ROSTRO DE LA ISLA
REWRITING CUBA
LATEST STORIES
15 November, 2021
November 14, 2021 – One day before the peaceful march called by the citizens’ initiative Archipelago in Cuba and supported by human rights organizations and activists, we denounce the wave of repression that has intensified in the country against its promoters and the citizens who identify with it. The undersigned organizations ask the international civil […] Read more
20 July, 2021
Tuesday 13 July 2021- The undersigned organisations condemn the Cuban government’s repression of the citizen protests registered since 11 July 2021 and which continue to date. We also make an urgent call to the administration presided over by Miguel Díaz-Canel, to stop all acts of violence and violations of the human rights of citizens through […] Read more
28 June, 2021
What are the consequences of being a woman activist in Cuba today? What factors contribute to the hostility that directly or indirectly affects all Cuban women, and what specific nuances does institutional violence toward women take on? These are the questions that People in Need raises in EYE on CUBA’s latest report titled “Institutional Gender […] Read more
15 June, 2021
Following the attack on the Moncada barracks in 1953, the young Fidel Castro Ruz denounced what he saw as the evils that ravaged the republic. This included, among other things, corruption, robbery, drug addiction, prostitution, and violence. He stated that a new People’s Government was the solution to the problems he listed. Castro laid […] Read more
Cuban artists are determined to save the Guaso River in Guantanamo, the easternmost province of Cuba. The previously clean river has become polluted as people throw garbage in an area lacking public bins as well as environmental awareness. The Cuban authorities do not provide adequate waste removal infrastructure and continue neglecting pollution, environmental degradation and […] Read more
22 May, 2021
To me, the way to approach this issue, is to see that in Cuba subtle and underhanded repression has been the main instrument in carrying out systematic human rights violations by the Havana regime against peaceful opponents and the population Although it is true that the first period of human rights violations in Cuba took […] Read more
14 May, 2021
The Cuban Reflection Movement (MCR) has been the target of a range of repressive modalities, on the part of the State security services. Since its founding in 1994, its members have been the victim of arrests, threats, defamation, surveillance, persecution, acts of repudiation, blackmail, and illegal searches among other things, even when, at the beginning, […] Read more
3 May, 2021
In January 1959, Fidel Castro came to power after having toppled President Fulgencio Batista through an armed insurgency and a terrorist campaign on a national level. That same year Castro declared: “Where there is crime, there is no freedom of the press, where there is crime, what happens is hidden.” He also declared, on several occasions, […] Read more
29 April, 2021
One of the oldest occupations and, paradoxically one still pursued today, is that of fishing. Despite Cuba being an island in the Caribbean and people having fished here for centuries, Cubans have lacked access to this type of food for decades, and only those who have a diet based on a doctor’s recommendation can count […] Read more
20 April, 2021
History Guantánamo is the easternmost province of Cuba, its name is of aboriginal origin, which means “Land between Rivers.” Fate would have it that this was where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492 and where the first town was founded, which was named Our Lady of the Assumption, in 1511. On April 30, 1494, Christopher Columbus […] Read more
15 April, 2021
For more than sixty years, the totalitarian regime of the Republic of Cuba has violated the human rights of all people in one way or another. On the other hand, it is worth highlighting the efforts of the country’s activists, who have stood up for fundamental rights for more than six decades, under constant repression […] Read more
9 April, 2021
Cuba: The International Community Must Demand Accountability from the Cuban Government For Its Actions and to Immediately Stop Unlawful Short-term Arbitrary Detentions, House Arrests, Forced Exile, and Smear Campaigns against Dissenting Voices In response to the aggressive acts committed by police officers in recent weeks against Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) activists on hunger strike; […] Read more
29 March, 2021
In Cuba, being in tune with the truth and sincerity is one of the most dangerous paths to choose, as peaceful opponents or dissidents of the government do on a daily basis. When a person decides to be in dissent or think differently from the ideology framed by the totalitarian system imposed on the island, […] Read more
22 March, 2021
Since the start of the Revolution more than six decades ago, the education of Cuban students was practically forced to be atheistic and disconnected from any religion or religious institution. Although the Cuban educational system is free in terms of costs at all levels, the conditions under which it develops the cognitive process of students […] Read more
16 March, 2021
The year 2020 has proven to be another year full of complexities for Cuba. The COVID-19 pandemic, shortages, increased repression, and persistent sanctions marked the lives of the Cuban population throughout the year, while they simultaneously affected the decisions of the Cuban regime. Despite the arrival of the pandemic, there was no respite from arbitrary […] Read more
8 March, 2021
There have already been 10 femicides in Cuba this year. Independent organizations from Cuban civil society have requested specific actions to be taken regarding this issue, among them, that a national emergency be declared due to the increase in gender violence during periods of confinement caused by COVID 19; that a law be created where […] Read more
28 February, 2021
In Cuba, it could be said that the people live in two countries, one in the east (Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Las Tunas, Holguín) and the other in the west (Pinar del Río, Habana, Mayabeque, Artemisa and Matanzas). Although given the subject that I am going to address, the rest of Cuba’s provinces, Camagüey, […] Read more
5 February, 2021
“In order to have some soup, imagine, malanga costs 25 pesos per pound, pork is at 60 pesos. When I finish my soup, I can’t even pay my electric bill for the month” Since Trump became president of the United States in 2016, the delicate Cuban economy began staggering towards a collapse, as stated by […] Read more
31 January, 2021
The supposed representatives of the island’s people, boast of saying that Cuba fully complies with Human Rights, when the cruel reality is different For more than sixty years, the Cuban government has done everything possible to hide the delicate issue of Human Rights. Cuba is the founder and signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human […] Read more
18 January, 2021
From the moment that the José Martí International Airport in Havana restarted services to the public on November 15th with commercial, regular and charter flights, Cuban civil aviation entered into a stage known as “The New Normal.” Earlier on July 1st and coinciding with the opening of the tourist season, the authorization for air operations […] Read more
15 January, 2021
We invite you to see the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDH_oaVvH0YOMB5357COWRDiTo2UuhzeV Read more
15 January, 2021
You can see the video clicking on the image or here To know more about this topic you check: Pasos para redactar objetivos smart. Ejemplos y esquemas para el análisis PESTAL (o Pastel) Mecanismos para medir impacto social. (Además de indicadores, vienen otras posibilidades como Teoría del Cambio o el EVPA) Guía para descargar sobre […] Read more
15 January, 2021
You can see the video clicking on the image or here To know more about this topic you check: Administracion recursos humanos – Chiavenato Diagrama de Gantt Gestion de Recursos Humanos Entidades Sin Animo de Lucro Recursos humanos en ONG ¿How to manage HR? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-wRSIDzxWg Claves para gestion de persoans en entidades no lucrativas Read more
15 January, 2021
You can see the video clicking on the image or here To know more about this topic you check: Lineamientos para la elaboración de un plan de acción de recaudación Base de datos básica para el registro de donantes Base de datos básica para el registro de socios Identificación básica de necesidades Matriz básica de oportunidades Read more
15 January, 2021
You can see the video clicking on the image or here To know more about this topic you check: Manual de Proteccion para Defensores de DDHH Guia para cooperación sensible al conflicto Capacitación en seguridad digital holística Psychological support: http://publicaciones.hegoa.ehu.es/uploads/pdfs/401/DEFENSORES_SIBRIAN-BERISTAINcast.pdf?1557396644 Security guide: https://modeladoriesgos.asuntosdelsur.org/ IWPR: https://cyber-women.com/es Frontline: https://securityinabox.org/es/ Digital Security Course – Amnisty International: https://aprendergratis.es/ciencias-sociales/curso-sobre-seguridad-digital-y-derechos-humanos/ Digital security and Ciber rights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoJsE0A0Yvw […] Read more
15 January, 2021
You can see the video clicking on the image or here To know more about this topic you check: Plantilla de Actividades Plantilla-presupuesto-marketing Plantilla calendario redes Razón y palabra (redes sociales en Cuba) Read more
11 January, 2021
Download the report here COVID-19 ON CUBA 2020 to publish Read more
21 December, 2020
Currently many families across the island, facing the pandemic under extreme conditions, live day to day with the threat that their roof can collapse at any moment The housing situation is one of the maladies that most affects Cuban society. The government has recognized that a million homes are needed to alleviate this crisis, which […] Read more
12 December, 2020
Before, if you put in the effort and sacrifice, you were able to live perfectly with what you were able to plant…, today even if you work like a slave, to make a profit from a harvest you have to be a magician “It looks very nice and it seems easy, even though the life […] Read more
12 December, 2020
To buy food you have to become a ninja, when they take out some chicken the queues are endless and there have been people checking for days, I don’t know how they find out Juana María Cortina is an accountant for a subsidiary of the Cuban State Trading Company in Guantánamo, she has a 21-year-old […] Read more
12 December, 2020
Inequality was institutionalized in Cuban society, since not all citizens are able to access this currency to obtain basic services, most citizens are still left outside of the dollar economy With the expansion of the novel coronavirus surging across the world, the global economy has recently experienced a general crisis, and our country was not […] Read more
12 December, 2020
All the existing mechanisms to achieve what it means to bring something to the table is more difficult at the moment due to the scarcity of supplies and the increase in the price of basic necessities. The Covid-19 pandemic has intensified the challenge for the vast majority of Cubans on the island: to figure out […] Read more
11 December, 2020
Download the bulletin Here As in other countries, the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in Cuba resulted in not only impacts on people’s health; it also exacerbated several of the already existing problems. In the case of Cuba, the health crisis added to the country’s pre-existing economic problems, while also triggering a crisis of severe […] Read more
7 December, 2020
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2 December, 2020
It is no secret to anyone that the Cuban government has received millions of euros and dollars from countries and non-governmental institutions for projects aimed at preserving the environment. Where have these large sums of money gone? For more than sixty years, the Cuban government has lied to its own people and the international community […] Read more
The undersigned – international and Cuban civil society organizations, members of Cuban independent media, activists, and Cuban citizens – condemn the harassment, police violence, human rights violations, and repressive acts perpetrated by Cuban authorities against artists, journalists, and independent civil society actors in response to peaceful demonstrations against the arrest and subsequent arbitrary conviction of […] Read more
13 October, 2020
We are deeply concerned about the decision to grant Cuba a new opportunity to have a seat on the Human Rights Council. This not only rewards Cuba’s poor human rights record, but it also undermines the integrity of the Council to hold abusive governments accountable for their actions in the region and across the globe. […] Read more
8 October, 2020
The economic situation of each Cuban (on the street) is critical, and the majority of them are affected by low salaries and unemployment. There are many people with scarce resources, experiencing critical state neglect, and with untreated ailments. Due to COVID-19, the situation in Cuba is concerning. Although most cases are concentrated in the three […] Read more
23 September, 2020
In response to the uninterrupted acts of intimidation and violence committed in the last two months by Cuban authorities against members of the dissident organization Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU), its leader José Daniel Ferrer, and his family, more than 30 Cuban and international human rights organizations issued the following statement: We call on the […] Read more
3 September, 2020
The arrival of September is overwhelming in most cases for parents and students, who now have to come up with a new strategy for their children just so they can study. When the school year approaches, the line of parents trying to obtain the paperwork for their school uniforms is enormous. The worst-case scenario is […] Read more
12 August, 2020
I still can’t avoid the pain I feel when I see and hear these stories. These are Cuban women, human beings who opt for living and try to take the best that life offers them, or perhaps the only option. Adelfa puts on her glasses while eyeballing me from top to […] Read more
20 July, 2020
Zuleidys is located in the east of Cuba and carries out independent initiatives to support and empower women in her community. A large part of the world is facing the fatal COVID-19 pandemic, which is leaving a large number of deaths. Trying to reduce the transmission of this virus, different types of governments have adopted […] Read more
