English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana 10 September 2021 — “We are waiting for the time of your retirement, what people want is a break (…) pick up and go assassin.” That is how forceful the lyrics of ‘Que se vayan ya’ [Get Out] are, the new song by Willy Chirino and the reggaeton artists Lenier Mesa, El Micha (who … Continue reading “‘Get Out!’, the New Anthem from Willy Chirino for the Freedom of Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 September 2021 — The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who has now spent 53 days in prison, was charged with new crimes on Monday. The curator Claudia Genluí, a member of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), reported that Otero Alcántara is now being accused of public disorder, instigation to commit a crime and … Continue reading “Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara is Charged With New Crimes”
14ymedio, Havana, August 5, 2021 — The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who as of this Thursday has been detained for 26 days, received a visit from his lawyer Clemente Morgado in the maximum security prison of Guanajay, in the province of Artemisa. This Friday, the lawyer will present a request for a change of … Continue reading “Otero Alcantara’s Lawyer Visited Him in Prison and Will Ask for a Change of Measures”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 July 2021 — Photographer Anyelo, who took the images for the video clip Patria y Vida (CURSIVA), was sentenced on Wednesday to one year in prison on charges of “public disorder” for his participation in the July 11 demonstrations. Simultaneously, artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), … Continue reading “Cuban Photographer Anyelo Troya Sentenced to One Year in Prison for ‘Public Disorder’”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 July 2021 – “The dictatorship has lost much socially and this is what is going to explode in a moment.” This is how resoundingly Martha Beatriz Roque portrayed the situation in the latest monthly report of the Cuban Center for Human Rights (CCDH), which she directs. The Cuban government has imprisoned up … Continue reading “Human Rights Organizations Report There Were More Than 700 Repressive Actions in Cuba During the month of June”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 1 June 2021 – Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara does not plan to pause or take a rest in his art or his activism. A few hours after leaving Calixto García Hospital, where he has been for almost a month without hardly any outside communication, he told 14ymedio that he is now ready to demand … Continue reading “Otero Alcantara: ‘The Torture I Suffered Was Psychological’”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 28 May 2021 — With last Wednesday’s transfer of the communicator and activist Esteban Rodríguez to the Valle Grande penitentiary, there are now six activists jailed awaiting trial for their participation, on April 30 in Obispo Street in Havana, in an act of solidarity with the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. The … Continue reading “The Six Cuban Activists Arrested on Obispo Street Have Been Transferred to Prisons”
14ymedio, Yaiza Santos, Madrid, 27 May 2021 — The desperate war of songs unleashed by the Cuban Government after the release of the song Patria y Vida, which since February has added more than five million views on YouTube and which immediately became an opposition slogan inside and outside the Island, has gone from pathos to perversity with the theme that celebrates … Continue reading “The Cuban Regime is Not Afraid of Any Song”
14ymedio, Madrid, 27 May 2021 — On Thursday, Cuban Prisoners Defenders (CPD) launched a manifesto in support of the artists participating in the song Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life) who have been besieged by the Cuban government in recent weeks, and called for an end to the repression. In the text, they refer mainly to the artist Luis Manuel … Continue reading “Manifesto Supports the Artists of ‘Patria y Vida’ Repressed by the Cuban Government”
Cubalex, 13 April 2021. Summary: Coronavirus cases are continuing to increase and the government announces new coronavirus strains in the country. Repression of activists, members of the opposition and journalists continues before the Party Congress Government actions April 5th. New measures in Ciego de Avila against increasing number of coronavirus cases. These include restriction on … Continue reading “Report on Government Actions and Repression in Cuba / Cubalex”
14ymedio, Havana, 4 April 2021 — At the headquarters of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) a collective birthday was celebrated this Sunday, planned by the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. Damas Street, in Old Havana, was filled with residents of the neighborhood with a strong police operation remaining in the afternoon. During the celebration, and from loudspeakers placed in … Continue reading “San Isidro Movement Artists Organize a ‘Patria y Vida’ Street Party”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 March 2021 — The Cuban government’s musical response to the video clip Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life) has not been long in coming. Two weeks after the release of the song, which harshly criticizes the regime in Havana, the island’s official media have broadcast this Monday Patria o Muerte por la Vida (Homeland or Death for … Continue reading “‘An Act of Repudiation With Music’ is the Official Response to ‘Patria y Vida’”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 February 2021 — José Daniel Ferrer, the leader of Unpacu, denounced this Saturday that his house in Santiago de Cuba, headquarters of the opposition organization, continues to be besieged by State Security, which prevents the residents from circulating in the area. “The communists, the henchmen, the instruments of tyranny remain here, from … Continue reading ““They Assaulted the Block with Almost 200 Agents, Trucks and Water Trucks,” Denounces Jose Daniel Ferrer”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 February 2021 — Almost four months after his incarceration, no one has been able to see Denis Solís, who is in the Combinado del Este, a maximum security prison in Havana. Laritza Diversent, from Cubalex, and Harold Miñarro, from Defend Venezuela, reported on his situation this Wednesday, at an online press conference … Continue reading “The Precautionary Measures in Support of the San Isidro Movement Are a Clear Message to the Cuban State”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 February 2021 — The activist Anyell Valdés Cruz and her family were victims this Monday of an act of repudiation in which Kirenia Pomares, the mayor of Havana’s Arroyo Naranjo municipality, State Security agents and other people participated. The rally included slogans, posters and graffiti on the facade of the house to erase … Continue reading “Act of Repudiation Against a Family in Havana for Painting ‘Patria y Vida’ on the Wall of Their House”