Oh, Pablo / Miguel Iturria Savón

The Pablo Milanes concert, announced for August 27 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, unleashes opposing views in capital of the Cuban exile, where the promoters of Fuego Entertainment fill their lit billboards, their posters at bus stops and their TV ads, with what goes unnoticed by some while angering hundreds of critics who consider … Continue reading “Oh, Pablo / Miguel Iturria Savón”

Marti for Everyone? / Luis Felipe Rojas

This past 28th of January, the Cuban government presented us a renovated Jose Marti amid the shouts of the little red pioneers, portraits of Fidel Castro, and songs of Silvio Rodriguez. The celebration was also marked by beatings, arrests, and restrictions on movement of various pro-democracy activists throughout the entire island who were trying to … Continue reading “Marti for Everyone? / Luis Felipe Rojas”

Trova, Validation or Evocation? / Yoani Sánchez

The singer intones one of his old songs on the stage. The public presses closer, repeats the chorus, is moved to delirium. This week we’ve enjoyed one of the many festivals of trova music that have begun, this time, in Santa Clara province. With themes ranging from the romantic to the most contentious social issues, … Continue reading “Trova, Validation or Evocation? / Yoani Sánchez”

Media Saturation / Rebeca Monzo

On my planet more than fifteen days ago the media was bombarding you at all hours and at every moment with The Five Heros, The Criminal Blockade, and the battle-hardened and invincible people who are our athletes. From all this this, of course, the most refreshing thing is to spend time watching the Pan American … Continue reading “Media Saturation / Rebeca Monzo”

One Step Forward, One Step Back / Ernesto Morales Licea

The diplomacy of the absurd. A kind of indecipherable political cha cha cha, with steps lacking any harmony with each other, forming no coherent dance. The thinking of the top leadership in Cuba is an unfathomable mystery to me, every day more difficult to understand. I have come to think: Not even the powers-that-be are … Continue reading “One Step Forward, One Step Back / Ernesto Morales Licea”

Pablo (not so) Loved in Miami / Ernesto Morales Licea

On August 27th, Pablo Milanes will sing in Miami. According to the billboard ads, it will be a historic concert. Of course it will: for his followers as well as for the Vigilia Mambisa. Some will lose their voices for singing along to his songs; others, outside American Airlines Arena, will lose theirs screaming out … Continue reading “Pablo (not so) Loved in Miami / Ernesto Morales Licea”

Instructions for an Escape / Ernesto Morales Licea

Chapter 3: Dissident Muralist* The procedure was simple. Very simple. You looked for a piece of cardboard and painted it with a phrase against the Government. You hung it around your neck and went out into the street. Like in the reality shows where a naked man comes out into the light of day starkers, … Continue reading “Instructions for an Escape / Ernesto Morales Licea”

Official and Alternative Twitterers Launch a Truce / Iván García

Like two boxers who stare each other in the eye, before beginning their attack, came TwittHab, the first encounter between official and alternative ‘twitterers’. If the proposition was to fraternize and build bridges, this first exploratory round between virtual gladiators who’ve made blogs, Facebook and Twitter a tool for spreading their ideas, was below expectations. … Continue reading “Official and Alternative Twitterers Launch a Truce / Iván García”

A LETTER A DAY / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

JENNY, I WILL WRITE YOU A LETTER EVERY DAY Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo “You will look death with indifference,” sand Polito Ibáñez long before looking at the death with indifference. Because they were the nineties in Cuba and death mowed down the truth, without metaphors or fibs or prosaic poetry of half-delusional half-depressed adolescents. Shitty … Continue reading “A LETTER A DAY / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

From Glory to Villainy / Ernesto Morales Licea

The first time I was close to Agustin Bejarano it was in 2004, during a couple of hours of the night literary circle,and I had never seen his work. His name began to sound familiar, as a well-treated artist, but his surprising and meteoric rise that would begin a little latter was still unknown, for … Continue reading “From Glory to Villainy / Ernesto Morales Licea”

Quick Love, Brief Shelter / Yoani Sánchez

“To the warm shelter of 214…” began a song by Silvio Rodriguez which — in my adolescent naivete — I listened to as if it were a riddle. So it was until a friend, who’d lived a little more than I had, unblushingly clarified the phrase. It was simply the address of a well-known Havana … Continue reading “Quick Love, Brief Shelter / Yoani Sánchez”

A Story from Peru / Juan Juan Almeida

1 – Yesenia Álvarez, young intelligent, successful….strange combination. Tell me about yourself, this organization over which you preside, your professional and family education, and when and why you had this passion for Cuba. If in our countries we let our talents flourish in freedom we would not talk about a strange combination. I am sure … Continue reading “A Story from Peru / Juan Juan Almeida”

Tending Bridges / Iván García

A contagious song by a Cuban salsero asks in its chorus for a long bridge to be built between La Havana and Miami. Perhaps in the not so distant future the engineers and architects will consider such a possibility. The so-called City of the Sun appears to be an appendix of Latin America. In jest, … Continue reading “Tending Bridges / Iván García”

Light in the Street…* / Rebeca Monzo

Never before have I thought of the old saying my grandmother repeated so often. She was a living storehouse of Spanish popular sayings, which we inherited from the mother country and that enrich our culture. I once heard a professor of Marxist philosophy say that in his saying there were all the categories of philosophy. … Continue reading “Light in the Street…* / Rebeca Monzo”

Eusebio Delfín, the Cuban Aristocrat Who Made Music / Iván García

When Compay Segundo and Ibrahim Ferrer launched themselves at the world with Buena Vista Social Club, “And What Have You Done?” by Eusebio Delfín, it was already one of the favorite traditional ballads. It is among the top 100 best ballads of the twentieth century in Cuba. In Yucatán, Mexico, they know it by another … Continue reading “Eusebio Delfín, the Cuban Aristocrat Who Made Music / Iván García”