20 July, 2020
He is a young Cuban doctor and LGTBIQ activist from the city of Cienfuegos. In 2016, he emigrated to Spain, where he still resides in the city of Madrid. There he lives with his partner and (since recently) finally practices medicine. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought hard times for the entire world population. So it […] Read more
17 July, 2020
Simonne walked around Havana to ask about the situation of several local women and of people working on tourism-related activities. She brings us their testimonies. “The border closure and the immediate drop of tourism has been a disaster for our pockets, fortunately, I asked for the temporary suspension of the license” – told me Odalis, […] Read more
17 July, 2020
Marlon Martorell and his wife Kenia traveled from Cuba to Central America looking to meet with their family in the United States. They had to flee due to the constant harassment from the State’s authorities as a consequence of their work as political opponents and human rights defenders. Currently, they are in the US-Mexico border, […] Read more
17 July, 2020
Download the bulletin here. The global coronavirus pandemic has taken the world by surprise and has caused uneven reactions in different countries. Some had more time to react as it arrived later to their territory, but in any case, little was known about the virus. Cuba seems to be doing relatively well in controlling […] Read more
3 July, 2020
In Cuba, the crisis existed long before the start of the pandemic, as one Cuban woman related a few months ago: What job does a Cuban need to have in order to achieve the decency of life of their dreams? Well, it doesn’t exist. Cubans have understood for a long time that we are […] Read more
15 June, 2020
People in Need signed a joint statement of organizations and media outlets that calls for the protection of human rights and demanding that the Cuban Government immediately ends online surveillance against people who express their opinions on social networks or other platforms and ceases the persecution of journalists and human rights activists. The undersigned organizations […] Read more
9 June, 2020
In Cuba, you can have the best of jobs, be a professional, have the highest of salaries, have no problems with alcoholism or any other vice, and still not be able to count on having your own house or reliable housing. Perhaps, a pandemic is the situation that highlights the most the need for […] Read more
20 May, 2020
Fernando is a transsexual and everybody who knows him calls her Malena […] The bosses force her to dress like a man and they tell her that, if she does not present herself “properly dressed”, according to her sex assigned at birth, she will not be allowed to work Fernando studied nursing and continued […] Read more
4 April, 2020
When we speak of cynicism, contempt, irony and ridicule, what comes to mind for the majority of Cubans is the already accustomed way of reacting on the part of the legion of unpopular figures in every government agency on the island. When you live in Cuba and some misfortune happens to befall you, you […] Read more
11 March, 2020
Since Decree 349/2018 was sanction by Cuban government, independent artists have taken a leading role through peaceful and courageous actions in their opposition against censorship and the demand for freedom of artistic expression. Decree 349/2018 establishes contraventions on the provision of artistic services that are neither regulated nor recognised by Cuba’s official cultural institutions: a […] Read more
4 March, 2020
Download the annual report here: 2019 Eye on Cuba ENG Read more
1 March, 2020
You will never feel the pressure of there being too much, in a place where there is so little of everything that you don’t have much fabric to cut. Oh well, as is the custom and reality in Cuba, one has to undress one saint to dress another. Shopping in Cuba doesn’t have to […] Read more
3 February, 2020
Repression in Cuba works in a way that sometimes is not easy to understand for those who are not in direct contact with it or with the people who suffer it. Cuba has managed to create an international image of a social country, concerned about the lives of people. It has continuously promoted its […] Read more
3 February, 2020
The government of Cuba projects to the world the image that its main raison d‘être originates from the fact that it is a victim of permanent violence at the hands of an almighty enemy, the United States. This image usually provokes sympathy on the international level and provides justifications for arbitrary acts and the lack of […] Read more
3 February, 2020
I began to experience repression the day my father shouted in my face: “If necessary we will kill, but they will not triumph, we cannot allow it.” My father is a professor of Social Sciences and Master in Cultural Development, and belongs to the Communist Party of Cuba, which he follows with a blind faith. […] Read more
3 February, 2020
It all started with several people who simply stopped responding to our greetings, later on they looked at us with hatred and in silence. Others roared with laughter and said that we were crazy, that our salary was low and that we were going to have to go abroad. Then (some people) started screaming […] Read more
3 February, 2020
The truth is that I don’t know which story from my life I should tell about psychological repression. Ever since I began taking an interest in our rights and how to assert them, they started calling me a counterrevolutionary and making life impossible for me. They start to make it like a war for […] Read more
3 February, 2020
Download here the 2018 Report Eye on Cuba 2018 ENG Read more
3 February, 2020
People in Need presents its report on the psychological repression in Cuba, a compilation of personal stories from people living under an authoritarian regime and the psychological effects faced by them. The report is based on concrete cases and individual life stories, collected over two months from interviews with people based in the […] Read more
17 January, 2020
Prostitution is the performance of sexual acts for profit. In legal terms, the word prostitute refers only to the person who participates in an economic transaction based on sex, usually in exchange for an agreed upon amount of remuneration. In Cuba, prostitution has always generated an internal debate that has resisted going beyond public policies. […] Read more
17 January, 2020
In the Province of Holguin, there are several communities where its population has very poor means and there is no possibility of gaining access to sources of technical or financial assistance. The worst conditions are found in the north of the province, in the Alcides Pinos neighborhood, known as La Chomba, and the other in […] Read more
17 January, 2020
When she asked me for a lighter without so much as an excuse me, much less wishing me a good afternoon, I looked her over trying to decipher her age, without even daring to think that this girl might be seventeen years old, if even that. I attempted to connect with her while making a […] Read more
17 January, 2020
Gender stereotypes play a role as ideology in affecting the behavior of both men and women. Traditionally, Latin American women are imprisoned in the stereotype of being curvy, provocative and sexual objects, rather than subjects with decision-making power and rights. The vast presence of prostitution in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has for […] Read more
2 August, 2019
To me, being able to go out to demonstrate means that all men and women who love freedom have the right to change the most unjust aspects of their society, but in Cuba we cannot occupy our streets because they have not been declared free for the sake of marching and demanding our rights. […] Read more
2 August, 2019
Empowering the voiceless, increasing the power of belonging and translating people’s power into action represents what citizen participation is in a democracy, but above all, in Cuba, it represents the long-lasting effects two recent protests will have in the collective memory of the country. On April 7th 2019 the first independent march authorized by […] Read more
2 August, 2019
On March 8, 2019, International Women’s Day, I had the opportunity to be part of a march held in the Czech Republic. It was the first time I was able to do so for a truly just cause and the experience was intense. There I could verify that each person was free to say and […] Read more
2 August, 2019
Participating in a March in Cuba, like the recently held “No to Animal Cruelty” or for LGBTIQ rights, has led me to question how much my social life and even my own sense of integrity were at stake. After spending so many years in what passes for normality in Cuba, i.e. that almost all of […] Read more
11 February, 2018
One of the most important political figures of the twentieth century in Cuba is more known for uttering the phrase: “In Cuba women are in charge”, than for his achievement as the first president. However, he said this a whopping 72 years ago. And at least that’s the way it should be, since Cuban women […] Read more
11 February, 2018
The incognito artists do not stop painting the most dissimilar sketchings on the Havana walls that are on the verge of collapse. The image seen on the corner of Subirana and Avenida Carlos III is without a doubt one of the most mysterious. Is it the way of showing the desire to escape everyday reality? […] Read more
11 February, 2018
The book entitled Cuban Press and the Machado Era written by Edel Lima Sarmiento, a pro-regime Cuban journalist, was published in 2014 by the Ciencias Sociales publishing house in Havana. Yet, taking into account the current situation of freedom of the press on the island, the title of the book should perhaps read Cuban Press and the Castro […] Read more
11 February, 2018
A few days ago, the Cuban Police punished a blind street musician by giving him a fine of 6,000 Cuban pesos (about 225 convertible pesos or USD). The man earns his living with his guitar and puppets, stationed in one of the many streets of the Old Havana. Mr. Arsenio Peña Blanco told us that […] Read more
11 February, 2018
“It’s really something unheard of,” complains Ernesta, resident of the Lawton neighbourhood, who has come to the Fincimex agency in Miramar to ask about her money. Ernesta tells us that she has been to the agency several times this week, awaiting a confirmation of the arrival of money sent by her brother living in Switzerland. […] Read more
8 October, 2017
A series of events in the Romerillo neighbourhood has caused unrest among the local inhabitants and should draw the attention of both the government and the authorities of the Playa municipality. Embedded in an area close to the 5th Avenue and within the reach of several iconic sites such as the Palacio de las Convenciones and the children’s […] Read more
29 September, 2017
The clamor for a Press Law that supposedly would solve the manifest and growing crisis of Cuban journalism, is leaked every so often in the articles of the so-called “comunicólogos”. The term was used by Graziella Pogolotti, a member of the Academy of Language in Cuba, in his Sunday column of Juventud Rebelde on March […] Read more
22 September, 2017
Manolo Cordoví agreed to tell us about his last experience with the money he earns as a street vendor, selling whatever there is: “I earned a couple of pesos by selling processed cheese and eggs, bringing the goods to people’s homes. Some customers pay with Cuban national pesos (CUP) while others give me convertible pesos […] Read more
8 September, 2017
A few days ago, someone brought to my memory one of the Cuban personalities of the nineteenth century who influenced the most of my adolescence: the poet Julián del Casal. The author of one of the top works of Cuban literature, born in 1863, died one night in October in 1893, while laughing out loud […] Read more
1 September, 2017
She is a small, fragile woman with signs of premature aging and a palpable emotional imbalance. She arrives at my house with a bundle of leaves in her hand and a cry of pity that overflows. In her town, they told her only that I am the only one who can help her, a sort […] Read more
1 September, 2017
Santa Fe de Bogotá, with almost ten million inhabitants, is the capital of Colombia, and has a rich cultural and journalistic tradition that distinguishes it from others. Not long ago I was there and I was able to obtain firsthand information about the details of the longest armed conflict in the American continent: the fight […] Read more
21 August, 2017
On the 1st August 2017, the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba (Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba) published Resolution no. 22/2017 by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (the MTSS). The purpose of the new rules embodied in this resolution is to amend, to a certain extent, the inconsistencies that the authorities […] Read more
On July 18th, 2017, Mr. C. Énix Berrio Sardá was supposed to leave Cuba on a Copa Airlines flight bound for South America to participate in an academic workshop. Upon arrival at Terminal 3 of the José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, Énix checked his luggage along with other citizens going to the same […] Read more
24 July, 2017
Despite the alleged high pregnancy rates, the growth of the Cuban population has been stagnant for years. The reason for this may be the high number of abortions that are performed every day in hospitals. Thanks to visits to two maternity clinics in Havana, I was able to verify the number of women who come […] Read more
7 July, 2017
My memory, which is worth millions of pesos and is subversive, remembers it with a luxury of details. There was the triumph of “the bearded ones” in the Sierra Maestra, and then everything, except for communist ideas, started to be forbidden… even jazz, but not for its musical chords, of course. The Castro brothers saw […] Read more
30 June, 2017
In all countries of the world, it is difficult to fight against racism. However, in Cuba it is especially difficult. Although racism is a part of reality of today’s Cuban society, the authorities try to avoid any public discussion on this issue. Discrimination occurs for example in access to housing. Afro-Cubans have less contacts among the […] Read more
29 June, 2017
For a long time, the thinking has been that, in Cuba, censorship was reserved for opponents of the regime: those who wanted to put an end to the Revolution, and those who’s influence the people had to be protected against. Although culture, especially the arts, were used as a means for propaganda, the government initially […] Read more
20 June, 2017
