English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Reinaldo Poleo, Caracas, 11 November 2015 — Alex is one of those characters who leaves a mark on your life. He is a bright guy, a diligent scientist, methodical, focused. He has been this way since the day I met him, back in the eighties, when we were studying together at the La Salle Foundation … Continue reading “Surviving in Venezuela / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Poleo”
Ivan Garcia, 11 July 2015 — On a leaden afternoon in 1960 that portended rain, René, 79 years old, recalls how a half-dozen militia members encased in wide uniforms and bearing Belgian weapons appeared at his uncle’s house in the peaceful neighborhood of La Víbora to certify the confiscation of his properties. “My family owned a milk … Continue reading “Cuba: Wipe the Slate Clean and Start Over, or Form a Truth Commission?”
Ivan Garcia, Havana, 4 May 2015 — In a wide, dusty, half-paved alleyway very near an old slaughterhouse with a faded sign that reads “Socialism or Death,” lives Reinerio, a gentleman who, in addition to repairing zippers and umbrellas, also sells earthworms. In the corner of a dark room, with a piano in need of … Continue reading “Occupations (?) You Can Find in Cuba / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Victor Ariel Gonzalez, Havana / 6 November 2014 — It’s ten in the morning, and the Golden Pig is packed with customers. On entering, one detects the intense odor of smoked meat mixed with the aroma of ripe guavas. Two salesmen work behind the counter, and a third places fruits in their boxes. They … Continue reading “A Management Success: The Butcher Shops without Flies / 14ymedio, Victor Ariel Gonzalez”
When it comes to Gabriel García José de la Concordia Márquez (Aracataca, Colombia, 1927) myth and reality merge. The first time he heard the name Fidel Castro, Gabo believed, was in the Latin Quarter in Paris, in 1955.
December 10. It was a foggy day and the remembrance of other similar birthdays, including those old songs in Armenian played many times and out-of-date. December 10. It was a Friday, as usual, and I picked up the phone. No one in the world dials 71-12-10, the whole world knows that “the selected number is … Continue reading “Blue way, white night / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
Among the reasons for the government’s move to increase the number of licenses for self-employment is the need to provide employment opportunities in the private sector for the large number of workers who have lost their jobs due to the massive reduction in national labor force. As a result paladares, or private restaurants, have sprung up … Continue reading “The Battle for Tres Leches / Rebeca Monzo”
Without McDonald’s, Burger King or KFC, fast food par excellence in 21st century Cuba consists of fried food and croquettes made from unknown ingredients. Throughout Havana there are thousands of street vendors specializing in rustic cooking. They sell fried food and heavy croquettes. Some like Ignacio prepare the coating for their fried items with wheat … Continue reading “Cuban Fast Food / Ivan Garcia”
Lacking McDonald’s, Burger King or Kentucky Fried Chicken, fast food par excellence in 21st Century Cuba is fried foods and croquettes made from unknown ingredients. All over Havana there are thousands of cars fitted out with rustic kitchen, dedicated to frying and selling fried food and croquettes by weight. There are those like Ignacio who … Continue reading “Cuban Fast Food / Ivan Garcia #Cuba”
Havana, Cuba: For decades Cuban government bodies have used the issue of the disease of HIV/AIDS as one of the standards of the health system and a model of the politics of the Cuban nation. When the media and official spokesmen of the Castro family empire address the issue they do it in the most … Continue reading “Let’s Talk About AIDS in Cuba / Ignacio Estrada #Cuba”
Room N. N for Nothing, Nobody, None. I am writing in the suburban night in the Surgical-Clinic of 26th Street, next to Sports City, the flying saucer blocked by the architecture of the hospital itself. The view, the crown of lights of the Plaza of the Revolution. From the third floor, passing in slow motion … Continue reading “CUBICLE OF DEATH / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
A teenager writes — with his index finger — the words “Wash me” in the dust on the window of the bus. A mother asks her son what the school bathroom is like and he confirms that “it stinks so much you can’t go in there.” A dentist eats a french fry in front of … Continue reading “Have We Become Accustomed To Dirt? / Yoani Sánchez”
General Raúl Castro acknowledges that beans are more important than canons. For the green khaki overlords food is a matter of national security. Since taking power on July 31, 2006, Castro II has tried to revitalize agricultural production. But, so far, nothing. The efforts of the enormous and inefficient Ministry of Agriculture have not allowed … Continue reading “Raul Castro Knows That Food is a Time Bomb / Iván García”
Yesterday, February 23, 2012, for a second time, Cuban TV has honored me by exposing my image — along with those of several other independent journalists and dissidents — in the national news. The previous occasion occurred months ago, during an unfortunate program televised through the famously dull Roundtable, regarding an alleged cyberwar that the … Continue reading “Declaration of Principles / Miriam Celaya”
When summer starts to say goodbye, Havana is a chain of stalls selling schlocky goods, private cafes, more or less expensive private restaurants, shelves of books and religious objects, and worn or rough wood shelves where people hang fifty pirated DVDs. You can choose from all this. If you have between 20 and 50 pesos, … Continue reading “Havana Residents with Empty Pockets / Iván García”
