English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
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”
On March 13, 1968, Fidel Castro, in one of his miles-long speeches, announced to the Cuban people what he called “the Revolutionary Offensive*.” In reality, it had nothing revolutionary about it, on the contrary, it was an essentially counterrevolutionary measure intended to eliminate the urban petty bourgeoisie. And with it to eliminate one of the … Continue reading “Do You Remember the Revolutionary Offensive of 1968? / Haroldo Dilla Alfonso”
Recently, certain news from Guantanamo managed to stun me once more, because of its cruelty and because of the dark future stains which it presents for its actors. The note was signed by the Human Rights activist Yordis Garcia Fournier and it assures that more than twenty youths from that area were officially warned and … Continue reading “Counter-Development: A Disoriented Work Force / Luis Felipe Rojas”
From time to time, in the middle of conversations between Cubans, a couple of unanswered questions spring up: when did we become two countries, two citizens, two forms of enjoying ourselves, of suffering or of living, simply? There are those who say that it happened around 1989, when the utopias and the innocence vainly fell … Continue reading “Two Griefs, Two Citizens, Two Countries / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Havana, June 26, 2012 TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE POPULAR POWER OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA: The Constitution of the Republic of Cuba in its article 63, states All citizens have the right to direct complaints and petitions to the authorities and to receive the attention or pertinent responses in an adequate time-frame, … Continue reading “CITIZEN PETITION / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
A friend called to ask me an important question about criminality in Cuba. Is Cuba a safe country with a crime rate lower than other countries in Latin America? In my haste to answer I overlooked a point which, in my judgement, is fundamental, so I want to explore it in my blog. When I was … Continue reading “Who Are The Criminals in Cuba? / Lilianne Ruíz”
What did the triumph of the Cuban revolution accomplish? A lot: it changed what should not have been changed, destroyed all of the island’s prosperity. It focused on the benefits for the government and forgot the people; it deceived, lied and used many followers, deluded at first by promises of a false freedom and independence … Continue reading “A Paradise in Destruction / Anddy Sierra Alvarez”
By Wilfredo Vallín Almeida There is a word that when you hear it, it’s difficult not to evoke the barbarity of the Inquisition that forced a 20th century Pope to apologize to humanity for actions so inappropriate for the Church of Christ. Faced with the subject it’s common for names such as Dachau, Treblinka, Auschwitz, … Continue reading “That is the question / Cuban Law Association, Wilfredo Vallín Almeida”
From June 21 to 23 the CLICK Festival was celebrated in Havana, organized by the Blogger Academy, led by Yoani Sánchez, Estado de Sats, headed by Antonio Rodiles, and Spain Blog Even (EBE). The Click Festival — consisting of panels, workshops, discussions, film showings and exchanges — was an important step in the interrelationship of … Continue reading “CLICK Festival in Havana / Dimas Castellano”
By Ana Laura Bode (1969-2012) Originally published November 1987 in El Caimán Barbudo (The Bearded Caiman), Ed #240, p 7. Each time we get together to talk after class at the School of Journalism, my comrades and I, one way or another, come to the same conclusion: Cuban journalism needs a change. Change that seems … Continue reading “A Word, Please / Ana Laura Bode”
Translated by Mara from Yoani’s Twitter Thanks to Mara’s daily efforts, you can follow Yoani’s Twitter in English here. 1 July 2012
The well-known Bélico River in Santa Clara is showing, in these rainy days, the pollution in the city of Marta, causing astonishment among the people passing by and the rest of the population. Santa Clara, capital of the Villa Clara province, was founded on July 15, 1689, under the shade of a tamarind tree, by … Continue reading “Pollution in Santa Clara / Ricardo Medina”
When Leandro was born, back in 1930, there was no television. Of course, there was no Internet, computers or mobile phones either. The radio and the movies were no longer silent, and newspapers used to have many pages. Leandro still remembers when at age 13 in San Antonio de los Baños, he saw two planes … Continue reading “Portrait of a Revolutionary Old Man / Iván García”
With the title “The Land Belongs to Those Who Work It,” the newspaper Granma published an editorial on May 17, in commemoration of “Peasant’s Day” from which I have selected three points that invite reflection. One: The Agrarian Reform was a basic need for economic liftoff. An affirmation that I share, since the concentration of … Continue reading “Why Doesn’t the Land Belong to Those Who Work It? / Dimas Castellanos”