The tomb of 21st-century socialism is in Caracas. This is the end of the project (hegemonic in several Latin American countries, for a moment) that Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro conceived in the late 1900s. The idea that took form in the premises of the Forum of Sao Paulo, a space that the radical left […] Read more
Niober Garcia Fournier is not a well-known Cuban dissident, nor is he someone used to traveling all the time and giving speeches at European institutions. In his native Guantanamo, almost a thousand kilometers from the capital, he regularly suffers from eastern-style repression and marginalization. An inseparable part of his life is his contact with grassroots […] Read more
21 May, 2017
The Coney Island amusement park in Havana once ranked among the most famous attractions in Latin America. Located close to the city centre, it covered a vast area from the La Concha beach to the FrutiCuba coffeehouse on 112th Street. Right in front of the Coney Island, there used to be many restaurants offering all kind […] Read more
17 May, 2017
Getting into debt is one of the most shameful situations one can ever be faced with. Yet, it constitutes a part of the survival mechanism invented and practiced by man for centuries. At present, the Cubans are burdened with crippling debts. I’m not referring to the external debt of the country, but to debts incurred […] Read more
14 May, 2017
The war waged over the sea around Havana is not a result of a conflict between nations. It’s a dispute among local fishermen and divers concerning the fishing zones created and granted to them by mutual agreement in a meeting of fishermen held in 2012. “The fishermen who participated in the meeting divided the sea […] Read more
30 April, 2017
26-year-old Nelson Rodríguez Leiva was executed in the La Cabaña fortress in 1971. The same fate awaited his soulmate friend, Angelito de Jesús Rabí. A century earlier, the poet Juan Clemente Zenea was shot dead at the same place. It was of no help that Nelson was a teacher who conducted a literacy mission in […] Read more
30 April, 2017
A mere glimpse at the Cuban history of the 1940‘s and 1950‘s reveals that the nature of the relationship between Fulgencio Batista and Fidel Castro was far from normal. There’s evidence that can prove it. The two families became acquainted when Raúl and Fidel were children. The Castro family lived in the town of Birán, […] Read more
20 April, 2017
Over the last few days, the inhabitants of Havana have seen a higher number of buses circulating through the city. This has helped to lift the mood of passengers and reduced the number of people waiting at bus stops. The situation, however, is just a consequence of recent events. In fact, the sudden expansion of […] Read more
9 April, 2017
To march through Havana advocating ethical treatment of animals and encouraging local residents to eat more vegetables is an idea so silly that it is quite likely to increase the anxiety of many a Cuban living in the capital and become an object of their ridicule. Yet, that was precisely the goal of PETA, American […] Read more
6 April, 2017
Several weeks ago, the 26th International Book Fair 2017 took place in Havana, Cuba. This year it was dedicated to Canada and to the Cuban revolutionary Armando Hart Dávalos. As in previous years, the event was held at the former military fortress of San Carlos de La Cabaña. Built by the Spanish government in the early […] Read more
3 April, 2017
Despite the fact that the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro had never paid due respect to any of the Cuban presidents, the one he most despised and criticised was Don Tomás Estrada Palma (1835-1908). Unscrupulously, he had even torn down his statue on the Avenida de los Presidentes in 1961, disregarding the fact that Estrada Palma was […] Read more
19 March, 2017
A sixteen-year-old Cuban boy who has just started discovering the world cannot believe that back in 1965 it was impossible to freely listen to the Beatles. “If you wanted to do it, you had to lock yourself somewhere or hide in the solitude of a basement, almost always at night, with no witnesses, your only […] Read more
13 March, 2017
The increase in the number of Cubans suffering from insanity is a consequence of a crisis faced by the affected, which may be due to various reasons. Sometimes, alcoholism is to blame. Great talents have been lost on the island as a result. In Jaimanitas there lives a lady known as Bety, la loca (“Bety, the mad”). […] Read more
14 February, 2017
The Cuba created by Fidel Castro at gun point, with the help of a network of informers, dozens of patriotic slogans, marches to strengthen the revolutionary spirit, rationing and hollow successes (passed off to the international public as precious jewels) is holding on despite the demise of its chief administrator. Apart from the hired mourners, […] Read more
13 February, 2017
Back in the early 1960s, Cubans were given an opportunity (perhaps by mistake) to watch the latest films directed by Luis Buñuel (1900-1983), which were shown in the cinemas of Havana. Yet, as soon as the authorities of the Castro regime realized the “evil” nature of the scenes and the dialogues, the films were banned […] Read more
13 February, 2017
Interview with Malvino Maldonado Iglesias Would you like to tell us about your experience with hospitals over the last few years? My experience with hospitals and polyclinics is rather long and it’s been pretty rough in the last weeks. The streak of bad luck began when I fell from a scaffolding when I was painting […] Read more
13 February, 2017
Among the books on Cuba which I consider absolutely essential is the monograph entitled Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom written by Hugh Thomas, English historian specializing in Hispanic history. It was written during the author’s stay in Havana between 1964 and 1971. In the preface, Thomas explains that the idea of writing about Cuba occurred to him […] Read more
13 February, 2017
Although the Cuban political stage may have partially changed after the death of Fidel Castro, the political scenario remains intact. The opposition groups on the island, which have been struggling to restore democracy taken away from the Cuban people by the so-called “revolutionaries”, are soon going to face enormous challenges. In this article, we are […] Read more
13 February, 2017
Fairly recently, a family of American tourists clashed with a policeman when they were giving out items of clothing to a group of sports fans in their regular meeting in the Parque Central park in Havana. Mr. Eliot Mackenzie with his wife Anna and his son Daniel were just presenting a young man named Yosbani […] Read more
13 February, 2017
The first round of the municipal elections in Cuba, which were held on November 26, has brought an interesting result. Not in regard to the selected delegates, since their own internal mechanisms prevent any significant change (the delegate lists are aligned with the Communist Party of Cuba which in turn will elect other Party officials […] Read more
13 February, 2017
There has never been a woman president of Cuba nor has a woman come close to being an eligible candidate. While other Latin American countries have broken through this “glass ceiling” with women who became the president of their country (Violeta Barrios in Nicaragua, Mireya Moscoso in Panama, Michelle Bachelet in Chile, Dilma Roussef […] Read more
13 February, 2017
Aimara Peña (Sancti Spiritus, 1988) decided to stand as an independent candidate to become a delegate of the National Assembly of People’s Power in Las Tosas, the village of 2,000 inhabitants where she resides, in the province of Sancti Spiritus. She studied to be a teacher, her interest in community politics stems from her experience […] Read more
11 February, 2017
After the appointment of Miguel Diaz- Canel Bermudez as President of the Council of State and Ministers, the new head of state will have the task of initiating the process to unify Cuba’s dual currencies under the watchful eye of Raul Castro and the rest of old guard of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC). One […] Read more
11 February, 2017
Steve Wakefield was born in England and when he got married, he moved to Australia. A scientist keen on researching Cuban literature, he came to Cuba a few years ago to the Writers’ Congress dedicated to Carpentier to pay a 4-day tribute to the Cuban writer. My husband, who had also been invited to the […] Read more
11 February, 2017
In April of this year, someone without the surname Castro took over the country’s leadership for the first time since the triumph of the Revolution. However, expectations of change among the Cuban people are almost non-existent. Perhaps, it was because of his inauguration speech, in which Miguel Diaz-Canel made it clear that “Raúl Castro Ruz, […] Read more
11 February, 2017
Villa America, known as the most elegant of all the inns built in the vicinity of the Coney Island Amusement Park before the triumph of the Revolution, is located only a few meters from the Fifth Avenue, very close to the Playa roundabout. Up until the beginning of the 1990’s, its comfortable rooms used to […] Read more
11 February, 2017
Not long ago, a Havana family decided to block a street with their belongings in a protest against the government’s failure to help them in need, despite many claims and efforts made by them. The reason? The good old housing problems: their lives and the lives of other residents of the building they were living […] Read more
11 February, 2017
“Everything is a lie. The State doesn’t protect the victims,” says Reina Ester de la Cruz Ramos, an eighty-something-year-old resident of the municipality of Santa Fe located in the northwest of Havana. In front of her house, the old woman shows us a small room full of junk with some sacks of sand and cement, […] Read more
11 February, 2017
Williams, a warehouse keeper in a brewery, is holding his labour record in his hand. He boasts it triumphantly as it took him five agonizing months before he finally got what he wanted – five months of paying regular visits to the Human Resources department of the company, leaving empty-handed. “Getting the labour record was […] Read more
14 January, 2017
The world goes on after Fidel Castro’s death, his ashes preserved for future generations as if they were relics or mummies of the Pharaohs. Yet, it seems that a spiritual universe spread over the Cuban territory during the funeral services, offering all kinds of signs. During these days of grief and mourning I interviewed several […] Read more
14 January, 2017
The book entitled Cuban Press and the Machado Era written by Edel Lima Sarmiento, a pro-regime Cuban journalist, was published in 2014 by the Ciencias Sociales publishing house in Havana. Yet, taking into account the current situation of freedom of the press on the island, the title of the book should perhaps read Cuban Press and the Castro […] Read more
22 December, 2016
Despite the fact that journalism in Cuba has changed considerably in recent years, opening up space for the independent press and new alternative initiatives, there are still three distinct blocs. There is the state press, characterized by being more propaganda than journalism and supporting strong censorship; the independent media, which is exposed to constant smears […] Read more
14 December, 2016
On Saturday, 22 October 2016, around 300 journalists, mainly Cubans, gathered in Miami to celebrate the National Day of Press Freedom in Cuba. Unfortunately, the independent press in our country does not know the date, nor the origin or even the people for whom the independent journalists work. Jesús Díaz Martínez, Vice Dean of the […] Read more
14 December, 2016
Founded in 1728 by Dominican friars, the University of Havana was democratic for 231 years. When the university reopened on 11 May 1959, it continued to be democratic, despite the revolution that had taken place; it is something that the history still needs to explain and, quite oddly, the press has never covered the topic. […] Read more
14 December, 2016
Tourists and investors are currently flooding Cuba. Since the new wave of trade and economic liberalization hit the island, foreign companies are keen on coming here to explore new business opportunities. What happens when the local organic farming collides with U.S. agribusinesses? Will Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) flood the island next? The Paradox of Cuban Agriculture […] Read more
14 December, 2016
Dictatorships, in particular totalitarian, are very much alike. That of Cuba is not an exception. The State is perceived as an absolute entity that covers and understands everything and makes use not only of children, but even of the dead. There are many examples to support this and the best is perhaps the event that […] Read more
14 December, 2016
Five days after the announcement of Fidel’s death, an atmosphere of grief and mourning could be felt both in Havana and in any other part of the country. The six national TV channels successively transmitted and retransmitted programmes about the “Maximum Leader”, the “Father of the Revolution”, while the body of the deceased was travelling […] Read more
14 December, 2016
A SYSTEM THAT IS SINKING I n recent months, the role of the official press as a regulatory agency for the Cuban political system has been displaced by the so-called “alternative press” and its young journalists, trained at the university, who have migrated from the state media and are creating new, independent spaces outside of […] Read more
14 December, 2016
Today one of the most interesting phenomena in Cuban society is the proliferation of alternative, independent media, including those that neither take orders from the government nor from the opposition. This wealth of articulated voices, which can be seen, rather than heard, especially in electronic formats, is a significant improvement of the efforts and experiments […] Read more
14 December, 2016
Maykel is a new kind of journalist on the Cuban scene. This is the case, because after studying in the university and developing his career initially within the state media, he has carried his critical spirit to the point of being expelled from the radio station in which he worked. He considers himself an “independent […] Read more
14 December, 2016
For almost seventy years, the death of Jesús Menéndez Larrondo, famous leader of Cuban sugar workers and member and representative of the Communist Party, has never been properly investigated, not even by the most demanding Cuban historians of the era of the Republic and the Castro dictatorship. Jesús Menéndez was killed on January 22, 1948, […] Read more
8 December, 2016
