English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Sonia Garro at her sewing machine It all started one sunless noon, on the 24th of February, 2007. “Up here,” said Sonia, a laboratory technician, who sews on a 50-year-old machine on the porch of her home, from where she often saw accidents involving children playing without the watchful eyes of their parents. And her large … Continue reading “Sonia Garro, or the Cruelty of a Regime”
The old computer in Lucerne The idea of having a blog where I could post about life in my country and to have the power to write in the first person about the small things in this scene that surround me, that was an idea that was cooked a long time over a slow flame. … Continue reading “From Havana, Year 1”
They don’t have the charm of the “jineteras”(prostitutes seeking foreign tourists) who work for hard currency.* They don’t wear brand-name clothes, or high-heeled shoes. They don’t use Chanel perfumes, or wear gold jewelry. They are the poorer type, who at most smother themselves with large quantities of Cuban-made Suchel talcum powder, and smell of cheap eau-de-cologne. … Continue reading “Cheap Sex”
In October 2009, in tandem with Max Lesnik, the Cuban journalist based in Miami, I started writing a blog, called 90 miles, for El Mundo, one of Spain’s national dailies. Plus some notes, articles, features, and stories about what life is like for Cubans and my perceptions of the Castros’ government. Within a few days, I was … Continue reading “Iván What’s-his-name”
Donato, who usually sells newspapers in the area around Roja de la Víbora square, is an elderly man of 67 wearing threadbare clothes; he’s convinced that Fidel Castro has for quite some time been a corpse. Abelardo, 54, a civil engineer, thinks the same. He says, “The people haven’t been told of Fidel’s death to prevent … Continue reading “The Day After”
The writer Orlando Luis Pardo (OLP), 34-years-old, is like a box with buttons. You press a button and out comes a stream of ideas. OLP is bursting with talent. He has published several books of stories. He has a pair of blogs, among the best being done in this 21st century Cuba. He’s a high-flying … Continue reading “OLP’s Intifada”
Not yet having overcome the gray and cold, with little bread and scant shelter, which we Cubans have passed through in these days of January 2010, news of the earthquake in Haiti came to us. With the passing of the hours, we learned the magnitude of the catastrophe, a tragedy that grows daily. The entire … Continue reading “As Much Pain As Hope”
These are the Dog Days. With the fine and constant rain and the overcast sky the color of a gray mouse. Likewise, a freezing cold. We throw to one side in this January of the new year the postcards of brilliant sun that show us a happy, festive, and warm city. Since January 1st, the first … Continue reading “Cuba, Dog Time”
Devoid of Internet and cable TV, people in Cuba get by as best as they can. Newsagents don’t sell foreign newspapers. And if you want to be properly informed, the only way is to listen to the BBC from London, Radio Exterior from Spain, or the Voice of America, from the United States. And that’s … Continue reading “The Cuban Facebook”
Photo: Reuters. On the right, the Cuban writer and journalist Natalia Bolivar With the arrival of the first serious cold front, which in these days of January has lowered the thermometer to unusual temperatures in Cuba, the babalaos of the island gave the expected Letter of the Year. This time it was announced with a … Continue reading “The Letter of the Year”
We wish all readers and their families the realization of all resolutions proposed for this year, and to Cuba, our homeland, we wish for a new beginning with tolerance, respect and a democratic conciliatory spirit, leaving behind the resentment that has blinded us for so long. From Havana, Cuba, a sincere hug from, Iván García … Continue reading “Our Best Wishes for 2010”
Nothing is easy in Cuba. Even menstruating is a headache. If you doubt it, ask Marlene, a 23-year-old computer expert, who suffers when her period comes, every 28 days. On the island, sanitary napkins are known by the name, “intimates.” They are rationed. They are sold in the pharmacies, to women previously registered, between the … Continue reading “A headache for Cuban women”
Hacer media–literally “to do half”–in Cuba means to do nothing. Taking “ten,” an opportunity, a break….gossiping about something that happened. Talking about the latest telenovela. Making fun of the bosses. Criticizing the government. Checking out the new girl or boy at work. Finally, just making do. In any workplace on the island, people work in … Continue reading “Pretending to Work”
It spread like wildfire all over Cuba. Beginning November 1st, potatoes and split peas would be available without rationing. They would now be sold at higher prices than what they cost through the rationing system since the State would no longer subsidize their cost. A pound of potatoes that costs 0.40 cents in Cuban pesos … Continue reading “Potatoes for free”
So one begins to get old, she thinks, when we are given to remembering the past. The past is a dangerous thing when we let it stead the prominence of our lives. It is always present, determining our actions, like the sun keeps the planets incarcerated in its gravitational prison. Even the comets, incapable of … Continue reading “Life of Sisyphus – Part Nine”