English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
I To try to defuse the tension that comes over me by surprise and makes me clench my teeth, I decided to take these last days, nothing special, to enjoy doing nothing. Noting, indeed, the Cuban governments’ announcements for 2011. I try to be objective, I try to be dispassionate, I try to be optimistic, … Continue reading “Jaw Clenching and the End of the Year / Regina Coyula”
Glancing at the TV I was caught by a phrase from Zenaida Romeu, director of the chamber group that bears her name. It’s Tuesday and the energy of this woman, a guest on the program With True Affection, Two… had me sitting in front of the screen while the potatoes burned on the stove. She … Continue reading “The Children / Yoani Sánchez”