Hopes that the new Republican administration might exert any major effort to overthrow the Cuban dictatorship are scarce. The only reasonable thing to expect is even more confrontational rhetoric and actions of little or no help to Cuba in promoting the pro-democratic agenda in the country. And that’s exactly what the old guard of the […] Read more
14 November, 2016
His name was Luis Pérez Perdomo. He was an impressive person and with his beard and olive uniform he looked like a guerrilla member. I met him in a friend’s house at the beginning of 1959. He had just arrived in Havana to participate as an attorney in the revolutionary tribunals against war criminals set […] Read more
14 November, 2016
And “Velvet Revolution” may not be coming to Cuba any time soon. 17 November reminds Czechs that freedom is worth fighting for, but what about Cuba? When is the Velvet Revolution coming to Cuba? These days, Czechs are celebrating 27 years since they overthrew communism. The velvet revolution brought democracy and freedom to this country after […] Read more
14 October, 2016
Among the dense green of the Guantanamo province municipality of Bayate, where the penetrating heat can become a relentless enemy of men and women, one can come upon a camp inmates call the Green Hell. Hell because of the heat, hell due to the dense vegetation and hell because life becomes less than human under […] Read more
14 October, 2016
On 11 July 1997, the National Assembly of People’s Power approved the Environmental Act which stipulates the necessity of “providing for the right to a healthy environment, as the basic right of the society and its citizens, and for the right to enjoy a healthy and productive life in the harmony with nature.” At the […] Read more
14 September, 2016
Married to Cheo, “the handsome guy”, Milagrito represented joy for the children from our neighbourhood. She lived two houses away from ours, a short run from our patio, there was no need to jump over any fence; in Chincha Coja, a suburb where I was born, all patios were shared. I used to go to […] Read more
14 September, 2016
I am almost sixty years old and I come from a rural area in Cuba. My parents were labourers, my father’s father was a landless peasant, my mother’s parents were peasants and landowners. I remember there was an intermittent stream flowing through their land forming small pools that provided water for cattle throughout the entire […] Read more
14 September, 2016
Armando Rey (50), a Havana native, used to belong to those Cubans who thought they would never get to know a different country in their lifetime. While the Cuban government suspended his exit permit, commonly known as the “White Card”, he received an invitation to Buenos Aires; shortly afterwards he was sitting on a plane […] Read more
14 July, 2016
Halfway through a Congress of the Communist Party which calls for efficiency and organization in the state matters, particularly those related to the national food supplies, nearly one hundred potato sacks had to be thrown away at the nearby farmers’ market Jaimanitas. The head of El Porvenir, a shop that belongs to the Jesús Menéndez […] Read more
14 July, 2016
In my youth, I was a founding member of The Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and I must say that despite everything, the institution has always strived to foster the cultural development of Cubans. The sad thing is that it has never been allowed to do so. Ever since its foundation in 1961, […] Read more
14 July, 2016
Many international media have been full of articles about how Cuba is changing. While this is true and there have been some changes that bring Cuba closer to its Latin American neighbors, Cubans still miss on many things that are quite normal in the rest of the region. Ten things that most Cuban’s still cannot […] Read more
14 July, 2016
When Fidel Castro seized political power in Cuba, one of the first measures he adopted in order to maintain power was to suppress the freedom of expression, regulated by the Declaration of Human Rights since 1948. The first step towards these measures was made by him in the José Martí National Library in Havana in […] Read more
14 July, 2016
Despite how much we hear about political and social situation in Cuba and changes which have been taking place in recent years, little or almost no attention is paid to the situation of women living in the country. Women´s rights are often overshadowed by a struggle for democracy which seems to be intended only for […] Read more
14 July, 2016
Caridad Hernández Carlos is an elderly woman who has lived in the Campo Santo Street in the city of Camagüey for over sixty years. Known as Cachita by her friends, Caridad is a plastic artist, a graduate of the San Alejandro Academy in Havana. Facial deformity since early childhood, old dilapidated house with grey walls […] Read more
14 July, 2016
The tropical totalitarianism has one speciality that has recently gained strength and clearly will recur. I am referring to criminals who enter houses under no disguise and similarly to floods sweep away basically anything, including personal notes, books and testaments. A similar intrusion took place last week in the house of Celina Osoria Claro, a […] Read more
14 May, 2016
The leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba have once again declared against other political organizations that have nothing to do with Marxism-Leninism or similar doctrines. Apparently, the institutions and organizations that have been in control of the countryʼs destiny since early 1960s want to maintain unanimity in its postulates. The main proves of the […] Read more
14 April, 2016
The Guantánamo Province located in the Eastern part of Cuba has been affected by intense and lengthy droughts. Local dams are currently filled up to a mere 41%. Francisco Osmali Cusco Matos, head of the local water management company (Empresa de Aprovechamiento Hidráulico) stated a few weeks ago that “due to no rainfall in the […] Read more
14 April, 2016
We were travelling by a minibus that belonged to the new carrier cooperatives associated with the state. The seats were so close to one another that I could not avoid overhearing a conversation I haven’t been able to figure out till today. At one moment I even turned my head to see the person who […] Read more
14 April, 2016
Pedro Figueredo Perucho, a citizen of Palma Soriano, was transferred to a hospital in the city of Santiago with acute renal insufficiency, fever, shivering and loss of consciousness. Even though his relatives made efforts to hospitalize him, it turned out to be impossible. Doctors stated he should receive treatment at home and at the location […] Read more
14 March, 2016
The state institutions responsible for the hygiene and the beautification of the city give individualized attention to the touristic zones, such as the areas where the ruling elite lives. This is definitely a fact. At the recent meeting of the Advice of Ministers, Raúl Castro said: “we have to develop […] we have the possibility […] Read more
14 February, 2016
Photography has always been a hobby of mine, and a very enjoyable one – a hobby that I felt could become a passion at a certain moment. As time passed by, I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Communication and photography was no longer a mere passion – it became a useful tool. Since […] Read more
14 February, 2016
My dream of earning a Master’s Degree in Latin American Culture almost ended the day my professor of Cuban Film, when evaluating my oral presentation on the history of Cuban cinema, rebuked me for having dared to mention works from the 1990s and the 2000s that were not produced by the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic […] Read more
14 February, 2016
Cuba is not only a beautiful island full of unique beauty and endemic species but also a country with multiple environmental challenges, such as omnipresent illegal dump sites, or aggressive agro-forestry and energy programs. PIN, in collaboration with Cuban ecologists, put together this Report on the Environmental Situation in Cuba which aptly analyses the current […] Read more
14 February, 2016
Campanario Street, almost at its intersection with Estrella, remains obstructing vehicular traffic from a few days ago due to the accumulation of rubble product of the spontaneous collapse of a building that was over one hundred years old. It is known that when the sun rises after downpours, the heat ends up cracking the structures […] Read more
14 February, 2016
In recent years in all the Sessions of the National Assembly of People’s Power the Minister of Health turns to expose in the Commission of Health and Sports aspects about the situation of national sanitation. In 2015 the Acting Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda said that “the country is well-prepared to confront the growing ageing of […] Read more
14 February, 2016
The Communist Party of Cuba has to get familiar with the idea of the end of the single-party system in our country, historically legitimized by Fidel Castro. After the triumph of the Revolution, Fidel established two parties: the 26th of July Movement (M-26-7) and the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). Before 1959 he was also an […] Read more
14 February, 2016
The news about the eventual visit of the North American leader to Cuba before the end of the first quarter of 2016 proves to be as the culmination of a process immune to all reversibility. In principle, it is clear that this tendency towards the possession further continues after the relief of the U.S. President […] Read more
14 February, 2016
The Spanish publisher Hypermedia just released The Other Cuba (La otra Cuba), available in digital format for free for Cubans through the website of this institution. Gradually it will also incorporate to the independent libraries of our country. In its two hundred pages, the book collects ten reports prepared by an equal number of Cuban […] Read more
14 February, 2016
The Columbian professor Efrén Delgado, Director of the University of Latin American Workers (UTAL), defines Cubans as one of the most recursive societies thanks to their ability to perfectly adapt to any circumstance and find the most amazing solutions to their problems. Proof of this was the resolution of an extremely complex puzzle, which came […] Read more
14 February, 2016
If it is true, as well stated by Bohemia magazine November 29, 2013, that “in Cuba for more than 25 years the Cuban Medical Equipment Industry produces hospital furniture of exportable quality”, why then are the beds and stretchers in our hospitals so few or are so scruffy? Often, the mass media supporters of the Cuban government […] Read more
14 February, 2016
One Sunday morning a few weeks ago, the security forces arrested three people who were offering beef in Nueva Aurora, a town near Santiago de las Vegas, just in the moment when several people were standing in line to buy their meat for the rest of the week. The traders, two men and one woman, […] Read more
14 February, 2016
If we make a serious reflection about the consequences that the communist experiment has brought to Cuba, we do not find it hard to understand that the Fidel Castro’s revolution was the worst that could occur in our country. Nevertheless, there is no way to justify the coup of Fulgencio Batista in 1952 months before […] Read more
14 February, 2016
14 February, 2016
The institute of art and activism that Tania Brugueras has opened not long ago in Havana came to comprehend that much of the violence that exists in the world is generated from fear and as a response to the things that the people do not know how to handle. Her workplace is located on the […] Read more
14 February, 2016
Several months ago I thought to write about Evarista, an elderly woman who has gained celebrity for her role of an illegally seller on Cuban television. Aris Teresa Bruzos Nunez, actress who plays Evarista, reminds me Eloisa Alvarez Guedes who long after 1953 played the character of a humble peasant named Simplicia, an ordinary old woman and a […] Read more
14 February, 2016
Major Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, vice-president of the Council of State and Council of Ministers, would definitely feel more comfortable as the head of the Ministry of the Interior (founded indeed by himself at the dawn of Cuban Revolution) than with the job he has been assigned recently, at the age of 84. Perhaps by a […] Read more
11 February, 2016
Someone not too long ago mentioned to me that an upstart group of homosexual males were marching proudly on a Havana avenue, flying multicolored flags and accompanied by the daughter of General Raul Castro. She asked one of them if they knew who the UMAPs were. Surprised, he could only answer, smiling while he walked […] Read more
11 February, 2016
That’s how life goes. Readers and other supporters of the blog known as Cartas desde Cuba (Letters from Cuba) continue in their efforts to support Fernando Ravsberg. The Uruguayan journalist, who settled in Cuba 28 years ago, has started a public collection to finance his project that, in his own words, aims to “bring information which reflects […] Read more
11 February, 2016
A truck loaded with apples to be distributed to private businesses has been recently seized at the La Puntilla store in Miramar, Havana. As a consequence, disciplinary and precautionary measures were taken against the employees of the store. As if it still wasn’t enough, rationalization in the sale of 48 products was also announced. The Diario de Cuba newspaper […] Read more
11 February, 2016
A few weeks ago, Bernardo Calvino Bayola was arrested while walking the streets of Old Havana, carrying a sign in which he was asking for help from the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Mario Díaz Canel. Bernardo is an HIV patient and lives with his mother in a community centre on Calle Lindero […] Read more
11 February, 2016
Cuba has a population with one of the highest percentages of the elderly in the world. Despite the Revolution boasting of paying attention to this part of public sector, Cuban seniors actually belong to one of the least privileged groups on the island. Finding a proof is easy: it’s enough to watch the street life […] Read more
14 December, 2015
On December 17, 2014 the presidents of Cuba and the United States announced a historical change in the relationship between the two countries. Since then some new spaces for Cuban citizens have opened up and Cuban society has been experiencing a remarkable ideological shift not seen in decades. However much less has changed in Cuba […] Read more
14 December, 2015
Cuba is a country with a very powerful image abroad. Most people have a very clear idea of what the country looks like, although they have never visited it – they have seen posters with the leaders of the Revolution and photos of old cars, smiling people and beaches with crystal clear water. However, many […] Read more
