English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Ivan Garcia, 22 September 2017 — In that bit of Havana between Calle Línea and Avenida del Malecón, people are still taking out mattresses, clothes, furniture, and other things damaged by the sea which was driven inland by the powerful Hurricane Irma two weeks ago, and leaving them to air in the sun. In any park, … Continue reading “What if Hurricane María had gone through Cuba? / Iván García”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 19 September 2017 – Planning what to bring and filling their suitcases with their purchases abroad is the obsession of any Cuban who returns to the island. After Hurricane Irma, the victims and self-employed are waiting for the General Customs of the Republic (AGR) to relax customs fees so they can … Continue reading “Cubans Hope For Customs Moratorium After Irma”
14ymedio, Nora Gamez, Mimi Whitefield, Mario Penton, Miami, 17 September 2017 – Concerned that the Cuban government does not usually accept donations from the United States, the Cuban-American community is looking for alternatives to help their families on the island, which has been devastated by the passage of Hurricane Irma. According to a preliminary evaluation … Continue reading “After Hurricane Irma, Sending Help to Family in Cuba is Complicated”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 28 August 2017 — With only a week to go before the school year begins, Cuban health authorities fear that the arrival of thousands of students in the classroom will fuel the epidemic of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis that is plaguing the country. Preparing for the new school year includes gathering all the supplies … Continue reading “Conjunctivitis Jeopardizes Beginning of School Year in Cuba”
Ivan Garcia, 2 August 2017 — Not even the threat of rain accompanied by a slight coastal breeze dampens the terrible heat that of this summer in Havana. People on the street are in a bad mood. The sun burns, public services are inefficient as always, and empty dinner plates mobilize thousands of capital residents to rummage … Continue reading “Cubans on the Island Don’t Like Maduro / Iván García”
Iván García, 28 June 2017 — On Havana there are illegal stores for all tastes. Pirated jeans at 20 CUC, copies of Nike shoes at 40 CUC and imitation Swiss watches at 50 CUC. People with higher purchasing power mark the difference. By catalog, they buy fashions, smartphones, LED lights, Scotch whiskey, Spanish wines. And … Continue reading “Trafficking in Goods, a Strategy to Survive in Cuba / Iván García”
Ivan Garcia, 3 July 2017 — The fan stopped turning around 3:30 in the morning, when in the middle of a heat wave, a black out forced Ricardo, his wife and their two children to sleep on a mat on the balcony of their apartment in the Lawton neighborhood, a thirty minute drive from central … Continue reading “Cuban Government Fires Off One Lie After Another / Iván García”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 4 July 2017 — The passengers leave the plane and make their way around the buckets catching the leaks from the roof. They still have a long wait in at baggage claim and have to suffer under the air conditioning that hardly alleviates the heat. The José Martí International Airport in Havana is … Continue reading “Tourism Boom Chokes Havana’s Airport”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 20 June 2017 — The passenger complains of the heat while frantically moving the fan. “In a few days I will install an air conditioning,” justifies the taxi driver and adds that he will charge “higher fares.” In summer everyone dreams of air-conditioning their rooms or vehicles, but whether or not one … Continue reading “Sweating Is Not For Cuba’s New Rich”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 16 May 2017 — Hanging from the rearview mirror, the compact disc shines with the sun and swings with every bump in the street. From being highly valued as a platform for digital content, CDs and DVDs are becoming mere decorative objects, symbols of a technological era that is ending. “Every day … Continue reading “The Era Of The Compact Disc Is Over In Cuba”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 3 May 2017 — The guard looks at him and dismisses him as an undercover cop. “Are you coming to change dollars? I’ll pay you at 90 cents,” he tells the customer while turning his back on the security camera at the Currency Exchange (Cadeca). At the window, that same dollar is exchanged … Continue reading “Neither CUPs nor CUCs, It’s Bucks That Reign in Cuba”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 4 January 2017 – All one has to do is turn on a small wifi antenna and aim it toward the balcony for a computer screen to show the long list of wireless networks that link the entire neighborhood. Invisible threads that connect hundreds of users. The material support of this network … Continue reading “Cuba’s Wireless Networks, the Web that Envelops the Island / 14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 December 2016 — Jose Marti International Airport in Havana is busy. The increase in tourists, the avalanche of foreign journalists who came to the island on the occasion of the death of Fidel Castro and the proximity of the end of the year recharged its infrastructure. To this is added the completion, on 31 … Continue reading “Last Imports Before Cuban Customs Raises the Duties / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Santa Clara, 31 August 2016 – Raul Caceres was a bundle of nerves as he put the finishing touches on the JetBlue Airlines office that opened this Wednesday in the airport in Santa Clara, Cuba. A few hours before the arrival of the first commercial flight between Cuba and the United States … Continue reading “JetBlue Ends Abusive Prices of Charter Flights to Cuba / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 25 August 2016 – For decades visiting Moscow was the golden dream, but only the most trusted could enjoy a stay in the Soviet Union. From these trips to the “godmother nation” they returned with suitcases filled with products unavailable in Cuba. Today, some take the same route, but this time … Continue reading “Moscow Does Not Fit In A Suitcase / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar”
