English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Poor little doll made of tinsel and wood, so battered across the long and narrow stretch of thousands and thousands of kilometers. Last night, I saw her in Lawton, and it was daunting. Because of her, and because of the bleak surroundings. A neighborhood polluted from the disposition of its inhabitants to the sky that … Continue reading “Who Are You, Little Virgin? / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
Photo: LFelipe Rojas An event has shaken the forums on Cuba and Cubans lately. The trips abroad of some Cuban opponents of the regime has focused attention on the tendency of we Cubans to be who we are: passionate, extremists, relaxed, dazzling, contemptuous, in short, human. But there are three women in particular I want … Continue reading “Useless? Without Virtue? / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Bishop Siro and Father Conrado The first time I heard Father José Conrado Rodríguez, on a visit he made to Havana, I was among those at the back of the huge crowd surrounding him, hanging on to every word he said. To be honest, I must I hung back, because I didn’t know his greatness. … Continue reading “Prison Diary LIII: The Cardinal Cuba Needs / Angel Santiesteban”
(Exclusive, Iván García in Havana) If you want confirmation that socialism does not work, do yourself a favor and visit Alamar. This community, twenty minutes east of Havana, is an example of real urban chaos. A place without rhyme or reason, ugly, poorly constructed buildings rise four, five, even eighteen stories high along poorly paved, winding roads. … Continue reading “An Interview with Berta Soler, Leader of the Ladies in White / Ivan Garcia”
In my Cuban childhood, during the horrendous ‘70s, years of scarcity and closure, the United States was a mythical space. It was the unknown, the outside, the other, freedom, illusion: a chimera of hope in the midst of the sterilizing infirmity of Real Socialism. In my childish imagination, perhaps because the maps imported from Eastern Europe were … Continue reading “My United States / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
The development of graffiti as rebellious art expression in Cuba has been rough and rather late when compared with the rest of the world. However, in the last two years has seen an explosion of popularity thanks to the work of El Sexto — the Sixth — the pen name of the Danilo Maldonado Machado, … Continue reading “Graffiti: El Sexto / Cuban Blogger Magazine”
20 May 2013
The Ladies in White marched on Havana on Mothers Day, 12 May 2013, in memory in co-founder Laura Pollán, and for the release of Sonia Garro and all other political prisoners. Video uploaded by Angel Moya on 14May 2013
From Pieces of the Island: After Berta Soler’s emotional trip to Miami- the heart of the Cuban exile- she has continued to take the Cuban reality to other places with many exiles, such as New Jersey and now, Puerto Rico. The following is my translation of a piece by Mario Alegre Barrios, published in one … Continue reading ““We cannot wait for the Castros to die” / Ladies in White, Berta Soler”
Katia Sonia and Reina Luisa Several days ago I heard from friends in exiles that a video was posted on a pro-Castro blog in Madrid where they use a recording made about a year ago, or more, several Ladies in White, including some of what they talk about. It’s not the first time; in 2003 … Continue reading “Response to a Manipulation / Katia Sonia Martin”
Just three days ago, I was at the Miami airport, I did not want to miss the arrival of Berta Soler to this city. Discrete and humble, there they were, sitting in a corner, a small group of those women who from their immensity, some time ago I named “My Brides in White”; then I … Continue reading “My Brides in White / Juan Juan Almeida”
The images of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero covered the façade of Cuba’s diplomatic mission at New York City Read OLPL in English in Sampsonia Way here. Rosa María Payá is visiting the United States from April 3 to 16. She lives in Havana and is the daughter of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, the Cuban dissident … Continue reading “Light and Liberty / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo from Sampsonia Way”
From El Blog de Montaner Yoani Sánchez visits Miami. It is the most difficult stop in her long tour. Everywhere, like a bullfighter hailed after a good afternoon, she has been carried on the shoulders of the crowd. She will also triumph in Miami, but her task will be a bit harder. I get the … Continue reading “Yoani Sanchez: An effective voice against the Castro dictatorship / Carlos Alberto Montaner”
There was an issue Yoani Sanchez did not address in the Brazilian Congress: the conspiracy of the Cuban ambassador against her. When the blogger set foot on Brazilian soil we recommended that she not refer to the intrusion of the Cuban ambassador, because we still didn’t have sufficient evidence to make a fair judgment, nor … Continue reading “Yoani Sanchez: A Cuban Hurricane in Brazil (Part 5, Final) / Jorge Hernandez Fonseca”
The Ladies in White spokeswoman will meet with political and social sectors “to explain the current Cuban reality.” DDC.- Berta Soler, the leader of the Ladies in White, will travel to Spain this coming March 11, on her first trip abroad, according to sources from the exile. Soler, who recently received her passport, has been … Continue reading “Berta Soler, Ladies in White leader, will travel to Spain on March 11”