14 November, 2015
The transition in the Czech Republic, prompted by the Velvet Revolution, occurred peacefully and without any confrontation. The reason was that it was a change that everybody wanted and the circumstances were right. As a result, the country achieved true independence, which helped it to move ahead, develop its economy and establish a democratic political […] Read more
14 October, 2015
Rolando “the engineer” has spent over 20 years selling so-called used and rare books. “Every day sales are decreasing, it is getting more difficult to obtain books, people accuse us of buying low and selling high because customers are mainly tourists, but the truth is we have to take a risk at the Plaza de Armas.” The […] Read more
14 July, 2015
Elías Pérez Bocourt was tortured and humiliated in Cuban prisons. He was put behind bars with 30-years sentence for attempted illegal departure which ended in death of several people. On that 9th of June 1992, three people were killed and one mortally wounded as the police tried to stop the theft of a boat in […] Read more
14 July, 2015
Cuba is in fashion. And within the last few months, the existence of political prisoners has shifted from being a thorny issue to being a real nuisance. What else could be more bothersome for a country seeking foreign investments and, on the other hand, for states willing to invest in it than recognizing existence of […] Read more
14 July, 2015
“My 94-year-old aunt keeps asking me: ‘Have they freed the boy with the painted pigs yet?’ and I keep answering in the negative. My aunt just smiles, remembering the performance of El Sexto, and I realize that acts of art live on in people’s minds, which, in fact, may be the best way of recording […] Read more
14 July, 2015
Reinaldo Cruz, native of Manzanillo with permanent address in the Havana neighbourhood of El Calvario, was deported to Cuba in 2011. Today, he spends all day drunk on the beach, surviving only thanks to the money people give him, occasional thefts or by narrating his misdeeds from the time he lived in Orlando. Another deportee, […] Read more
14 July, 2015
Sonia Garro (Rancho Boyeros, Havana, 1975), finds it surprisingly easy to find her way in Prague, although she has never travelled abroad before. She believes it’s owing to her ability to quickly remember important landmarks. In Cuba, she’s been often detained by the Police, which first threatened her for a few hours and then took […] Read more
14 July, 2015
He preferred to sit on a bench at the back. He never missed the Sunday Mass. He had a habit of narrowing his eyes, but his face was serene and emanated a sense of security based on the truth coming from the inner strength. His humble and energetic appearance was clearly perceptible and couldn’t be […] Read more
Over the past few weeks, the international press has been all eager to inform the world that, for the first time in the history of Cuba (after the Revolution), two candidates of the opposition, Hildebrando Chaviano and Yuniel Lopez, stood as candidates in the election of delegates to the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power held […] Read more
14 March, 2015
These days in Prague, as I am pursuing my quest for learning about democracy, I met a group of Cubans who were invited by the Czech NGO People in Need (PIN) and the Human Rights Commission of the Evangelical Church to participate in a march to express support for the Ladies in White, a group […] Read more
14 March, 2015
The bike taxi is a popular means of transport in Cuba as it is human-powered and helps many people fight their difficult social situation. However, it has recently suffered great harm due to latest government measures, which have put in danger its further existence in the streets of Cuban towns. A survey of several city […] Read more
Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto (The Sixth), was detained on December 26, 2014 on the Malecón esplanade in Havana as he was driving towards the Central Park to make a performance with two pigs whose bodies were painted with the names of Cuban leaders: “Fidel” and “Raúl.“ Today, almost two months later, El Sexto […] Read more
11 February, 2015
In October 1958, the city of Palma Soriano fell into the hands of the rebel troops commanded by Fidel Castro, who declared it the first capital of the Revolution on that very day. Today it is perhaps the city with most opponents against the communist regime. We spoke with Denia Fernández Rey, representative of the […] Read more
14 December, 2014
The Czech NGO People in Need¬– which has previously brought public attention to Juliet Michelena’s case through its website monitoring human rights abuses, www.eyeoncuba.org– was pleased to learn last week about the independent journalist’s release. However, she was a victim of censorship and was arbitrarily jailed since April 7th after being accused of an attempted […] Read more
14 December, 2014
At a time when fleeing the homeland has become one of the most critical social phenomena in Cuba, it seems rather interesting that the media fail to pay any attention to it. Week after week, dozens of Cubans manage to leave the country by sea – often by means of contraptions that don’t meet even […] Read more
14 December, 2014
You can download the magazine here: RewritingCuba in ENGLISH Read more
14 December, 2014
This week we have our first guest post written by Antonella Marty, an independent journalist from Argentina. She shares with us her view on our project and the current situation in Cuba and Venezuela: “Eye on Cuba: Reporting abuse of freedom in Cuba” By: Antonella Marty The “democratic reforms” in Cuba are not only a […] Read more
14 December, 2014
Agustin Valentin Lopez Canino is the author of the Cuban blog Dekaisone. He is also an independent journalist. Last November he was arbitrarily detained. He has filed a complaint with all the relevant Cuban authorities about this incident. The Czech NGO People in Need was given information about his case and posted it on www.eyeoncuba.org, which […] Read more
14 December, 2014
A Spanish man born in Toledo, who was visiting Cuba for the first time in his life, told me about the two amazing weeks he had spent on the island. Seizing the opportunity to live like a Cuban, he got a first-hand experience of the Cuban reality. His name was Frank. He said that during […] Read more
14 December, 2014
The recent release of reporter Juliet Michelena doesn’t imply any significant change in the repressive environment. The one-party regime may have slightly modified its behaviour to improve its international image, but basically, it still keeps using force. Juliet Michelena, member of the Community Reporters Network (“Red de Comunicadores Comunitarios”), spent around seven months behind bars, […] Read more
14 December, 2014
The young man implored me not to disclose his name. He is scared. He believes that the Political Police has almost godlike powers. When he was interrogated, he realized that they knew his life in detail since the time he went to Primary School; they were even familiar with all his illnesses, his tastes and […] Read more
14 November, 2014
We were supposed to meet in December 2013 during his visit to Cuba, which, however, he couldn’t make because somebody decided that he wasn’t allowed to enter the country. If he had kept his job as a tourist guide in his native Prague (of which, by the way, he doesn’t stop talking), he could […] Read more
14 November, 2014
At times you may have wondered how censorship in Cuba works. One would expect that the government that has been so successful in using fear as a weapon also knows how to employ censorship, which causes less damage, anyway, now matter how elaborate it is. Every time the culture of a country becomes a product […] Read more
14 November, 2014
Everyday from morning to night, the whole Cuba impatiently waits for a piece of news – a particular one: three numbers, the first of which is called “fixed”, while the other two are known as “consecutive”. For some, the lucky combination of numbers may come as relief from permanent hardship and sometimes it can even […] Read more
14 November, 2014
2003 was a deadly year for Cuba. In March, the government declared an open war on the citizens. In less than a few hours, the Police arrested over a hundred peaceful dissidents and independent journalists from all across the island. Although the international press nicknamed the most notable of the arrested men and women as […] Read more
14 November, 2014
Police Violence in Cuba When someone is arrested in Cuba for exercising their civil rights, this immediately means that they can face any number of risks. This goes beyond simply being unjustly deprived of freedom for hours, days, or being sentenced to years behind bars, but also includes being seriously injured. These violations can also […] Read more
14 October, 2014
One morning at the beginning of March 1989, the engineer Roberto Bahamonde woke up very early. While he was having breakfast with his wife and his three children, an idea occurred to him. He thought he might do something for his nation. He didn’t wait for the next day and went straight away to talk […] Read more
14 October, 2014
Have you ever heard of the “Pajamas Plan” in Cuba? The term has been used informally for quite some time in Cuba. What does it actually mean? In the past it was mainly used in instances when a politician, who had started to get too big for his britches or that the regime had decided […] Read more
14 October, 2014
My first and last encounter with Silvio Rodriguez, a great music artist and master of poetic forms, who, thanks God, belongs to our Cuban nation, took place in 1972. We met at our common friend’s place. He was a poorly dressed youngster with sad eyes, arousing pity. In spite of his artistic talent, he was […] Read more
14 September, 2014
Were they a bunch of looneys? A congregation of relentless romantics? Eccentric dreamers? Did they really believe that they were able to reach the moon by just stretching out their hand? They were a group of Cubans who, armed with courage, stubbornness and love of freedom, tried to start a newspaper in which they could […] Read more
14 September, 2014
We would like to draw your attention to the ongoing human rights violations taking place in Cuba. Our project, www.eyeoncuba.org offers proof that these violations happen on a daily basis. The map displayed on www.eyeoncuba.org presents the total number of cases that have been reported according to the geographical location where they occurred, which allows […] Read more
14 September, 2014
In our country, the dengue had been wiped out by 1940, in spite of the fact that Cuba was surrounded by countries where the evil illness existed (Bolivia, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Venezuela, etc.). The reason was that Cuban health authorities, at that time, were exercising strict control to prevent importation of the disease (and many others) […] Read more
14 September, 2014
Despite the fact that revolutionary slogans keep repeating that the fight against discrimination based on skin colour has been won, the reality is different: black people are still subject to discrimination in Cuba. A neighbour’s daughter got once captivated by the performance of the ballet of Giselle she saw on TV. Full of enthusiasm, she […] Read more
22 August, 2014
JUANITA, THE “REBEL” SISTER In the context of Fidel Castro’s life, it’s been quite common to keep quiet about women. The anonymity seems neither accidental, nor should it be simply regarded as a manifestation of gender discrimination, since there are a number of other things that haven’t been included in his public image, such as […] Read more
14 July, 2014
The period of fear in Cuba seems to be over. Or is it just an impression? The “culture of fear”, as Oswaldo Paya Sardinas (1952-2012), founder of the Christian Liberation Movement and a martyr of the regime, described the situation in Cuba, may be, at last, fading away in every corner of the island, hand […] Read more
24 June, 2014
I heard somebody banging at the front door. Dogs were barking like they never bark at this time of the day. Being well aware of the current situation in the island, I immediately knew that there must be a group of parapolice, who had come to my house to perform an act of repudiation. As […] Read more
18 June, 2014
Cuban dissidents are often seen as a marginalized minority, isolated from the rest of Cuban citizens, who prefer to keep their distance from them; either because they despise their anti-regime attitude or because they simply don’t want to face the same repercussions as them. Thus, to speak of the Cuban opposition is to speak of […] Read more
21 May, 2014
Global warming has become one of greatest concerns of our time and Cubans also suffer from its consequences. The official media inform about the retreat of glaciers and the Arctic ice, which has been melting at a speed much faster than expected, leading to natural disasters in different parts of the world. However, the measures […] Read more
16 April, 2014
One of the weirdest feelings I have ever had was when I took a peek out of the Prague airport shortly after I arrived on the afternoon of March 11, 2014. It was my first trip to Europe and my first big escape from Cuba. After over nine-hour-long flight across ocean and land I finally […] Read more
17 March, 2014
Photo Gallery from CubaRAW Read more
14 February, 2014
Several months ago, the Cuban writer Leonardo Padura said that “there are numerous inconsistencies that have to be resolved before Cuba can again become a normal country.” Since he didn’t specify what inconsistencies he had on his mind, I took the liberty of interpreting his words myself and came to the following conclusion. We are […] Read more
10 February, 2014
Dilapidation of buildings in Cuba has something in common with the main character of the famous novel the Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It’s the fact that everybody knew that he would be finished off. Similarly, all residents and authorities of each particular neighbourhood in Cuba know when a house or […] Read more
27 January, 2014
Several years ago, a soap opera called El balcon de los helechos (A Balcony with Ferns) was broadcast by the Cuban television. It was quite successful and had good ratings. My balcony is not adorned with ferns or any other decorative plants but I still remember the song every time I hang my clothes on […] Read more
16 January, 2014
The feast of Epiphany celebrated on January 6, which commemorates the visit of The Three Kings to the baby Jesus, and the time of the Christmas when children recieve toys, has embodied part of the Christmas spirit for many Cubans despite the fact that in the early years of the Revolution, the new government stopped […] Read more
15 January, 2014
