might recall my telling you that one fine day I received a small gift … Continue reading “A Brief Chronicle of a Telephone Transaction / Rebeca Monzo”
Havana-Colored inflatables attract the attention of Cuban children as one of the most tempting offers of the present summer in the island. Teams install them in the most strategic places. Many of the parents still believe that the operation of these devices is a work of the Cuban State, strictly for the recreation of our … Continue reading “Inflatables in Cuba / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
By Atty. E. Javier Hernández H. Validating the principle of “bad economic base, bad superstructure,” parallel to the inefficient economic management, the functioning of the State organs of administration is also flawed at all levels, flawed and ineffective. For years a vicious circle has been created in the occupation of key positions to manage the economy … Continue reading “Double Immunity / Cuban Law Association, E. Javier Hernández H.”
By Yaremis Flores The increase in police reports and criminal trials held in the capital, were among the topics discussed a few weeks ago in a meeting among presidents of municipal courts in the former Audiencia de la Habana*, facing the Capitol. A judge who participated in the meeting and requested anonymity, said that the … Continue reading “Increase in Penal Cases Filed in Courts of the Capital / Cuban Legal Advisor, Yaremis Floris / Laritza Diversent”
For years it has been the practice of totalitarianism to try to divert attention from the complicated situation that exists in Cuba by showing the problems that exist in other countries, often exaggerating them to make people believe our own are not that serious. This is done by taking advantage of the disinformation possible through … Continue reading “The Speck in Our Own Eye / Oscar Espinosa Chepe”
I found out from national press and radio reports that the government of Namibia will send to “my planet” nothing more and nothing less than one hundred fifty animals for the national zoo, which is located on the outskirts of our capital city. These include elephants, lions, tigers, panthers, great apes and many other species … Continue reading “Animals – For What? / Rebeca Monzo”
A few days from the announced celebration of that mournful date, July 26th, in the province of Guantánamo, rumors continue to be increasingly stronger that there are several cases of cholera in eastern Cuba, plus it is even being said that there have been several deaths due to the disease. Since the situation was reported … Continue reading “Mounting Cholera? / Miriam Celaya”
Havana – Once again the international media talks about the shipment of 146 animals from Namibia to Cuba. The act will fulfill the agreements signed by both governments a few moths ago. Just to cite some examples, there are elephants, black rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs and antelopes on the list of species. These animals will be … Continue reading “S. O. S. for the Zoo / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
The absence of rules in the majority of private Cuban childcare centers means that some kids arrive late every day and their parents and families, with the greatest nonchalance, explain that they fell asleep, or the babies didn’t want to get up, which in many cases is certainly true. There are rarely justifiable reasons. They … Continue reading “Decals to Learn Punctuality / Dora Leonor Mesa”
Just six months since it opened, a full house has been the common denominator for the whole half-year, for the private restaurant La Rosa Negra. Early on Pedrito, the young owner, had to face many bureaucratic obstacles and so many others caused, unfortunately, by misunderstandings with some neighbors: that the air conditioning is noisy, that … Continue reading “First Half Year / Rebeca Monzo”
The Cuban paper Granma is an inexhaustible assortment of themes for any attentive reader. I , at the risk of seeming repetitive and without any intention of making copies of what they publish, found myself often challenging their texts and points of view, as in this case. The note shown in the image published by … Continue reading “Hate Crimes? / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”
