Search results for: Special Period

The Decline of Lawton, the Cuban Capital’s Industrial and Prosperous Neighborhood

14ymedio, Nelson García, Havana, 16 September 2023 — Ruins attest to Lawton’s former splendor: abandoned factories, buildings reduced to rubble and the famous “Scandinavian castles”, on the verge of collapsing. For the neighbors, the deterioration of the neighborhood, located in the municipality of Diez de Octubre, until becoming one of the most dangerous places in Havana, … Continue reading “The Decline of Lawton, the Cuban Capital’s Industrial and Prosperous Neighborhood”

Argentina Will Make a New Attempt To Collect the 2.8 Billion Dollars Owed by Cuba

14ymedio, Madrid, 4 September 2023 — The Argentine president, Alberto Fernández, will travel to Cuba for the G-77 plus China Summit, which will be held on September 15 and 16, with a proposal for the Cuban authorities to solve the historic debt that the Island has with the South American country. According to La Política … Continue reading “Argentina Will Make a New Attempt To Collect the 2.8 Billion Dollars Owed by Cuba”

Without Books, Uniforms or Teachers, Cuba’s Students Return to Class Under Painful Conditions

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 4 September 2023 — The school year that began this Monday in Cuba will be the first to follow the regular calendar after the interruptions and incomplete academic years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, few starts of the school year as painful as this one are remembered on the … Continue reading “Without Books, Uniforms or Teachers, Cuba’s Students Return to Class Under Painful Conditions”

Cuba’s Umpteenth Negotiation With the Paris Club for Non-Payments, Meanwhile Luxury Hotels Multiply

14ymedio, Madrid, 31 August 2023 — The future of Cuba’s 4.827 billion dollar debt with its Paris Club creditors is at stake today in Havana. According to the official press, William Roos, co-president of the institution, proposed establishing a new calendar in accordance with Cuba’s ability to pay after expressing that “there is understanding towards … Continue reading “Cuba’s Umpteenth Negotiation With the Paris Club for Non-Payments, Meanwhile Luxury Hotels Multiply”

Havana, As Seen Through Its Overflowing Garbage

14ymedio, Nelson García, Havana, 31 August 2023 — Celia holds her breath every day when she passes by the corner of Industria y Ánimas, in the neighborhood of Colón (Centro Habana). The garbage containers are overflowing with waste and debris. The sidewalk stopped being passable some time ago, and pedestrians mix with the vehicles and … Continue reading “Havana, As Seen Through Its Overflowing Garbage”

Cuba: From Maleconazo to 11J, the Road From Civic Childhood to Maturity

14ymedio, Generation Y, Havana, 5 August 2023 — Some were in rags, others wore masks. Some were screaming to get on a boat in Havana Bay and emigrate, others took to the streets throughout the entire island to try to change the country so as not to have to head somewhere else. In the 27 … Continue reading “Cuba: From Maleconazo to 11J, the Road From Civic Childhood to Maturity”

The Best Novel by Reinaldo Arenas and an Anthology on the ’11J’ Protests Among Cuban Books of July

14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, July 30, 2023 — After the success in bookstores of Antes que anochezca [Before Night Falls], the heterodox autobiography of Reinaldo Arenas reissued in 2022, Tusquets offers readers El mundo alucinante [The Amazing] World, considered by critics as the best Cuban novel The deranged memoirs of the Mexican friar Servando Teresa de … Continue reading “The Best Novel by Reinaldo Arenas and an Anthology on the ’11J’ Protests Among Cuban Books of July”

Raising Fish at Home, the Malevolent Brainchild of a Cuban Minister to Solve the Food Shortage

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 22 July 2023 — A few days after standing in a very long line, I had to walk through the streets of the San Leopoldo neighborhood in Havana, avoiding the bodies of dead chicks, thrown from the balconies, with their necks outstretched and their feathers still a tender yellow color. I … Continue reading “Raising Fish at Home, the Malevolent Brainchild of a Cuban Minister to Solve the Food Shortage”

The ‘Five Heroes’ That Are Missing in Cuba: Chicken, Picadillo, Sausages, Detergent and Oil

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, July 21, 2023 — The neighbors of the Luyanó neighborhood, in the Havana municipality of Diez de Octubre, are more than tired. This July, the only products of the ’combo’ they have been able to buy are oil and detergent. And not even in the same store. In the shop … Continue reading “The ‘Five Heroes’ That Are Missing in Cuba: Chicken, Picadillo, Sausages, Detergent and Oil”

Cristina Vives, Independent Art Curator in Cuba: ‘What We Do Is Seen With Suspicion’

EFE (via 14ymedio), Laura Becquer, Havana, 16 July 2023 — – Promoting art independently and privately in Cuba continues to be seen with “suspicion” and leaves those who are dedicated to that activity in a certain situation of “vulnerability,” says curator Cristina Vives, with 30 years of experience in the sector, speaking in an interview … Continue reading “Cristina Vives, Independent Art Curator in Cuba: ‘What We Do Is Seen With Suspicion’”

Low-Quality Ice Cream Forces Coppelia to Offer Soft Drink and Cookie Combos

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 30 May 2023 —  Even during the worst of the Special Period, people lined up outside its entrances in double rows, waiting to get in. But the days when Coppelia could call itself the “cathedral of ice cream” are long gone. Though it has not had to close like it … Continue reading “Low-Quality Ice Cream Forces Coppelia to Offer Soft Drink and Cookie Combos”

Cooking Gas Is Also Lacking In Cuba

Ivan García, 26 May 2023 — The National Highway running through Matanzas province divides Los Arabos municipality in two directions. On the left, a town of just over 23 thousand inhabitants, cracked streets, and wagons pulled by horses that in their tiresome trot leave their poop on the main road. On the right, a handful … Continue reading “Cooking Gas Is Also Lacking In Cuba”

Looting, Plunder, Pillage: The Crisis Brings Out the Worst in Cubans

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 17 May 2023 — The ‘Special Period‘ in Cuba is remembered for the long blackouts and food shortages, but also for having been a time when vandalism and robberies reached alarming levels throughout the Island. Light bulbs disappeared from schools and hospitals, toilet fittings remained in place barely a … Continue reading “Looting, Plunder, Pillage: The Crisis Brings Out the Worst in Cubans”

A Bridge in Ruins and Few Passengers: Deterioration Reaches the Small Launch From Regla in Havana

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya/Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 5 May 2023 — “Line up, one by one and slowly!” shouted a security employee at the Regla pier, to the passengers who had just arrived in the boat and had to travel over a short walkway to reach land. The metal structure is so rusty and full … Continue reading “A Bridge in Ruins and Few Passengers: Deterioration Reaches the Small Launch From Regla in Havana”

The Cuban Tourism Festival, Who Pays for it?

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 1 May 2023 — This blog will directly monitor the regime’s tourism policy to detect its inconsistencies and errors, and before the FITCuba tourism festival begins, we already have a good example. The communist state press is flattering and describes as a success that “almost 400 Spanish tour operators are going … Continue reading “The Cuban Tourism Festival, Who Pays for it?”