English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Valle Grande Prison From the “cell” (of punishment) September 16, 2015… Where I am there is little light and I am in my underwear because I do not want to wear the prison uniform. They give me a mattress for 5 or 6 hours at night. I only drink water and there will be no … Continue reading “Farewell Letter from El Sexto / Danilo Maldonado”
Our “mercenaries” do not plant bombs, nor do they plan attempts on people’s lives, nor sabotages, as did those who today are in power. Cubanet, Rafael Alcides, Havana, 30 April 2015 – A young Communist, lamenting how the Cuban government delegation (supposedly there representing Cuban civil society) made fools of themselves in Panama, told me, … Continue reading “Their Weapon is the Word, Peaceful is their Struggle / Cubanet, Rafael Alcides”
Nuevitas is my third and last stop on this whirlwind of a trip. The Santiago/Nuevitas journey takes eight hours, two of them in the 16-kilometer stretch between Manatí and Camalote. My trip is the next to last before this itinerary is suspended, pending the repair of the roadway. A passenger who appears to be a … Continue reading “Postcard from a Journey (3) / Regina Coyula”
When I began working in Cuban television, in the second half of the eighties of the past century, the first person they introduced me to was Lilo Vilaplana. He was already a star Assistant Director and they assigned him to teach me, in practice, his expertise. We immediately became good friends, and friendship flowered as … Continue reading “Lilo, An Artist Who Fed Himself From Misery / Angel Santiesteban”
Josue Rojas Marin The brother of Juan Miguel Herrera Machado died some years ago, and on exhuming him, he found that the remains of eleven of his loved ones had disappeared from the family vault. Given the horrendous knowledge he headed to the cemetery administration, where through the manager he learned that the vault now … Continue reading “Disrespect for the Dead / Josue Rojas Marin, Cuban Law Association”
The eastern half of the country has seen the ghost of development go by in official speeches and in the trains and planes going to Havana or overseas. When a high government official tediously insisted on making promises of economic development, immediately the political machine would start a “shock public works project.” Who doesn’t remember … Continue reading “Moa, The Promise And The Deception / Luis Felipe Rojas”
