English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Havana Times, Lynn Cruz, 10 May 2018 – Cuban scientist sentenced to one year in prison for ‘disrespecting” government authority, was the title of an article recently published in the Miami Herald. And that is Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, a universal researcher. His work and light transcend the borders of this island. A great man, with … Continue reading “The Cuban Revolution Sentences a Revolutionary Scientist / Lynn Cruz”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 14 March 2018 — The film “I Want to Make a Movie,” by filmmaker Yimit Ramírez, was excluded from the Special Presentation section of the Young Filmmaker’s Exhibition by officials of the Cuban Institute of Art and Film Industry (ICAIC), who said that the dialog during a scene of his trial was … Continue reading “Film Considered Disrespectful of Jose Marti Rejected By Cuban Film Institute”
14ymedio, Ricardo Fernandez, Camagüey, 20 February 2018 — Darkness and silence envelops the nights in the city of Camagüey since the fire at the 10 de Octubre Thermoelectric Company, in Nuevitas, on 25 January. Almost a month later, blackouts and annoyance continue to affect residents. Brigades from various parts of the country are working under the … Continue reading “Blackouts and Annoyance Continue in Camagüey”
Ricardo Fernández, Camagüey, 29 January 2018 — The ice cream parlor Copellia in the city of Camagüey has become an empty passageway between two main streets. Only the occasional passerby wanders into the empty building to access the Italian restaurant and three small shops on the floors above. At midday the employees take advantage of the calm hour … Continue reading “Two Months Without Coppelia Ice Cream in Camaguey”
14ymedio, Ricardo Fernandez, 4 December 2017 — Five days after an ammonia leak that kept some people in the city of Camagüey in suspense, the neighbors of the Coppelia ice cream factory fear that the consequences of the spill will be more serious than what has been announced, and they are reproaching the authorities for not … Continue reading “In Camaguey Coppelia’s Neighbors Live with Ammonia Leaks”
14ymedio, Havana, 7 June 2016 — A group of six Cuban migrants arrived on Monday night along the coast of Lauderdale By-the-Sea, Florida, in a precarious craft, according to the local media. Among them was a pregnant woman who was treated by medical services as a precautionary measure. The rafters crossed the Florida Straits aboard … Continue reading “Six Rafters Arrive in Florida on a Rustic Boat Named ‘Barack Obama’ / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 3 October 2015 — There was no mistaking it. It was the same face that smiles defiantly from some paintings in which it resembles an unrepentant Christ. I had seen the signature of El Sexto at bus stops, followed his ironies on Havana’s walls, and wondered if this young man really existed, … Continue reading “El Sexto: He Who Laughs First, Laughs Twice / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
14ymedio, 29 September 2015 — The human rights defense organization Amnesty International on Tuesday launched an action to demand the release of the Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado, El Sexto (the Sixth), whom it considers a prisoner of conscience. The artist wrote a “farewell letter” from the Valle Grande prison where he has been detained since last December … Continue reading “Amnesty International Calls for Release of ‘El Sexto’ / 14ymedio”
Valle Grande Prison From the “cell” (of punishment) September 16, 2015… Where I am there is little light and I am in my underwear because I do not want to wear the prison uniform. They give me a mattress for 5 or 6 hours at night. I only drink water and there will be no … Continue reading “Farewell Letter From El Sexto / Regina Coyula”
Valle Grande Prison From the “cell” (of punishment) September 16, 2015… Where I am there is little light and I am in my underwear because I do not want to wear the prison uniform. They give me a mattress for 5 or 6 hours at night. I only drink water and there will be no … Continue reading “Farewell Letter from El Sexto / Danilo Maldonado”
Our “mercenaries” do not plant bombs, nor do they plan attempts on people’s lives, nor sabotages, as did those who today are in power. Cubanet, Rafael Alcides, Havana, 30 April 2015 – A young Communist, lamenting how the Cuban government delegation (supposedly there representing Cuban civil society) made fools of themselves in Panama, told me, … Continue reading “Their Weapon is the Word, Peaceful is their Struggle / Cubanet, Rafael Alcides”
Nuevitas is my third and last stop on this whirlwind of a trip. The Santiago/Nuevitas journey takes eight hours, two of them in the 16-kilometer stretch between Manatí and Camalote. My trip is the next to last before this itinerary is suspended, pending the repair of the roadway. A passenger who appears to be a … Continue reading “Postcard from a Journey (3) / Regina Coyula”
When I began working in Cuban television, in the second half of the eighties of the past century, the first person they introduced me to was Lilo Vilaplana. He was already a star Assistant Director and they assigned him to teach me, in practice, his expertise. We immediately became good friends, and friendship flowered as … Continue reading “Lilo, An Artist Who Fed Himself From Misery / Angel Santiesteban”
Josue Rojas Marin The brother of Juan Miguel Herrera Machado died some years ago, and on exhuming him, he found that the remains of eleven of his loved ones had disappeared from the family vault. Given the horrendous knowledge he headed to the cemetery administration, where through the manager he learned that the vault now … Continue reading “Disrespect for the Dead / Josue Rojas Marin, Cuban Law Association”
The eastern half of the country has seen the ghost of development go by in official speeches and in the trains and planes going to Havana or overseas. When a high government official tediously insisted on making promises of economic development, immediately the political machine would start a “shock public works project.” Who doesn’t remember … Continue reading “Moa, The Promise And The Deception / Luis Felipe Rojas”
