English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Generation Y*, Yoani Sanchez, 25 March 2015 – “Peace broke out!” the old teacher was heard to say, on the day that Barack Obama and Raul Castro reported the reestablishment of relations between Cuba and the United States. The phrase captured the symbolism of a moment that had all the connotations of an armistice reached … Continue reading “The Day Peace Broke Out / Yoani Sanchez”
Ivan Garcia, 13 March 2015 — For a group of sixth grade students at the elementary school named after Juan Oscar Alvarado — a 19-year-old underground fighter, assassinated in 1958 in a house in the Sevillano neighborhood where they hid arms — located in that peaceful Havana neighborhood, their plans for the future are far … Continue reading “The Conversations and Aspirations of Many Cuban Students / Ivan Garcia”
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats, Jaimanitas Border Patrol Prison Unit, Havana, December, 2014 — Lacking access as I do to the predictions of political scientists (which perhaps is to my advantage so that I may be forgiven), I infer from President Obama’s latest measures that he now has nothing to lose. Therefore, any action he takes can only be … Continue reading “Musings of a Blind Man (5) / Angel Santiesteban”
Iván García, 4 February 2015 — For the prolific and noteworthy Cuban composer, Jorge Luis Piloto Alsar, born in the winter of 1955 in Cárdenas in the town of Matanzas, some 145 kilometers north of Havana, not in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that his songs would achieve international fame. Let’s get into … Continue reading “Seven Hours with Jorge Luis Piloto in Miami / Ivan Garcia”
One of the few Havanans not happy with the historic agreements of December 17th between President Obama and General Raul Castro was Dagoberto, a guy approaching forty who got out of jail six months ago after serving a six-year sentence for marijuana possession. “I have family in la yuma (US), but because of my drug possession … Continue reading “The Cuban Adjustment Act and Future Emigrants / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Ignacio Varona, 5 August, 2014 – Amalia Gutierrez was living on Gervasio Street in the San Leopoldo neighborhood when she heard the shouting on the other side of her blinds. Roberto Pascual was a patient waiting for dialysis outside the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital. And Vivian Bustamante sold illegal pizzas near the Spanish Embassy. They … Continue reading “The Maleconazo Seen Through the Blinds / 14ymedio, Ignacio Varona”
Normality Colonel Lamberto Fraga, Deputy Director of the Office of Immigration and Foreigners of CUba, has declared that 57.8 percent of those Cubans who have traveled abroad since the travel and immigration reforms have returned to the country, and he concludes: “We Cubans are not fleeing [the country], this is normal travel.” Thank goodness. P.S. … Continue reading ““Normal Travel”: 42% Don’t Return / Enrique Del Risco”
Aspiring Pioneer in 1965 This school year my grandson César began the first grade. He is pleased with the expectation of learning to read and write, but above all he is very excited that soon he will get his blue bandana and become another “pioneer for communism,” like his father 28 years ago, and like … Continue reading ““Pioneers for Communism”: Doctrine with Bandana / Miriam Celaya”
Editor’s note: This article was originally published at time of Luis Pavón Tamayo’s reappearance on Cuba Television in 2007, and was translated to post here on the occasion of his recent death. On more than a few occasions, those who analyze Cuba and even those directly engaged in the country, compare it to a game … Continue reading “A Pawn to Distract You / Alexis Romay”
Placing zeros to the right seems to be the preferred sport of those who put a price on the homes they sell in Cuba today. A captive market at the end of the day, the buyer could find a lot of surprises in the wide range of classified ads. From owners who ask astronomical sums for … Continue reading “Three Parameters, One House / Yoani Sanchez”
Freedom Tower, Miami Years ago, when I left Cuba for the first time, I was in a train leaving from the city of Berlin heading north. A Berlin already reunified but preserving fragments of the ugly scar, that wall that had divided a nation. In the compartment of that train, while thinking about my father … Continue reading “Cubans, period”
This week the first Cubans who applied when the Cuban government’s “new migratory policy” went into effect should be getting their passports. We will begin to understand the true possibilities on learning which passports are issued and which denied. And we will see the new selection criteria. Although one step has been eliminated, the “white … Continue reading “Of Passports, Emigration, Permits and Chimeras / Roberto Madrigal”
From the early hours of Sunday large groups of people were already visible at the Department of Immigration and Aliens (DIE) in the city of Havana. A few hours before the Migratory Reform announced last October was to go into effect, Cubans vacillated between hope and uncertainty with respect to the new law. Decree-Law No. … Continue reading “Long Lines Formed Before Dawn on Monday at Cuba’s Passport Offices / Yoani Sanchez #Cuba”
General Raul Castro’s new migratory regulations have aroused enthusiasm in many Cubans. Like the gold rush in the nineteenth century. Or the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. We agree: migratory reform will not bring democracy, political tolerance and respect for human rights. Things will remain the same in Cuba. More or less. The … Continue reading “Waiting for January 14 / Ivan Garcia #Cuba”
The stew was cooked on firewood collected by some neighbors, the flags hung in the middle of the block and the shouts of Viva! went on past midnight. A ritual repeated with more or less enthusiasm every September 27 throughout the Island. The eve of the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the Committees for … Continue reading “CDR: Citizen Representation or Political Control? / Yoani Sanchez”