English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Havana, Cuba, October, www.cubanet.org – It was a great achievement by Rosa Berre (Havana, 1941 – Miami, 2006) to publicly expose the mass media of Fidel Castro, whose writers were willing to lie in exchange for crumbs. When, at the beginning of the internet, with the help of an old computer, a fax machine, her ingenuity and her … Continue reading “Rosa Berre’s Great Achievement / Tania Diaz Castro”
Gorki Águila, leader of the punk rock band Porno para Ricardo, was released on bail a week ago, after a People’s Revolutionary Police (PNR) patrol stopped him in the early morning of Sunday, 29 September, and found in his backpack two tablets of a medication for epilepsy, an illness Águila has suffered from since he … Continue reading “I Don’t Know What They’re Accusing Me Of / Lilianne Ruiz, Gorki Aguila”
HAVANA, Cuba , September , www.cubanet.org — For some time now we’ve noticed the absence of Elián Gonzalez and other members of his family from the pages of newspapers, radio broadcasts and television channels. We even know the failed attempt by a foreign press correspondent to interview Elián, who is barely seen in his native Cardenas. … Continue reading “Where is Elian Gonzalez and his Family? / Orlando Freire Santana”
HAVANA, Cuba , August, www.cubanet.org – Every Cuban must have heard countless times a compilation of phrases that try to encompass all the Island’s popular wisdom: “don’t bother”, “you’re not going to solve anything”, “what the heck, you are not going to change anything”, “don’t look for trouble” , or this next one, which is … Continue reading “Shoal Philosophy / Miriam Celaya”
Communication No. 1 Violations of the Rules of Social Coexistence. Everything seems to indicate that there are members of the administrative council (neighbors) who don’t know the rules of social coexistence, even though the president of the country, Cop. Raul M. Castro Ruz [dedicated] three-quarters of his speech before the National Assembly of People’s Power … Continue reading “The Notice With the Commandments / Lilianne Ruiz”
On Saturday July 20, as I was getting ready to go out with my niece, among the TV news items I heard was a piece about a town that was going to celebrate the provincial commemoration of — at this point I assumed it would be Children’s Day, which was to take place on the following … Continue reading “We Are Still Olive Green* / Yusimi Rodriguez Lopez”
A Cuban family from Holguín, desperate because of the precarious state of their home and the lack of any response from the authorities, went to see human rights activists to ask them to help and to provide a report on her case. In the video of Liberal Creole Productions and the Peoples’ Defender of Independent … Continue reading “President of the CDR lives in misery / CID”
After a disastrous first marriage which bore no “fruits,” Isabel — a slim, young brunette — met a young laborer with whom she fell hopelessly in love. They decided to become a couple almost on the first date. From this “explosive union” a child was born, whom they named Yurisdislaidis because compound names and those with the letter Y … Continue reading “Yurisdislaidis’ Fifteenth Birthday / Rebeca Monzo”
Saturday [18 May 2013] El Sexto is raided at his home this afternoon at 1:15 pm, according to Alexandra his wife and owner of the apartment, who learned of it through an email from her dad who lives downstairs and saw men and women in uniform and in plainclothes, accompanied by 2 neighbors from the … Continue reading ““Catch and Release”: El Sexto (Danilo Maldonado) Arrested on Saturday, Released on Sunday, His Work Confiscated / Lia Villares, Danilo Maldonado”
A couple who are friends of mine made fun of me because they say I always lit the bulb of hope; that I should “save energy,” mental energy that is, and not live with illusions, because I’ll die of disappointment. They said this to me a couple of months ago because I mentioned that I … Continue reading “The Biggest Raid / Rosa Maria Rodriguez Torrado”
Once again Mr. Jose Ramon Machado Ventura addressed the issue of the speed of “the transformations” driven by Raul Castro, warning that these processes are distorted from the outside by voices “paid by the empire” who demand more rapid progress naively believing that they are going to lead to capitalism. On this occasion Cuba’s first … Continue reading “Continuity or a Dismantling? / Reinaldo Escobar #Cuba”
In late December, the journalist Pablo Mendez asked me for an interview for the digital space Cubanet, which was posted on January 4 this year. I am taking the liberty of reproducing it in this blog for my regular readers, while I record my thanks to both the journalist and the animators of Cubanet for … Continue reading “Extensive Interview on Cuban Politics: Past, Present and Future / Miriam Celaya”
During these final days of the year the chatter in my neighborhood has focused on a woman who traded up from a nice little house to a gorgeous residence on a corner lot. This neighbor spared no expense in order to create the home she wanted. An array of private and state-owned trucks delivered material … Continue reading “A Smoky Exploit / Regina Coyula #Cuba”
By: Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez I often remember the lyrics of that song by Carlos Varela, hummed by many of my generation: “I had no Santa Claus, nor Christmas tree. . .” And I remember it not only as the popular song from that time in my life, but as the social reality that surrounded my … Continue reading “Christmas Yesterday and Today / Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez #Cuba”
My friend Calixto R. Martinez (far left in photo), a reporter for Hablemos Press, is now on the 23rd day of a hunger strike in the punishment cells of the Combinado del Este prison. Prosecutors charged him with the crime of “contempt for the figures of R. and F. Castro.” According to the Hablemos Press … Continue reading “For the Freedom of Calixto / Lilianne Ruiz #Cuba”