English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
I received a call from a friend who recently left Cuba. At one point in the conversation he said, “This isn’t another country, it’s another planet.” I hung up the phone and felt myself an alien on the earth. I looked out the window at the mess of wires hanging from the poles as if … Continue reading “My Faith in Elsewhere / Claudia Cadelo”
I have a friend who will call her mother to record her telenovela — the soap opera — so she won’t miss it when she’s at a party. For my part, it was one of those I didn’t hear about, even when a new one started. So things stood, I being pretty radical in not … Continue reading “Fan of the Telenovela / Claudia Cadelo”
He’s 90. He climbed unsteadily onto the P4 bus, a cane in one hand and a nylon bag in the other. It was ten at night. He didn’t want to sit down because he was only going three stops and his voice sounded so sad it made me want to carry him. As we crossed … Continue reading “Wafers and Ice Cream / Claudia Cadelo”
At the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution they are talking about the guidelines for the next Communist Party Congress. Despite the fact that, according to the Official Gazette, some of the proposals in the guidelines have already been passed as laws and the parliament hasn’t had its chance to display its unanimous approval, … Continue reading “These Peculiar Guidelines / Claudia Cadelo”
Foto: Claudio Fuentes Madan How much do you make? That was the question a faceless journalist asked a man on the National Television News (the best science fiction saga on Cuban television, after, of course, the reading of Fidel’s Reflections). As he earned about three hundred pesos a month, she was wanted to know how … Continue reading “Historical Absurdities / Claudia Cadelo”
One full page in the newspaper Granma of December 9: a transcript of the speech of Bruno Rodriguez on climate change and, on the front page, Raul Castro with the president of South Africa and Machado Ventura in Pinar del Río. Obviously, not a single word on the eve of Human Rights Day. A law … Continue reading “Going Begging / Claudia Cadelo”
This is not the first time I felt like telling Mariela Castro* that she should have remained silent. It’s a strange reaction in me, because normally I encourage others to express whatever they want to say. With her, however, it is hard for me, and there is something called decency which — for those who, … Continue reading “The Missteps of the Princess / Claudia Cadelo”
Photo: Claudio Fuentes Madan Sometimes we say, “What happens to me does not happen to anyone else,” without actually measuring the real possibilities of an extraordinary personal event being unique in the world. But when I heard the story that I now share with you I was, in fact, struck dumb. Not only by the … Continue reading “A Tragicomic Anecdote / Claudia Cadelo”
On Friday, October 22, at 6:00 PM, Gorki Águila, leader of the rock band Porno para Ricardo, hosted in his apartment the opening of the Paja Recold studio, and the collective exposition, We Put The Wall and What, which can be enjoyed by those interested until the end of November, at Avenida 35, number 4204, … Continue reading “Half Joking, But Serious / Miguel Iturria Savón”
He comes walking along the same sidewalk as me and can’t avoid greeting me. I understand. He’s weak because I was his fan. His ego is telling him, “That’s Claudia who really admired me and was always emailing me asking for my stories.” What he doesn’t know is that as a writer I admired his … Continue reading “Disenchantment / Claudia Cadelo”
I met Boris by an odd coincidence. One day he came to my house to find some music and we ended up talking about literature. I discovered that we had a world in common: the desire to be free, to know the truth, to dream about another, less battered, Cuba. He left me this text … Continue reading “Homage to Coco Fariñas / Claudia Cadelo”
NOT ONE MORE BLOCK LA PAJA RECOLD [Recording Studio] PRESENTS: COLLECTIVE EXPO Individual and collective pool service… Come without masturbating and with underwear… washed 1- heriberto manero / drunks 2- guillermo portieles / cops with walkie-talkies 3- ricardo orta / uncorker 4- claudio fuentes / el yogultsaldo de soyaldo satélites / untitled 5- luis trápaga … Continue reading “Collective Exposition at Gorki Águila’s House / Claudia Cadelo”
Photo: Claudio Fuentes Madan One of the new self-employment “activities” approved by the Cuban government is the controversial “recyclers-sellers of raw materials.” This toughest “private enterprise” encompasses Havana’s beggers who survive on collecting what the rest of the society throws out. Several years ago Claudio Fuentes Madan was making a series of paintings using the … Continue reading “Recycling / Claudia Cadelo”
Photo: Claudio Fuentes Madan I’ve been left a little traumatized after the celebrations of the CDR. Between the discussion on the bus, my neighbors’ Sunday volunteer work, and the reggaeton on the 28th until 1:00 in the morning; right now I feel a sense of “been there, done that… and never again would be too … Continue reading “Spontaneous / Claudia Cadelo”
Photo: Claudio Fuentes Madan I don’t consider myself a feminist because I try to avoid reactionary attitudes. That is to say, feminism in opposition to machismo seems too easy to me when in really my rights as a human being go far beyond my gender. Among some of my acquaintances, however, the issue is less … Continue reading “The Male / Claudia Cadelo”