Sections: Noticias – Derechos Humanos Destacados: Oposición cubana conmemoró el 2°aniversario del fallecimiento de Laura Pollán, fundadora y líder del Movimiento Damas de Blanco. Decenas de mujeres fueron detenidas ese día en Habana.. Barack Obama y Raúl Castro se estrecharon la mano durante la ceremonia de despedida de Nelson Mandela. La última vez que los […] Read more
15 January, 2014
Sections: News – Human Rights Highlights: Cuban opposition commemorated the 2nd anniversary of the death of Laura Pollan, founder and leader of the Ladies in White movement. Dozens of women were arrested in Havana. Barack Obama and Raul Castro shook hands at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela. The last occasion on which the presidents […] Read more
2 December, 2013
Maybe in 2020 Cuba will be a free country and the political organisations and parties of the opposition will be able to take the corresponding legal position. Vladimiro Roca, one of the first people waiting for registering of his Social Democratic Party, will have implemented a project that he has dreamt about for more […] Read more
2 December, 2013
Amalia is standing in front of a TV camera, in the background there is the National Capitol Building in Havana. There are crowds of people around, mainly excited young people with banners and mobile phones in their hands. “With the affirmative vote of 85% of the deputies and the support of President-elect and 7 […] Read more
2 December, 2013
Although it is possible that in 2020 there will be a different political system in Cuba, it is not clear whether there will be democracy as the Cuban people long for. There is a danger that after so many years of standstill and submission, Cuba will become a vassal of another man or woman, […] Read more
2 December, 2013
1. Fidel and Raul Castro will be dead. Cremated. Their ashes scattered in the Sierra Maestra, where the fury of the future won’t disturb them. No mummies will be shown in a mausoleum (except for the doubtful remains of the Argentine leader Che) – that will be the last broken promise. No more pledges […] Read more
13 November, 2013
Who is El Crítico? Ángel Yunier Remón Arzuaga, known as El Crítico (The Critic), is a 30-year-old Cuban musician, member of the rap duo Los hijos que nadie quiso (The children whom nobody wanted). Since March 26, 2013, he has been held in the Las Mangas Prison in Holguín, where he has been subjected to […] Read more
4 November, 2013
Cubans still have little knowledge about the civil society in their country, about its members and projects fighting against the political system in Cuba. Yet, it’s perfectly clear now that a great part of it has been gained from alternative sources, which have been spreading information in all possible formats, especially the video. Thousands of […] Read more
15 October, 2013
Looking at the small scar on my left shoulder, I imagine that the vaccination given to us when we are babies might contain the virus of fear. The virus then grows in us, penetrates as deep as into our bones, hardly allowing us to breathe. We speak softly, keep looking over the shoulder, and […] Read more
14 October, 2013
Sections: National – Human Rights Highlights: Cuba marked the 60th anniversary of the assault on the Moncada Barracks, the first armed assault led by Fidel Castro. President Raul Castro headed the ceremony, which was held in the city of Santiago de Cuba and attracted some 10,000 Cubans and foreigners. The North Korean ship Chong Chon […] Read more
14 October, 2013
Sections: Nacional – Derechos Humanos Destacados: Cuba conmemoró el 60 aniversario del asalto al Cuartel Moncada, primera acción armada dirigida por Fidel Castro. El gobernante Raúl Castro encabezó el acto en la ciudad de Santiago de Cuba que convocó a unos 10,000 cubanos y extranjeros. El barco norcoreano Chong Chon Gang procedente de Cuba fue […] Read more
24 September, 2013
By all means, the feat of U.S. swimmer Diana Nyad, who succeeded in swimming across the Florida Straits, is an event deserving global recognition. In her fifth attempt to cross the strait, Nyad has finally fulfilled her dream: she managed to swim 110 miles without a shark cage and having to struggle with jellyfish. […] Read more
9 September, 2013
A sign painted on the central wall of the University of Camaguey preaches: University is for revolutionaries! The University of Camaguey located in the north-east of my city was the first institution of higher education established by the government of the elder brother – the Big Brother, back in the bleak seventies. At present, we […] Read more
16 August, 2013
Recent unexpected cancellation of internet accounts of the independent journalists Rolando Rodriguez Lobaina and Anderlay Guerra Blanco has confirmed what we have long known: access to the Internet in Cuba is subject to the decisions of the Ministry of the Interior. Cancellations of paid accounts without any explanation are likely to occur again, every time […] Read more
2 August, 2013
Sections: Nacional – Internacional – Cultura y Deporte – Derechos Humanos Destacados: Una hora de navegación internacional por Internet cuesta 4,5 dólares estadounidenses. Esta es la tarifa que están cobrando los 118 nuevos centros de conexión estatales que comenzaron a operar en Cuba el 4 de junio. Así, con un mes completo de salario, el […] Read more
2 August, 2013
Sections: National – International – Culture and Sport – Human Rights Highlights: An hour of international Internet services costs 4.5 US dollars. This is the rate charged by the 118 new state internet centres opened in Cuba on June 4. A full monthly salary of an average Cuban will thus suffice for four and half […] Read more
23 July, 2013
Already a year has passed since the attack on Oswaldo Paya and Harold Cepero carried out by a car of the Cuban State Security. It was just one of the cars that had been chasing them since the early hours of July 22 with the intent to stop them, trying to prevent history from taking […] Read more
22 July, 2013
A year after Oswaldo Paya Sardinas died under dubious circumstances, his legacy lives on among thousands of Cubans who signed the Varela Project – an initiative launched by Paya in 1998, whose purpose was to enforce changes in the Constitution which would allow legitimate exercise of freedom of expression, press and association, as well as […] Read more
21 July, 2013
On Sunday July 22, 2012, a friend from Madrid phoned and asked me to contact our Cuban friends to inquire after two young people who had gone to Cuba to visit them – Angel Carromero, a Spaniard, and Aron Modig, a Swede. She said that she had unconfirmed information that the two got into some […] Read more
16 July, 2013
Back in the 1970’s, the years of my Cuban childhood, there were terrible shortages, the country had closed itself off to the world and the United States was seen as a mythical land – a land of the unknown, the beyond, the different, the free, the illusionary; a mirage of hope for people living in […] Read more
15 July, 2013
Cuba’s ration book – which regulates the sale of food at subsidized prices to Cubans – has been used in Cuba for over 50 years now. NTD report: Read more
28 June, 2013
The arrival of 2013 in Cuba was marked by immigration reform: the famous white card, hated by all, has been cancelled and all Cubans have finally been allowed to travel anywhere in the world. Since then, queues at offices issuing passports and at various embassies granting visas have grown. Many Cubans have thus been given […] Read more
27 June, 2013
In the beginning of this year, the new immigration law have opened up new possibilities of travelling for Cubans, who are now finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel after being kept in complete isolation from the outside world for half a century. The changes in the legislation have been […] Read more
26 June, 2013
Maria Dominguez is standing in front of me. An 80-year-old woman, her small eyes moist and sad. The story of her life is rather common – like many Cuban mothers she has been living separated from her children due to arbitrary and inhuman laws that have been in force for half a century. Yes, there […] Read more
22 May, 2013
As the world sees it, Cuba seems to have emerged from the realm of surrealism. Why compare it to the literary and artistic movement founded in France at the beginning of the 20th century? Because surrealist works were often reproved for being incomprehensible, irrational expressions of objective reality, just as articles written by Cuban independent […] Read more
29 April, 2013
Sections: National – International – Culture and Sport – Human Rights Highlights: Madrid Angel Carromero said that a car with a Cuban Government licence plate attacked them and caused the accident in which two Cuban dissidents Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero were killed in Cuba, last July. The Cuban ex-president Fidel Castro (86) appeared in […] Read more
8 April, 2013
As the main interest of an average Cuban has narrowed down to leaving the country as soon as possible, the pro-democracy movement in Cuba has found it increasingly difficult to find new supporters. To be more specific, there are very few of those who really choose to join an opposition group. A significant part of […] Read more
6 April, 2013
Debate about human rights in Cuba with Cuban independent lawyer Yaremis Flores and Laritza Diversent (Cubalex) , René Gómez Manzano (Corriente Agramontista), Antonio G. Rodiles (Mathematician) and law students from New York City. Read more
6 April, 2013
It’s 10:30pm. My wife is sleeping on a station bench. With her head propped up on a bag instead of a pillow and my sweater spread over her face, she doesn’t have to explain anything. It’s obvious that despite her being only 17 years old, she prefers not see things. Perhaps she even doesn’t want […] Read more
20 March, 2013
After Brazil, the Czech Republic was the second country she had visited while undertaking her eighty-day tour in support of human rights. Read more
6 February, 2013
Every year when the first winter days come, I think of the women imprisoned in the Manto Negro prison, which is located in the Cuban village of Guanajay, in the Artemisa province. In summer, the small and narrow cells of the prison are like ovens while in winter they turn into real freezers. I came […] Read more
14 January, 2013
Not long ago, the Cuban newspaper Juventud Rebelde published an article by journalist Maite Maria Jimenez written on the occasion of the 16th Latin American Congress of Nutrition, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention recently held at the Havana International Conference Centre. In this article, Dr. Mercedes Esquivel, senior researcher at the Department of Human Growth […] Read more
16 December, 2012
All official journalism that there is in Cuba stems from the State and is subject to censorship that filters all information given to the Cubans, providing them only with inadequate, incomplete facts interpreted beforehand. In addition to it, due to the almost total lack of internet access, Cubans cannot compare the information presented to them […] Read more
12 November, 2012
Slaves are no longer considered “lower sort of men” whom nature wanted to distinguish from freemen, who are “useful for political life in the arts both of war and peace,” as Aristotle said. The lives of slaves are no longer sacrificed to calm the anger of the gods, to celebrate the accession of a new […] Read more
23 October, 2012
The media circus (or more specifically, all the nonsensical messages sent to my mobile phone by excited, cheerful reporters from abroad, which almost ruined my battery) is simply depressing. Everybody seems to believe that the reforms initiated by Raúl have been reaching deeper and deeper layers of the system (rather resembling metastasis of Marxist materialism) […] Read more
11 October, 2012
How many Cubans have been put in jail at least once or even several times since 1959 for trivial offences, based on arbitrary decisions of public prosecutors and police officers, or after having committed crimes due to their lacking means necessary for survival? How many of them are still serving sentences in prisons with inhuman […] Read more
18 September, 2012
In his last public appearances, Fidel Castro has been hardly able to hide the marks of old age. His manly look has become a memory of the past. With his languid movements and whispering, the once strong man seemed to be coming close to the threshold of death. It is not uncommon to hear people […] Read more
29 August, 2012
My parents always taught me to pay respect to any elderly person I meet on the street, regardless of whether they were well-dressed or poor beggars asking for alms. The number of years that they had lived inspired admiration and love. I’m old now myself and I have realized that there are differences between old […] Read more
8 August, 2012
It’s Monday, July 23. Oswaldo Paya Sardinas has been dead since yesterday. Agents of the government had promised that this would happen and had even carried out several attacks against him, which he survived without actually noticing. By and large, it seems that there won’t be a Nobel Peace Prize winner in Cuba unless Fidel […] Read more
13 July, 2012
Thousands of Cubans are dreaming of becoming elite athletes these days. Yet, their desire to join the ranks of the best athletes of the planet is not motivated by the ambition to win a gold medal or to set a new record, leaving half the world drop-jawed. In fact, their longing could be better described […] Read more
13 June, 2012
The Catholic Church in Cuba has recently been marked by a fierce controversy. Although the relationship between the Church and the State is always conflicting, it is clear that more issues are likely to arise in acountry which has been cradling a communist dictatorship regime since 1959 – the year in which the leaders of […] Read more
12 June, 2012
Over again, the equation has failed. Once and again, there will be no swap or anything like that. The five Cuban spies will continue serving their long sentences in North-American jails while the American businessman Alan Gross, arrested in Havana on December 3, 2009, will have to find new strength to keep alive the hope […] Read more
12 April, 2012
The prison guards had a radio on. It was a small transistor radio – an obsolete thing like everything else in the Police Station of La Regla, a town across the Havana bay. The interrogation offices were decorated in an antiquated style typical for Soviet-like political propaganda: Pictures of the assault on the Moncada Barracks, […] Read more
12 April, 2012
“This is the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen.” These were the first impressions of the Italian admiral Christopher Columbus when he beheld the land, which is now known as Cuba, from the deck of his ship in his first journey, whose purpose was to discover new lands. The paradise-like vegetation made […] Read more
