English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 7 November 2017 — “Sometimes I dream that I’ve returned to Moscow but the contours of the buildings look blurry,” confesses Valentina Rodriguez, 72. She married a Cuban who studied at a university in Moscow in the ‘80s and who lived for many years in Havana until she emigrated to the … Continue reading “The Traces of Russia in Cuba: ‘Bolos’, Kamaz, ‘Polovinos’”
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 6 November 2017 — Viktor Bondarev, head of the Russian Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council, said on Sunday that Russia should consider restoring its military presence in Cuba and Vietnam to protect “the interests of national security” due to an “intensification of American aggression,” according to Sputnik, the Russian state … Continue reading “Russia Considers Reopening Military Bases in Cuba and Vietnam”
Primavera Digital, Eduardo Martínez Rodríguez, El Cerro, Havana, 6 November 2017 — I’ve just finished reading an eBook (which has never been published in Cuba) written by someone who was detained in Cuba’s infamous “Military Units to Aid Production” [known by their acronym in Spanish as UMAP], who endured all of the bloody sordidness of … Continue reading “Poor Memory? / Eduardo Martínez Rodríguez”
In just a few months the great empire had crumbled without its archenemy the United States firing a single shot. 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 7 November 2017 — It was bath time after an afternoon of pulling weeds around tiny lettuce plants. The high school dorm was a coming and going of teenagers with towels on … Continue reading “With the End of the Russian Revolution We Lost the Colorful Candies”
Pedro Campos, Miami, 2 November 2017 – Once again, as expected, the United Nations condemns the United States embargo on Cuba. This annual exercise is part of the diversionary masquerade of the Castro regime to try to make the naïve believe that it is the United States that is the main culprit in Cuba’s economic and … Continue reading “The US Embargo and Cuba’s Internal Blockade in Times of Halloween”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 4 November 2017 — The Catholic priest José Conrado Rodríguez, parish priest of the church of San Francisco de Paula in Trinidad, visited Miami last week to present his book Dreams and Nightmares of a Priest in Cuba. On the way to Miami’s Ermita de la Caridad, where he planned to offer … Continue reading “Obama Made The Mistake Of “Giving In Without Demanding,” Regrets Father Conrado”
The book ‘The Compañero Who Watches Me’ was presented last Thursday in Coral Gables (Florida) and reflects its authors’ preoccupation with the omnipresence of surveillance in Cuba 14ymedio, Mario J. Penton, Miami, 3 November 2017 — Writing a book can be like an exorcism, especially when trying to leave behind ghosts of the past. This … Continue reading “The Cuban ‘Big Brother’ Seen by 57 Writers”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 3 November 2017 – Italian diapers and Caterpillar tractors have been the stars of the 2017 Havana International Fair (Fihav), which brings together more than 3,000 entrepreneurs from 63 countries, including the United States, this Friday. Both products will have a presence on the island if conditions agreed with the manufacturers … Continue reading “Diapers and Tractors Connect With Real Needs at the Havana Fair”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 November 2017 – As of this coming Monday, the prices for agricultural products will be capped in Cienfuegos province “temporarily,” by decision of the Council of Provincial Administration (CAP) in response to the need for a “sensible reduction” of prices after the passage of Hurricane Irma, reports the local press. The regulations … Continue reading “Prices Will Be Capped To Fight The Shortages In Cienfuegos”
14ymedio, Havana, 2 November 2017 — In the years of greater political closeness between the Soviet Union and Cuba several products arrived from the distant Eurasian country to fill the shelves of the stores on the island. Matryoshka dolls adorned thousands of living rooms throughout the country and the national tables were full of dishes … Continue reading “‘Russian Meat’ Returns To Cuba But It Is Brazilian”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 1 November 2017 — The film director, screenwriter and writer Eduardo del Llano has denounced that the Cuban television censors are hounding him and accuses the authorities of wanting to force him to emigrate. According to a statement written by the artist and shared through the social networks of Carlos Lechuga, … Continue reading “Cuban TV Censors Come Down on Director and Screenwriter Eduardo del Llano”
14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 2 November 2017 — Three days and thirty calls, this is how Carla summarizes the time immediately after the announcement of the new travel and immigration measures. “I dialed all the numbers I had on hand,” she says, with a cup of tea in her hands at her home in … Continue reading “Navigating Among the Travel and Immigration Nonsense”
14ymedio, Havana, 2 November 2017 — Daniel Llorente, the man who waved an American flag during the May Day parade in the Plaza of the Revolution, has hired a lawyer this week to help get him out of the psychiatric hospital in Havana popularly known as Mazorra. The lawyer has requested a report on the … Continue reading “Lawyer for ‘Man With the Flag’ Will Request His Release With a Medical Report”
14ymedio, Ricardo Fernandez, Santiago de Cuba, 30 October 2017 — The evangelical pastor Alain Toledano feels that he has lived through 18 years of intense battle since he founded his own church in Santiago de Cuba, a congregation that has experienced a “rapid growth,” according to what he told 14ymedio. The high numbers attending the worship … Continue reading “Alain Toledano: “If We Stay Quiet They Crush Us””
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 1 November 2017 — When their daughter turned seven, the family stopped boiling its drinking water. “It took me a long time,” explains the mother in the gastroenterology office. Soon after, the little girl showed symptoms of being infected with amoeba, a parasite closely linked to the poor quality of drinking water on … Continue reading “Drinking the Water From the Tanker Trucks is a Time Bomb for Cubans’ Health”
