English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 12 December 2016 – The first impression one gets of the book “One Objective, One Thought” is that throughout its three volumes the reader can assess the political evolution of Fidel Castro, author of the quotes contained in the tome. The initial assessment is owed to the portraits appearing on the covers of … Continue reading “New Anthology of ‘Fidelism’ / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14ymedio, Ileana de la Guardia, Paris, 5 December 2016 – Dawn comes to Paris, this 26 November, the sun barely over the horizon. From the depths of my dreams I hear the phone ring. I don’t want to answer it. It is my husband who does so. His voice tells me: “He died, he died, … Continue reading “Fidel Castro Sent My Father to the Firing Squad; I Do Not Regret the Tyrant’s Death / 14ymedio, Ileana de la Guardia”
14ymedio, Bertrand de la Grange, 1 December 2016 – In the Santa Clara mausoleum everything is genuine. Except, perhaps, Che’s bones. Thousands of people are making pilgrimages lately to this giant stone building to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Ernesto Guevara’s death. Official history says that a team of Cuban forensic scientists found his skeleton … Continue reading “Where Are Che’s Bones ? / 14ymedio, Bertrand de la Grange”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 30 November 2016 – Cuba’s official press and, oddly, a good part of the international media, never stop repeating that Fidel Castro brought Cubans free education and healthcare for all. Cuba was already, however, one of the most developed countries on the continent before the Revolution, much more so even than … Continue reading “Fidel Castro’s 13 Most Notorious Failures / 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana 27 November 2016 – Few people were watching official television at that hour. The news of Fidel Castro’s death began to spread through the night on Friday by phone, as information that was vague and imprecise. “Again?” my mother asked when I called her. Born in 1957, this Havanan of nearly … Continue reading “Cuba Survives Fidel Castro / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
14ymedio, Havana, 26 November 2016 – The Council of State has decreed nine days of national mourning, until 4 December. During this time, public activities and spectacles and the flag will fly at half mast on public buildings and military establishments. The Organizing Committee of the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee, the State and the … Continue reading “Live from Havana / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 22 November 2016 – In the next 40 days, before the end of the year, the Cuban Communist Party must hold its second Central Committee Plenum and approve the final version of the documents issued by their most recent congress. It is expected that there will also be a meeting of … Continue reading “Clean Sweep and Old Promises / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
Cubanet, Roberto Jesús Quiñones Haces, Guantanamo, Cuba, 3 November 2016 — In talking to fellow countrymen and foreigners, the question comes up: Why do we Cubans have put up with so much abuse from the Castros? The question is raised because of the discrimination to which we have been, and are still subject, to the … Continue reading “Why Do We Cubans Put Up With All This? / Cubanet, Roberto Jesús Quiñones Haces”
14ymedio, 5 November 2016 — The Cuban filmmaker and theater director Juan Carlos Cremata decided to stay in Miami and become “one more exile,” according to the newspaper El Nuevo Herald. Cremata had been censured for his production of El Rey Se Muere (in English known as “Exit the King” or “The King is Dying”), a … Continue reading “Cuban Film Director Juan Carlos Cremata Relocates to Miami / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 4 November 2016 — For tourists coming to Cuba, one of the most cherished fantasies it is to get into a car of the last century and cruise the streets of cities and towns. A new type of permit for private carriers is bringing that dream even closer to reality, as it … Continue reading “A Carte Blanche to the Market of Tourists’ Dreams / 14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez”
Tania Quintero and Iván García, Lucerne and Havana, 25 October 2016 — To all our friends: Thank you for the congratulatory emails to Ivan and me (Tania Quintera) for having been nominated by Reporters Without Borders for their Press Freedom Prize in the category of Citizen Journalists. Thanks also for the notices published in Diario de Cuba, Diario … Continue reading “Nominated for Reporters Without Borders Prize / Iván García, Tania Quintera”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 October 2016 — Journalist Jose Ramirez Pantoja appeared for a second time before the Municipal Court of Holguin on Wednesday. The reporter, expelled from his job in the provincial radio station, reported on his blog that “everything transpired normally in accordance with the law” and that the trial had “upheld the sentence.” Both parties attended … Continue reading “Sentence Upheld In The Case Of Journalist Expelled From Radio Holguin / 14ymedio”
Mario J. Penton, 14ymedio, Miami, 30 September 2016 — The National Ethics Commission of the Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC) this Thursday ratified the expulsion of journalist Jose Ramirez Pantoja from Radio Holguin. The ousted professional now will be able to appeal to the UPEC Congress, which could encourage the debate currently taking place about the … Continue reading “Ethics Commission Rejects Appeal by Journalist Expelled from Radio Holguin / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
Vicente Botín, Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE), The Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel, 29 July 2016. Once upon a time… A female cat fell in love with a handsome young man and prayed to the goddess Aphrodite to turn her into a woman. The goddess, pitying the cat’s yearning, … Continue reading “Cuba: Tallies and Tales of the Reforms / Vicente Botín”
Ivan Garcia, 28 September 2016 — After passing the crossing of La Palma, two kilometers from the old bus stop of Mantilla, El Calvario is found nestled, a district of one-story houses, roads without asphalt and a multitude of dogs without owners. At the end of a narrow alley the Cubalex Center of Legal Information … Continue reading “Laritza Diversent, Devastated by the Police Operation Against Cubalex / Iván García”
