English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Miguel Luna drawn by Abel Prieto, in Viajes de Miguel Luna. “The day that rabble gets into the UNEAC*, we’re lost.” – Abel Prieto, from his Viajes de Miguel Luna What does a Minister of Culture think about when he turns into an author? What does he aesthetically cling to and what does he judge … Continue reading “Abel Prieto’s Travels / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
By: Ignacio Estrada Havana, Cuba — Around 11:00 in the morning last Friday, April 19, while Latin America was following the inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the distinguished intellectual and communist Alfredo Guevara died in the Cuban capital. Guevara’s death was first announced on the multi-national news channel TeleSur and later on a cultural … Continue reading “Alfredo Guevara Dies in Havana / Ignacio Estrada”
April 2013 marks a decade since once of the most depressing moments of post-revolutionary history: the so-called Black Spring. It was a time when Fidel Castro, excited about what he assumed was a revolutionary wave in Latin America and the arrival of the first subsidies from Venezuelans, decided to eradicate every sign of discontent and … Continue reading “The Executed and The Accomplices in April / Haroldo Dilla Alfonso”
Recently I learned, although it has not yet been publicly announced, that the Havana Historian Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler, has retired his economic motor: “Habaguanex.” I am sure that this gentleman will come to be known as one of the few citizens of the Cuban Archipelago who, in the last 54 years, has done commendable … Continue reading “The Probable Ingratitude of Men / Angel Santiesteban”
She is a woman alone, devout Catholic from a famous neighborhood on the outskirts, and lays to rest all her dead in a family pantheon. The Columbus Cemetery, sooner rather than later, will reunite her with them and with God. Holy word. The sadness of life is not eternal. Alas, now the meeting will have … Continue reading “The Forgotten Dead / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
“I do not agree with giving mercenaries the same rights as intellectuals,” claimed the writer Miguel Barnet, president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and member of the Communist Party Central Committee, at the 30th Conference of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) held in San Francisco, California, this May. Barnet’s … Continue reading “Who is the Mercenary? / Oscar Espinosa Chepe”
These are the forces that keep us alive: dignity, freedom, and courage. – José Martí I confess that if something causes me pain is to feel helpless, as a black citizen, every time I see the statue of José Miguel Gómez, located in area of El Vedado, in Havana. The statue is right on the … Continue reading “Constant Shame / Mackandal – Manuel Aguirre Lavarrere”
By Alexis Jardines and Antonio Rodiles The most recent editorial in the Cuban Catholic Church’s journal Lay Space (Espacio Laical) put on the table for discussion, once again, several critical points regarding the course that should be taken in the Cuban transition. First, we have to say that we find it most interesting that the … Continue reading “Response to Catholic Church’s Editorial in Lay Space: “Commitment to the Truth” / Estado de Sats”
The press and official propaganda organ of the Cuban government, Granma, published a report dated May 18 in Washington, on a lecture given by the City of Havana historian, Eusebio Leal Spengler, at The Brookings Institution think tank in the U.S. Capital. It dealt with the project of restoring the historic center of Havana, declared … Continue reading “The Brookings Institution / Rafael León Rodríguez”
The following post was written by Luis Felipe Rojas for “Diario de Cuba” and published on Wednesday, February 15th: During the past few days, fragments of the recently concluded sessions of the Communist Party of Cuba National Conference have been televised. And the first thing that jumps out at one’s eyes is the lack of … Continue reading “The Party…Up for Debate? / Luis Felipe Rojas”
These days the Cuban nation should be crying and writhing in its own betrayal. It gives the sensation of a country winding down, that sells quickly, like someone trying to extract every possible benefit before leaving. For years it has been auctioning off its cultural heritage on the Internet. Works by leading artists who are not even alive … Continue reading “Cuba: A Country Being Auctioned / Angel Santiesteban”
In every self-respecting city there is a Chinatown. Havana is one of those. The Chinese are the largest population on the planet. If to the 1.3 billion people living in mainland China we added those scattered around half the world, the figure may exceed 1.5 billion. They arrived in Cuba in the mid 19th century, fleeing … Continue reading “The Chinatown of Havana / Iván García”
The Florida media commented on the details of the flow of musicians and writers that travel from Havana to Miami or New York, where they perform in clubs and theaters or speak in universities and conference rooms. Among the literary figures the writer Miguel Barnet, the President of the Union of Writers and Artists of … Continue reading “Barnet and His Alter Ego / Miguel Iturria Savón”
The Council of Ministers of Cuba expanded its quorum in order to hold a session this past February 28. Nearly 30 thousand proposals were already calculated in the meetings to discuss the lineaments, and now the olive-green leaders are rushing to put band-aids on the wounds of the battered Cuban society. Now, it turns out … Continue reading “Band-aids to Save a Country / Luis Felipe Rojas”
How neglected and abandoned! In Guanabacoa, the houses where masters of Cuban art and music, Rita Montaner and Bola de Nieve, were born are about to fall down. Neighbours from this area in La Habana have told to Rafael Egües Velázquez, from the Web of Community Communicators, who could not take photos because State Security … Continue reading “SOS from Rita and Bola / Laritza Diversent”