26 January, 2012
It has been a long time when the social democracy leader Felipe Gonzáles, a former Spanish prime minister announced to the press, not without a reason, something what makes you think: “The capitalism is the best of the bad systems which exist.” After two decades, in Cuba of Castro brothers, it seems that somebody recognizes […] Read more
20 December, 2011
These days, when so many Europeans pack their luggage and set out for the Caribbean, perhaps with destination Cuba, to escape cold, grey winter days, I can’t help wondering where would the inhabitants of the Pearl of the Caribbean travel for holiday. Yet, the island’s beaches of fine sand merging with the bright blue horizon […] Read more
1 December, 2011
In the decade of the 80´s, the Chinese discovered something what the Cuban leaders are discovering now: “The communism is the longest way to reach the capitalism.” Later, in the decades of absurd experiments created by Mao C´Tung in China, Deng Xiaoping entered the right way and set out a construction of “decadent capitalism,” though […] Read more
29 July, 2011
Returning of licenses for business running on one´s own account in Cuba, more than a sign of opening the centralized system of state employment, it is a fact which recognizes a fiasco of the economic model introduced in the country. A half of century of non-productivity, over-employment and corruption, among other bad things generated by […] Read more
25 May, 2011
The main topic discussed on all the street corners in Cuba and in all the foreign media in recent months was the new possibility to acquire business licenses for the locals. Does that mean that the island embarked on a Chinese model of economy? Due to worsening economic conditions, the Cuban regime was forced to […] Read more
25 May, 2011
Taking my second trip to Cuba, I was quite amazed to realize how easily one could classify most Cubans into three categories of people who disagree with the still surviving Communist regime. It became clear to me that the problem of the Cuban communism goes beyond the violation of political prisoners’ human rights, regardless of […] Read more
22 April, 2011
With the dramatically worsening economic situation in Cuba and the accumulation of all types of problems accumulating, the Cuban government has felt obliged to undertake profound set of major transformations, which on the one hand present an opportunity to get out of the crisis, but on the other hand pose great risks in case the […] Read more
6 April, 2011
Pictures of Ladies in White taken by Petr Bradsky Read more
6 April, 2011
Damas de Blanco. Fotos tomadas por Petr Bradsky. Read more
8 March, 2011
At this time on February 23, 2010, the news spread about the death of Cuban patriot Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who did not hesitate to offer his life when fighting for freedom and human rights in his country. He died after a 86-day hunger strike in protest against the Cuban government and its inhumane treatment of […] Read more
26 January, 2011
This is not a German concentration camp in Auschwitz, 1944. It’s a psychiatric clinic in , 2010. Fernando, a skinny Cuban journalist, jumps to an obsolete computer. “Will you take this to Europe,” he asks me while opening brutal looking pictures taken in a Cuban morgue. “Oh, my God, what is it?” “OK, you don’t […] Read more
20 December, 2010
There is a story circulating in Havana. On a roof of the Central Committee building Raúl Castro came across an old lamp. He rubbed and polished it and the classic genie popped up. “You can ask me for two wishes”, the creature told him. “Shouldn’t I get to make three wishes?” asked Raúl a bit […] Read more
8 December, 2010
It has been an eventful six months in Cuba. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans are facing the reality that their guaranteed lifetime employment is likely coming to an end if the planned economic reforms move forward. Tens of political prisoners, including the majority of the remaining “75” prisoners of conscience from the Black Spring, have been released […] Read more
2 December, 2010
Let’s start with the obvious. With the Republican takeover of Congress, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen becomes the new Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the authorizing committee with jurisdiction over most of Cuba-related legislation. This means not only that no engagement-oriented Cuba bills will move through that committee, and that very possibly, Ros-Lehtinen might well choose […] Read more
1 December, 2010
It has been an eventful six months in Cuba. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans are facing the reality that their guaranteed lifetime employment is likely coming to an end if the planned economic reforms move forward. Tens of political prisoners, including the majority of the remaining “75” prisoners of conscience from the Black Spring, have been released […] Read more
19 October, 2010
Last month, the Cuban government said it planned to fire 500,000 state employees, and perhaps over 1 million, saying “our state cannot and should not continue supporting… state entities with inflated payrolls, losses that damage the economy, are counterproductive, generate bad habits, and deform the workers’ conduct.” Some heralded the announcement as a long-awaited sign […] Read more
23 August, 2010
It is difficult to be against artistic exchanges with any country, including Castro’s Cuba, no matter how repressive and anti-American their regimes might be. Yet, conducting business with them as if they were normal governments emboldens them in their repression at home and hostility toward America abroad. Take the case of USAID employee Alan Gross, […] Read more
5 August, 2010
Fidel Castro ant the other leaders of the Cuban revolution were enjoying two basic advantages when propagating the socialism in comparison with their colleagues in Moscow. They were young and they were part of the Third World. When the “barbudos” (“the bearded ones”) came to power they had considerable appeal for the revolutionary movements in […] Read more
12 July, 2010
When Orlando Zapata Tamayo became the first political prisoner to die in custody since Pedro Luis Boitel in 1972, the Castro regime was forced to deal with its latest international relations disaster. Rather than make amends, Raul and company decided to double down and tighten the screws a little more. The latest issue of the […] Read more
29 June, 2010
It is increasingly likely that the answer will be the affirmative. A simple assessment of recent events is enough to arrive at this fatal conclusion. It might even be able to have a notable influence, although not determinant one, on the final cycle of a determined dictatorial state by forcing both the dialectical calculations and […] Read more
14 June, 2010
When Orlando Zapata Tamayo became the first political prisoner to die in custody since Pedro Luis Boitel in 1972, the Castro regime was forced to deal with its latest international relations disaster. Rather than make amends, Raul and company decided to double down and tighten the screws a little more. The latest issue of the Cuba Europe […] Read more
14 June, 2010
He was meant to be just another prisoner who happened to die – after all, it is a well-known fact that these things happen. The death of political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, however, drove another wedge into the crumbling wall of the Cuban regime. And it seems that the wedge has gone in quite deep […] Read more
11 May, 2010
Granma is ruled by Granpa Raúl Castro has made promises about the issue of freedom of the press. So far, though, the only noticeable change has been the extension of the number of pages of the two main daily newspapers Granma and Juventud rebelde. The usual eight pages of the Friday edition have been replaced with sixteen. Today’s […] Read more
11 May, 2010
“In this country we fear silence,” says Dagoberto Valdés as a way of explaining why he stopped talking just after the loudspeakers went silent. Instead of music, the restaurant in an old part of Havana suddenly fills with the voices of customers and the clattering of their silverware. Dagoberto only waits until the waitress takes […] Read more
19 March, 2010
March 18, 2010 Today, on the seventh anniversary of Cuba’s „Black Spring” the Europe-Cuba NGO Network calls on all EU Institutions to increase their attention to issues of human rights and democracy on the island and to utilize all appropriate measures to support Cuban civil society efforts aimed at expanding the rights and freedoms of […] Read more
25 February, 2010
Yesterday, on February 23, Cuban political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo died, aged 42, after more than 80 days of hunger strike. Elizardo Sánchez, leader of Cuban Human Rights and National Reconciliation Commission, commented: „His death is an example of totalitarian arrogance of power, which does not care about human consequences of its deeds”. The reaction of Pavla […] Read more
14 January, 2010
Since the European Union (EU) came into existence, its evolution and growth has been connected with the defense and promotion of some values and basic democratic principles. Rule of law, democracy, economic liberty, freedom of speech and social progress have outweighed commercial interests when it came to relations with Latin America. The relation with Latin […] Read more
28 December, 2009
The redistribution of lands to Cuban farmers was delineated as a part of the Moncada Program in Fidel Castro’s plea titled “The History Will Absolve Me” in a swift trial, which followed failed attacks on military headquarters Moncada and Carlos Maule de Céspedes de Bayazo. Later on it became known as the “Agrarian Reform Law”, […] Read more
18 December, 2009
The old expression “the more things change the more they stay the same” could hardly be more apropos to Cuba since Raul Castro took over from his more infamous brother. The hope that things were on the verge of changing quickly have long since faded since Raul’s launched a propaganda blitz and a clutch of minor […] Read more
8 December, 2009
The demise of Fidel Castro and the ascendancy of his brother, Raúl, to power in Cuba have prompted certain expectations of regime reform.[1] In mid-2007 measures touted as “Raúl’s reforms” were announced with much international media fanfare. Their impact, however, was disappointing. They consisted primarily of allowing citizens to own cell phones and enter tourist facilities, but […] Read more
24 November, 2009
The old expression “the more things change the more they stay the same” could hardly be more apropos to Cuba since Raul Castro took over from his more infamous brother. The hope that things were on the verge of changing quickly have long since faded since Raul’s launched a propaganda blitz and a clutch of […] Read more
6 November, 2009
One year after three hurricanes ravaged the island in 2008 and the impact of the global financial and economic crisis, the Cuban economy has continued to deteriorate further due to the lack of significant reforms. The overall economic situation on the island has not only worsened the terms of trade facing Cuba because of the […] Read more
29 September, 2009
At the end of the 1990s, Cuban dissidents sought out different media to disseminate the reality of life on the island. Reports on violations by a government that proclaims itself a human rights’ defender began to circulate around the world, damaging the image that the socialist state wants to project to the rest of the […] Read more
17 September, 2009
I share with my fellow Cuban independent journalists the drunkenness of writing freely under a totalitarian dictatorship; of experiencing the catharsis of denouncing the regime’s violations; of feeling useful to my people knowing that, in the long run, what I write will contribute to a better future. In 1998, I was initiated as an independent […] Read more
4 September, 2009
It’s about time to extinguish the fire of confrontation. Cuba and the United States must refrain from attitudes that trigger disbelief and resentment. It’s more than a momentary desire, it has become a steadfast aim based at pragmatic thinking and other attitudes that would eventually accelerate restoration of diplomatic relations that have been broken since […] Read more
5 August, 2009
Madrid – The first one that forgets the murderer is the victim. He forgets it all. The sound of the shot in the head of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya would be her last memory. The bang and the nothingness. The duty, of neither forgetting her nor her executioners, falls on all of us, just […] Read more
15 July, 2009
It is no easier today than it was fifty years ago to gauge the state of play within the Cuban nomenclatura. In fact it is now even more difficult to assess how decisions are being made, how power is shared and delegated, and who in the leadership tiers below the Castro brothers may be rising […] Read more
15 July, 2009
The Europe – Cuba NGO Network welcomes the EU Council’s new conclusions on Cuba, due to the emphasis it placed on reaffirming the EU’s commitment to prioritizing human rights; the release of political prisoners; and the relevance of the 1996 Common Position on Cuba. The full text of the EU Council’s Foreign Relations’ conclusions released […] Read more
20 June, 2009
Raul may have assumed the presidency over a year ago, but it is still far from clear how much he is control over the country. Fidel continues to cast a long shadow over everything, even though he hasn’t been seen in public for almost three years, and to voice his displeasure with his brother’s efforts […] Read more
16 June, 2009
Summary of Primary Policy Recommendations The European Union should Maintain the 1996 Common Position on Cuba Continue to call for the release of all political prisoners Honor its pledge to also meet with members of independent civil society in Cuba Insist that the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) be allowed to meet with […] Read more
4 May, 2009
Your Excellency, As Representatives of organizaciones of Cuba’s civil society That defend human rights, we call on UN Member States to uphold Resolution 60/251, que established the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. It stipulates That its members Should be Elected Among states That “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights.” In […] Read more
20 April, 2009
Honorable members of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission of the OAS: For us, it is an honor to be able to be her today to share with you, in particular, the situation of unionists that find themselves detained today in Cuba, as well as the situation of all Cuban political prisoners in general. Only 8 months […] Read more
