Ricardo Alarcon and Creole Humor / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

To Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada. President of the National Assembly of People’s Power You recently echoed a report by the CIA – sacrilege! – to assert that Cubans perceive a per capita annual income equivalent to $ 9,900.00 USD, which would place us just behind Brazil, the world’s sixth largest economy. This joke from “the … Continue reading “Ricardo Alarcon and Creole Humor / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Pure Dialectic / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

Raul Castro has just recognized in his inaugural speech of the sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, that one of the most urgent problems facing the direction the country is the absence of young cadres with enough experience to make them reliable enough to relieve the historic leaders in leadership positions in the … Continue reading “Pure Dialectic / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Among Colleagues… Laughing to Keep From Crying / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

A few days ago I was called to cover a birthday party as the photographer. Amused by the antics of the clown, and distracted by her picturesque costume and makeup, it took me a while to recognize the familiar features of her face. It turned out to be my colleague from Artemisa, Dr. Anisia Armas, … Continue reading “Among Colleagues… Laughing to Keep From Crying / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Marti and the Idea of A Single Party / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

When one reads Raul Castro’s speech at the closing of the First National Conference of the Cuban Communist Party, something catches the eye, and it is the repetition of an idea that disturbs anyone who knows even briefly Marti’s doctrine, an idea already expressed on other occasions, without any foundation: to try to attribute to … Continue reading “Marti and the Idea of A Single Party / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Country of Pixels / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

The night of Saturday, February 4, was celebrated at the home of Antonio G. Rodiles, precursor of the “Estado de SATS” project in the municipality of Playa, Havana, the award ceremony for the first edition of the Independent Social Photography Contest “Country of Pixels” initiative launched mid-2011 from the site of the same name by … Continue reading “Country of Pixels / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Citizen Zero is One Year Old / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

Today is the first birthday of this personal adventure called “Citizen Zero.” This bottle thrown into the sea in the midst of my storms — daughter of hope and loneliness — bringing with her the breath of relief that is a balm on my burned skin. This cry, that resists drowning in my throat, is … Continue reading “Citizen Zero is One Year Old / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

His Majesty the Minister / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

There he is, enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame in his tower of power. As his predecessor Dr. José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera did ten times earlier, the current Minister Dr. Roberto Morales Ojeda did not dare to respond to any of the nine letters that arrived during the year and half he was in office, … Continue reading “His Majesty the Minister / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Knock knock… who’s there?… close the ramparts! / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

A joke in the popular repertoire about that mischievous child, Pepito, has the little boy enjoying some candy without offering any to the anxious eyes of a friend. When he finishes it his friend complains, “ehhh… you didn’t give me any!” to which he replies, unmoved, “ehhh… you didn’t ask me!“ This scene reflects in … Continue reading “Knock knock… who’s there?… close the ramparts! / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Letter to Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

Artemis, January 22, 2012 Your Eminence: Last October 2, during the passage of the image of the Virgin of Charity through the municipality of Guanajay, I had the opportunity to listen, with my family, to the words spoken by you to the people gathered there to show their respect and veneration for the Mother of … Continue reading “Letter to Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

The Government Violates its Commitment to Exiles of Conscience Resulting from the 2003 Black Spring / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

Today it is one year since my friend Alfredo Felipe Valdes went into exile on January 17, 2011. His father, Alfredo Felipe Fuentes, prisoner of conscience from the Black Spring of 2003, had left 3 months earlier with a part of his family. As part of the agreement between the Spanish and Cuban governments, each … Continue reading “The Government Violates its Commitment to Exiles of Conscience Resulting from the 2003 Black Spring / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Collapse in Havana. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. / Jeovany Jimenez Vega

I do not know if it’s hyperbole when I say that Havana is on the verge of collapse. Definitely we are facing the most serious problem in this country, because although food and transport, for example, are serious problems and no one disputes it, if we unlocked the dominoes, they could be solved in the … Continue reading “Collapse in Havana. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”

Shortages in Cuba: A Deliberate Strategy? / Jeovany Vega

Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 19 October 2015 — In Cuba the shortage of goods, including basic staples, has been a continuous phenomenon in all retail chains for decades, so repetitive that it seems  incorporated into the very genome of the regime, and has become one of the hallmarks of the laziness, inefficiency, and mediocrity of the economic … Continue reading “Shortages in Cuba: A Deliberate Strategy? / Jeovany Vega”

Demagoguery: A Cardinal Sign of the Cuban “Revolution” / Jeovany Vega

I want you POOR, fanatic, worshipful and grateful Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 20 August 2015 — A few weeks ago we were amusing ourselves with news reports about the vacation tour of Prince Tony Castro. Apparently, tired of playing golf in a country where 99.99% of the natives have never set foot on a golf course, the … Continue reading “Demagoguery: A Cardinal Sign of the Cuban “Revolution” / Jeovany Vega”

Reponsibility is Not Remunerated / Jeovany J. Vega

The story circulated recently on the Intranet: a Cuban doctor, a recently graduated anesthesiologist, was sentenced to nothing less than eight years in prison for the sad death of an obstetric patient. I don’t know the anesthesiologist in questions and I’m not completely versed in the details of the case, but I remain a priori … Continue reading “Reponsibility is Not Remunerated / Jeovany J. Vega”