English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
When, during the First Conference of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) held in January, the General declared that the Revolutionary press should be transparent, there were those who believed him. Even some professionals of the official press (which is a very particular specialty) bowed their little heads sadly, eyes tearing up, when the Second Ancient … Continue reading “Press Transparency Castro Style / Miriam Celaya”
On Thursday a note from the editor of “Palabra Nueva” — New Word — the magazine of the Catholic Church, appeared in the official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba, the newspaper Granma. Where the presence of thirteen people in the temple of Charity was described as an “invasion.” The Catholic Church has always … Continue reading “What It Is About / Lilianne Ruíz”
A lot has happened since my return to my home, good and bad, of which the most sad and shameful was the death of another hunger striker, Cuban Wilman Villar. It seems as if time flew, but for those of our land where we were born life is still a distressing agony with its endless … Continue reading “We Meet Again / Yamil Dominguez”
Havana, Cuba: today I want to remember with each of our readers that first day when I went with my mother and a nurse to enter a Sanatorium for HIV/AIDS patients in Santa Clara. It was Thursday, January 11, 2001, I had awakened early in my hometown of Santo Domingo, 32 miles from Santa Clara. … Continue reading “My First Day in a Place Called Sanitarium / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
Recently Rafe, my husband went to renew his identity card. He had to do because it was expired and he needed to renew it for some other paperwork he was immersed in. He went to the office in charge of this function, patiently waited his turn in the fifty-year-old system of lines, handed over the … Continue reading “Modeling a Farce / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”
Recently Rafe, my husband went to renew his identity card. He had to do because it was expired and he needed to renew it for some other paperwork he was immersed in. He went to the office in charge of this function, patiently waited his turn in the fifty-year-old system of lines, handed over the … Continue reading “Modeling a Farce”
I understand that Western countries, where the government emerges from a multi-party democracy, must have their problems. Here the scriptwriters of any news report broadcast are very pleased when they comment on (because they almost never let you hear the voices of the international reporters) the news about the protests of the Outraged, Spanish students, … Continue reading “To the Outraged / Lilianne Ruíz”
They arrived early to “visit me” as a couple — as they generally do, whenever they are ordered to harass an opponent — young people of both sexes who identify themselves as agents from the Ministry of the Interior. The pretext was a survey conducted for the National Housing Directorate, and they wanted to know … Continue reading “Two Are an Army / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado”
From: “skyscrapercity.com” They arrived early to “visit me” as a couple — as they generally do, whenever they are ordered to harass an opponent — young people of both sexes who identify themselves as agents from the Ministry of the Interior. The pretext was a survey conducted for the National Housing Directorate, and they wanted … Continue reading “Two Are an Army”
Dear Miss Piggy: You are a superstar, but your public image may be damaged it you don’t control a little the horrid character and bad behavior of your family in Cuba. Your relatives on the island are very valuable and considerate, but that is not a reason for one of them to hit me on … Continue reading “Complaints to Miss Piggy and the Three Little Pigs / Dora Leonor Mesa”
As our readers know, Translating Cuba focuses primarily on bloggers and their posts, but there are other sources that report daily and even hourly about what’s going on with different segments of those in Cuba who have decided to grab their freedom now, whether it is offered to them or not. A new source, and … Continue reading ““Pieces of the Island” is Closely Tracking Reports from Cuba in Advance of Pope’s Visit / Translating Cuba”
By Dagoberto Valdes, Pinar del Rio Cuba is not the same as in 1998 when John Paul II made the first papal visit in our history. Its government is not the same, though essential and structurally, it remains the same system. Its Church is not the same in its workings and leadership, although essentially and … Continue reading “The Cuba That Will be Visited by Pope Benedict XVI / IntraMuros, Dagoberto Valdes”
Whenever I can, I read Fernando Ravsberg, BBC correspondent in Cuba. I can agree with him or not, but I prefer a range of opinions rather than the bi-color and mono-chord Granma (where the bi-color is not just for graphic design.) His work this last week left me with a bad taste. Not because the … Continue reading “Strange Reading About Corruption / Regina Coyula”
That same day, March 18, 2003 I went to Chinatown, in downtown Havana, to exchange ideas with colleagues in the independent press. The issue was the Iraq War, which had been declared unilaterally, and without the strong international support there had been for Operation Desert Storm, after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Like the previous … Continue reading “Nine Years After the “Black Spring” / Juan Adolfo Fernández Sainz”
The interior stairs of a building collapse on the same corner where the socialist character of the Revolution was declared. A desperate group of thirteen people occupy the Church of Charity in Central Havana and are taken out by force in the middle of the night. The television shows a report about the bridges vandalized … Continue reading “Signs? / Yoani Sánchez”
