English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Samuel Bak- “Luna” Upon receiving the news that Cuba has been elected Vice-president of the UN’s Human Rights Council for the next period of the international organization’s sessions, all of us who defend human rights in whatever part of this planet called Earth have been left astonished, I would say. I acknowledge the governments that … Continue reading “Cuba as Vicepresident of the UN Human Rights Council”
A door has opened. Slightly, but there are signs that something is moving. The government of the Castro brothers asked for help in a very low voice. And they decided to ask the Cuban Catholic Church. The calculated strategy has its logic. They had to look for a solution to the 21 years of lethal … Continue reading “The Transition of the Castros”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 17 September 2017 — In the middle of the hurricane I received a mysterious photo of Fidel Castro. At the top it said: “Fidel resurrected.” Below the portrait the mystery was clarified: “His name is Irma.” The Commander was reincarnated as a ferocious hurricane. The joke has a serious basis Juan Manuel Cao, … Continue reading “A Hurricane Called Communism”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 June 2016 — The newly appointed archbishop of Havana, Juan de la Caridad Garcia, said in an interview broadcast Monday by the Associated Press (AP) that does not want that Cuba “to have capitalism or anything in that style, but for socialism to progress” to go “forward to fair, balanced and fraternal society.” The … Continue reading “Archbishop Of Havana Wants “Socialism To Progress” / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 22 May 2016 – In a packed cathedral with screens showing the mass for those who couldn’t enter the temple, Havana’s new Archbishop, Juan de la Caridad Rodriguez, took possession of his new post this Sunday. The successor to Jaime Ortega y Alamino delivered a homily in which he acknowledged he … Continue reading “The New Archbishop Of Havana Confesses To Being “Scared” / 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata”
EFE, Sara Gómez Armas, Havana, 18 September 2015 — Pope Francis is the third pontiff to visits Cuba, a country where the Catholic Church has assumed an important role as mediator with Raúl Castro’s administration, but which still faces challenges as it tries gain more space and institutional recognition on the Communist island. Cuba is … Continue reading “Francis Travels to Cuba to Show Support for a Church Wanting to Broaden Its Reach / EFE-14ymedio, Sara Gomez Armas”
14ymedio, Martha Beatriz Roque, Havana, 11 July 2015 — What classifies as a political prisoner is a cause for disagreement among the Cuban opposition. There are varying opinions about who has been jailed for political reasons or not, despite the criteria established by the United Nations and other organizations that concern themselves with these matters. … Continue reading “A List of Cuban Political Prisoners / 14ymedio, Martha Beatriz Roque”
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”
Silvia and State Security Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo They arrested her twice, both times violently. All for walking at my side in the streets of a Havana almost at the point of the Cadaver-in-Chief of Fidel Castro. She’s called Silvia. My Silvia. They threw her out of her first job as a dentist, in the … Continue reading “SILVIA CORBELLE BATISTA / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
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”
By Reinaldo Cosano. Havana, Cuba Posted in the blog of Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada The veil covering violent homophobic repression is slowly being drawn back, but the gulity aren’t asking for public pardon. It is hard to specify just how the virus of homophobic repression was incubated, sharp-eyed with the machismo of the days … Continue reading “Taken Out of the Closet, But No One Asks Forgiveness / Reinaldo Cosano”
While the entire government of Bolivarian Venezuela moves its necrophilic headquarters to Havana, the people of Cuba use the Raul regime’s reforms to sell their cars and houses in exchange for a passport and visa to any other place, with the bonus-track of an airline ticket. The first, is called annexation; the second plebiscite (in … Continue reading “On your marks… get set: GET OUT! / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo #Cuba”
On the evening of November 4th some members of the Coexistence team had the privilege of being invited to participate in the activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of Christian Life. The occasion brought together many at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, where there was a mass presided over by the Cardinal of … Continue reading “Christian Life Turns 50 to Congratulations From Coexistence / Intra Muros #Cuba”
The trashed cityscape reaches all the way to the gate of the parish, in the arid Cerro neighborhood. “The Savior of the World,” says the sign, so distant from the desert outside, beyond the gates. And one thinks, sleepwalking before sunrise: how poor any form of expression is in this country. Dawn lingers on the … Continue reading “Payá, Posthumous President / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
The Cuban Catholic Church’s press media have tried in recent days various efforts to clean up a bit the image of one who has already come to be known as The Cardinal of Ignominy or The Cardinal of Indignity. It isn’t that I want to take up against the purple and much less against the … Continue reading “These Are Things Which the Church Should Discuss / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