1 April, 2009
Cubans are gearing up for what they fear will be another “Special Period” of economic hardship, following two hurricanes in 2008 that increased food shortages and intensified their struggle to survive. Despite promises of reform by the government, they see little improvement in their daily lives. While many Cubans expect the communist system to collapse […] Read more
13 March, 2009
Cuba, two perspectives: The European Union and Cubans Association of Ibero-Americans for Freedom The Association of Ibero-Americans for Freedom, presided by Dr. Antonio Guedes, has asked me to share with you some reflections about the Cuban democratic opposition. I accept the challenge but begin by saying that I cannot speak on behalf of the dozens […] Read more
12 March, 2009
In Cuba, the relativity of time has been confirmed. Fifty years has flown by and six years feels like an eternity. Only 50 years of the Revolution have passed and, but according to ours leaders on January 1st, they are counting on there being 50 more. Clearly, it should be asked of each Cuban how […] Read more
4 February, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama campaigned in favor of changes in U.S. policy toward Cuba, but it is too soon to tell how much U.S. policy will change, or if an Obama Administration’s actions will lead to significant change in relations between Washington and Havana. There is no doubt that relations will change between Cuban Americans and […] Read more
28 January, 2009
PIN’s semi-annual Human Rights Report on Cuba is comprised of various reports sent directly from the island by five different independent Cuban human rights groups that gather information and verify all of the charges. I. General Overview (June 2008 – November 2008) June During the month of June, at least four common criminals hung themselves […] Read more
9 January, 2009
In Cuba, when Fidel Castro ceded power to his brother Raul, the destiny of the island became full of questions and speculations. The new dictator, who during all of these decades has always lived in the shadow of his older brother, is considered by many to be a pragmatist that could take steps towards transformations. Today, […] Read more
15 December, 2008
When Raul told the Cuban people that they “needed to get used to not only receiving good news,” few could have predicted how right he would be. Since Raul’s speech was given on July 26, Cuba has been battered by three powerful hurricanes, the global financial system has entered into the deepest recession since the […] Read more
15 December, 2008
When Cuba was apparently getting ready to execute a few reform measures after the juridical cession of power from Fidel Castro to his brother Raúl, the country was hit by a triad of negative sudden events and traditional political patterns. First, the capitalist world that saw Cuba as a sort of communist Jurassic park in […] Read more
10 December, 2008
In January next year it will be fifty years since the Revolution began back in 1959. Moreover, it will also be the 20th anniversary of the “Special Period”, the deepest crisis in the history of our island which started after the fall of the Eastern Block that brought about the end of the huge subsidies which […] Read more
14 November, 2008
Today, as the communist system in Cuba is weakening, the natural question being asked is: what will come next? The people of Cuba are constantly being warned by the regime that the fall of communism and a transition to democracy and market economy would destroy Cuba by introducing poverty and inequality. Often the communist rulers’ […] Read more
5 November, 2008
When General Raúl Castro assumed power provisionally, due to the illness of its brother at the end of July 2006, some analysts thought he would manage to usher in an epoch of economic changes to fix Cuba’s troubled society. This perception was largely based on the personal characteristics of the younger Castro, as well as […] Read more
15 October, 2008
It has always been said that there is nothing worse than a blind person who doesn’t want to see, likewise it could be asserted that there is nothing worse than an idealist who wants to see that which does not exist. The so-called reforms enacted by the Cuban government, starting when Raul Castro assumed the […] Read more
1 October, 2008
A recent survey indicates that many Cubans view their country’s current condition as “very bad.” Cubans said they are personally affected by the high cost of living and lack of housing. Public services in Cuba are also far below the public’s expectations. However, despite the economic hardships they face, Cubans said they would want to […] Read more
22 September, 2008
Political prisoners Adolfo Fernández Sainz, Pedro Arguelles Morán and Antonio Ramón Díaz Sánchez have all declared a hunger strike since Friday, September 19th at Canaletas prison, located more than 250 miles from Havana in the province of Ciego de Avila. Fernández declared himself on hunger strike after a visit from security personnel in which various […] Read more
27 August, 2008
In her article, Our Grain for Every Day, on Sunday August 17th in Juventud Rebelde (Rebellious Youth) María Elena Martin González reveals the productive and technical challenges peasants and governmental companies dedicated to the cultivation of the rice are facing. The harvesters, investigators and officials interviewed by her layed out the problems and the plans […] Read more
11 August, 2008
“We must return to the land! We must make it produce!” emphatically expressed the President of the Council of State during the closing session of the National Assembly on July 11th. About this issue, he said that they would very soon enact “the necessary legal orders to initiate the turning over of lands in usufruct […] Read more
5 August, 2008
HAVANA, Cuba – The events over the last two years in Cuba would provide enough material to surpass Franz Kafka’s novels or to unhinge Karl Marx, if it weren’t for the suffering these events represent for the people being jerked around by the broken promises, the enigmatic changes that never come and the tantrum of […] Read more
21 July, 2008
HAVANA, Cuba – The enactment of the Decree/Law 259, which deals with the turning over of idle lands in usufruct (i.e., the right to use something that belongs to another, in this case land that belongs to the government), could start the process of structural changes announced earlier this year. Apparently, the news divulged by […] Read more
15 July, 2008
The Cuban state “cannot be treated as a normal government,” said the former director of the magazine Vitral, Dagoberto Valdés, in reference to the EU’s decision in June to lift diplomatic sanctions placed against Havana in 2003. “The EU’s new gesture, under the leadership of the Spanish government, which “took over” the responsibility of leading […] Read more
1 July, 2008
Over the last five months, the Cuban regime arrested and jailed 22 dissidents and opposition activists, 13 of whom were still in prison at the time of this report. The closed door trials were problematic on several levels. They were held in judicial chambers without public access, tended to be so quick that they lacked basic […] Read more
14 June, 2008
When Raul Castro rose to the presidency in February and initially set off a wave of small reforms, he raised people’s hopes on and off the island that major changes were finally on the verge of happening. Six months later, however, Raul seems far more concerned with making sure that he stays in power than […] Read more
2 June, 2008
For many years we have asked ourselves why the Cuban government acts one way or another. In the end, no one has been able to supply a correct answer. In everything is done Fidel Castro’s way, which means that the regime always acts in favor of his interests; to maintain the revolution and the socialism, […] Read more
23 May, 2008
On March 18, 2003, when the world’s attention turned to the war in Iraq, a wave of repression swept across Cuba. 75 dissidents were arbitrarily arrested. 27 of them were journalists. They were all convicted to harsh jail sentences. On March 26, 2003, the EU Presidency issued a Declaration on behalf of the European Union […] Read more
9 May, 2008
Havana, Prague/ After 50 years of Fidel Castro’s despotic rule, the Cuban government led by the younger Castro, Raúl, introduced a series of decrees that give Cubans, and the whole world, the impression that Cuba is becoming a better country. The opposition calls these cosmetic changes, such as allowing Cubans to own mobile phones, buy […] Read more
6 May, 2008
Members of the political police harassed an 80 year old opponent in his own home to prevent him from blemishing the festivities of the first of May. Alfredo Guilleuma Rodriguez has become a “danger” for the authorities of the state. So much so that the State decided to place to two police officers and a […] Read more
25 April, 2008
This issue of the Cuba Europe Dialogue is dedicated to the 55 Prisoners of Conscience and Oscar Biscet González, who have remained incarcerated in deplorable conditions for over five years now for doing nothing more than exercising their civil rights. When they were arrested in March 2003, they became the latest examples of extreme injustice […] Read more
6 April, 2008
Descargar PDF: Cuba Europe Dialogues: Vol 3, Numero 7, ESP: Presos de Consciencia Este número de Diálogos Cuba-Europa está dedicado a los 55 presos de conciencia y a Oscar Biscet González, que llevan ya más de cinco años encarcelados bajo condiciones deplorables por el puro hecho de ejercer sus derechos civiles. Tras su encarcelación en […] Read more
4 April, 2008
Symbol of the generation of independent reporters who work within the island thanks to the Internet, Yoani Sanchez gives us a chronicle of daily life in Havana after the departure of Fidel Castro. On February 24, a few hours after he assumed the presidency Raul Castro and having requested permission from the Cuban parliament to […] Read more
21 March, 2008
HAVANA, Cuba, (wwww.cubanet.org) – The Cuban government has recently promoted its decision to sign a series of pacts with the United Nations. The commitments covered are in areas as sensitive as can be – civil law, along with political, cultural and social rights. The most extraordinary thing about this event was that nothing has been […] Read more
16 March, 2008
The time has come for the EU to help the people of Cuba, who we believe are currently suffering government oppression Five years ago, the European Union was on the verge of fulfilling one of the aspirations of the Velvet revolutions that swept across central and eastern Europe by expanding from 15 to 25 members […] Read more
6 March, 2008
HAVANA, Cuba – The situation on the ground today in Cuba is extremely dangerous and delicate. It has been clouded now by the widely predicted, but diffuse renunciation, of Fidel Castro to the main people in charge of running the country. The new government has tried to demonstrate confidence and political security. All of it […] Read more
26 February, 2008
We welcome the news that Fidel Castro has stepped down as Cuban leader. Forty-nine years as the head of a dictatorial regime which has deprived the nation of truly free elections is hardly an honorable mark of distinction. The time for a change had long been overdue. Sadly, Fidel’s abdication has not been meant to […] Read more
25 February, 2008
HAVANA, Cuba – In a store where goods are sold in CUCs (convertible pesos) located in La Puntilla, on the corner of First Avenue and Zero Street, in Miramar, by the municipal beach, people are lost in the contemplation of a special bin of apples from Virginia, USA. The large, red apples seem more like […] Read more
11 February, 2008
(PRAGUE, Czech Republic) – A Czech NGO launched a new campaign called “Hotel Cuba – Two Faces, One Country” on Thursday to draw attention to the complicated nature of tourism in Cuba. Tomáš Hanák, a well known Czech actor, participated in the event by playing Cuba’s aging dictator, Fidel Castro, and pretending to prevent the […] Read more
5 February, 2008
Havana, CUBA – Ten thousand students representing the University of Computer Sciences (UCI) questioned several of the Cuban government’s policies in a meeting held with the president of National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcón. The youths asked several tough questions. Why are salaries paid in pesos while products are sold in other currencies? Why can’t they travel […] Read more
24 January, 2008
Havana, Cuba – The Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations, Felipe Pérez Roque, stated in front of some 60 people that the circulation of the two types of currency on the island prevents citizens from acquiring basic necessities. The encounter took place in the neighborhood, El Moro (the Moor), in the municipality Arroyo Naranjo (Orange Tree […] Read more
19 December, 2007
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11 December, 2007
Both the Cuban government and its opponents used International Human Rights Day as a platform pushing for changes on the island. The Foreign Minister claimed that Cuba would sign an international pact on civil rights early in the coming year, while members of the opposition took to the streets calling for the release of all […] Read more
18 October, 2007
This Sunday, 21 October 2007, Cuba will begin municipal elections for the first time since Fidel Castro handed over the power to his brother Raúl in 2006. These elections are a first step towards the elections for the National Assembly that will be held in the spring of 2008. Delegates elected at the municipal level […] Read more
17 October, 2007
The Celebrated “Camel” Bus of Havana To take a Camello bus and move around Havana is an incredible experience, just comparable to a Saturday night film seasoned with horror, violence, adult talk and sex. It is a real psychological and physical torture. Apart from other disadvantages, the Camello offers sluggish speed and poor ventilation. Considering […] Read more
3 October, 2007
Havana, September 19, 2007. Former political prisoner and president of the opposition movement For a New Republic, José Díaz Silva, was savagely beaten by the Calabazar political police in the municipality of Boyeros for participating in a non-violent march following a mass offered for the freedom of all Cuban political prisoners. On September 14th, 21 members […] Read more
12 September, 2007
For many years I wanted to visit . I was actually invited on several occasions, even by Fidel Castro himself. But I was always reluctant to go there, since I did not want to be accused of being a “puppet” of the communists. We were fighting Pinochet’s dictatorship and I did not want anyone to think […] Read more