English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Ivan Garcia, 3 May 2016 — One morning in 1996, the poet and journalist, Raúl Rivero, Director of the press agency Independent Cuba Press, called me at home in Víbora, to ask me to cover the trial of a dissident in a municipal court in Cerro. The reporter, Ariel de Castro Tapia, (presently living in … Continue reading “Cuban Alternative Journalism: Challenges and Commitments / Iván García”
Néstor Díaz de Villegas, 17 April 2016 – Once upon a time I made the mistake of thinking that the Revolution – I’m speaking about the Cuban Revolution – was indispensable, that its advent had forever altered the course of History. Today I am reflecting on what would be its fundamental contributions, the (let’s say) … Continue reading “The Expendable Revolution / Néstor Díaz de Villegas”
The undersigned, Latin Americans and diverse in our allegiances, professions and interests, but united by a common aspiration for freedom, democracy, equality and well-being throughout the hemisphere, address our fellow citizens and governments, especially those in Cuba, to express the following: We celebrate the growing process of normalization in Cuban-American relations and the willingness of … Continue reading “Cuba Must End “Apartheid Against Its Citizens” / Oscar Arias, Laura Chinchilla”
Angel Santiesteban talks with Amir Valle about personal experiences that marked their lives. By Ángel Santiesteban Prats, 9 July 2015 Angel Santiesteban: Amir, we are about to celebrate thirty years since the beginning of our friendship, when back in the mid-eighties, at the Alejo Carpentier Center in Havana, they held National Seminar for Young Storywriters, … Continue reading “AMIR VALLE: The Early Writer / Angel Santiesteban”
For the Cuban government, when satire is against the “enemy,” it is useful and refreshing. Otherwise it is subversive Cubanet.org, Victor Manuel Dominguez, Havana, 15 October 2015 – In a country where joking, sarcasm, satire, mockery, in sum, any kind of humor, are more daily than our stunted, acidic, furry and greenish daily bread, the … Continue reading “Laughing at the Castros, a Mortal Sin / Cubanet, Victor Manuel Dominguez”
Cubanet, Jorge Luis Gonzalez Suarez, Havana, 21 September 2015 – The last time I spoke with Naty Revuelta by phone, she said, “I fell and I can’t go out alone any more. I’m here at home all the time, come whenever you like.” I never saw her again alive. Shortly afterwards came the news of … Continue reading “Naty Revuelta, Fidel Castro’s Lover / Cubanet, Luis Gonzalez Suarez”
Freedom for Danilo Open Letter to the Pope Havana, September 8, 2015 Your Holiness, Pope Francis: In advance of your visit to our island, a group of Cuban citizens wish to call your attention to a case that needs an immediate solution. This is the politically motivated imprisonment of Danilo Maldonado Machado, a young artist … Continue reading “Open Letter to Pope Francis for the Release of “El Sexto””
Declaration of San Juan The first Cuban National Conference met in San Juan, Puerto Rico from August 13 to 15, 2015. Twenty-three organizations from the Cuban archipelago and 32 from the exile participated, duly represented by more than 100 of their leaders. The event was organized by United Cubans of Puerto Rico. Animating us was … Continue reading “Declaration of San Juan / Cuban National Conference”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 August 2015 – Under the title “Diplomatic Normalization and Democratic Normalization,” an even this Monday brought together some 25 Cuban activists of different points of view. The site of the meeting was the “Hannah Arendt Institute of Artivism” in Old Havana. The panel in the morning meeting discussed diplomatic normalization with the … Continue reading “Cuban Activists Discuss the Diplomatic Normalization with the United States / 14ymedio”
See here for background information on this series of posts. Your message to Desiderio has motivated me to add some ideas to this debate, which, to my taste, has left us with an excess of words in the middle of a desert of actions. Compared with the richness of ideas and reflections that have been … Continue reading “Message From Juan Antonio García Borrero / Polemica, The 2007 Intellectual Debate”
14ymedio, Rosa Lopez, Havana 6 February 2015 — Discreet and elusive, donning gray habits and cross-adorned veils, they attend mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Pinar del Río. The three nuns, originally from India, belong to the Order of the Most Holy Savior of Saint Bridget headed by the Italian religious … Continue reading “The Bridgettines, in the Shadows of Power / 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez”
Announcements made by United States President Barack Obama and his administration have sparked an intense controversy about the Cuban conflict. Many opponents and civil society activists, within the island and in exile, have lamented, especially, the lack of transparency and the unilateral and unconditional nature of the new measures. It is indisputable and indispensable that … Continue reading “Forum for Rights and Freedoms / Estado de Sats (see endnote)”
All said and done, more than half of a list of 53 political prisoners that nobody knows are already free, completely secret and that nobody we ask clarifies for us. Of the fifty who were out, I have the list of 36 prisoners who were surprised to be free again, without formal charges and under … Continue reading “The Sword of Raul Castro / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Castroneirics: Is there Cuban literature after the Revolution? Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo This story started long before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, on January 1st1959. In the beginning it was not the Word, but the War. And in the war Fidelity is the utmost value, its betrayal usually paid with death, whether civil or political, … Continue reading “Castroniria / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
An official with the Housing Institute denounces corruption and privileges, as well as reprisals taken against his family. 14ymedio, September 24, 2014 – Before leaving Cuba in October, 2013, the author of this accusation occupied an important post at the Housing Institute and, as a jurist, saw firsthand the intrigues perpetrated by high-level officers of … Continue reading ““J’Accuse” from a High Position / 14ymedio”
