Stories about Cuba from November, 2011
Cuba: Papal Visit Challenges
Crossing the Barbed Wire suggests that the proposed Papal visit to Cuba next year “presents challenges for three essential actors of the current Cuba”; El Cafe Cubano, meanwhile, says: “I don't believe the Pope's visit will do anything to ‘CHANGE’ things in Cuba.”
Cuba: The Democracy of Twitter
Generation Y is shocked at the “arrogance” with which Mariela Castro responded to a question she posed on Twitter, but still believes that “verbal attack is a habit that can be cured. The voice can be trained, tolerance acquired, the ear opened to listening to others. Twitter is a magnificent...
Cuba: Athlete Forgotten
“The [glorification of] the standing of our athletes in the medal count and categoris[ing] this ‘as an achievement of the revolution’” gets Ricardo Medina thinking about “Rauler Castellanos Moreno, a black youth from Pinar del Rio who, despite his victory [in the 2007 Special Olympics] now lives in inhuman conditions.”
Cuba: “Antunez” Reportedly Critical
Pedazos de La Isla reports that “Yris Tamara Aguilera, wife of Jorge Luis Garcia ‘Antunez’ and active resistance member herself, has made declarations in regards to the health of her husband who was jailed two days ago during a non-violent sit-in.”
Cuba: “Antunez” Under Investigation
Cuban bloggers report on the re-arrest of the dissident “Antunez”, here and here.
Cuba: On the Pope's Potential Visit
On hearing news that the Pope may visit Cuba next year, diaspora blogger babalu says: “If the Pope does indeed visit Cuba and the Castro regime is still in power, there can only be two possible outcomes: either the visit will be ‘apolitical,'…or the Pope will stand up and vehemently...
Cuba: Frustrating Pay Day
“Yesterday was payday for retired people and active workers who collect their pay by debit card”: Rebeca Monzo blogs about the “craziness” that ensued.
Cuba: Segregation Sail
Reinaldo Escobar and his wife Yoani Sanchez get kicked off a yacht tour reserved for tourists; he recounts the experience here.
Cuba: Encounter with a Fumigator
“Many people in Cuba fail to understand the gap between social and private space,” writes Daisy Valera, whose run-in with an official fumigator left her with “the feeling of being overwhelmed and without rights, even within the four walls of where I live.”
Cuba: Catholic Solidarity with Dissidents
Pedazos de La Isla is heartened by this weekend's “display of solidarity [by] loyal churchgoers [who] showed solidarity with the Ladies in White, joining the religious figures in their successful attempt to deter a savage beat down of the non-violent women who simply demand freedom.”
Cuba: Too Costly to Eat
“You’d think that agricultural production would have increased under the reform momentum of our General-President”: Without Evasion blogs about the supposed growth of the Cuban economy, which she calls “the ultimate Cuban surrealism.”
Cuba: speaking to La Joven Cuba
Along the Malecón interviews Harold Cárdenas and Roberto González, co-founders of La Joven Cuba, a blog based in Matanzas.
Cuba: Diaspora Discusses New Real Estate Law
Bloggers, primarily from the Cuban diaspora, are having a field day with news of a new law that will allow Cubans to buy and sell real estate legitimately. Many feel that there are still too many restrictions.
Cuba: Sports Showdown at PanAm Games
Iván García will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Cuban athletes at the upcoming Pan American games, saying that Cuba will have to perform at its very best – especially when it comes to beating Brazil.
Cuba: Bloggers Discuss the Internet “Offline” on Radio Martí
On September 22, Radio Martí presented a program focused on the increasing visibility of bloggers and social media in Cuba, and the unique ways that new media is used on the island, where Internet and mobile phone penetration rates are extremely low.
Cuba: Dengue Outbreak?
Blogging from Havana, Bad Handwriting fears that “a new epidemic of dengue fever is upon us.”
Cuba: Dissident Detentions
Pedazos de La Isla reports on “beatings, arrests, and vigilance” for the month thus far and publishes another post saying that “the situation of the activists arrested on Monday, October 31st has become increasingly worrisome, as their whereabouts are unknown, as far as Antunez, Yris Perez, Idania Yanez, and Damaris...
Cuba: Church & State
“At 75, Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega cannot complain about his lack of recognition”: Another perspective on the work and influence of the head of the Catholic Church in Cuba, by Havana Times.
Cuba: The 10 Per Cent
Cuban diaspora bloggers say they are the 10% percent in the OccupyCuba movement.
Cuba: A Society Without Trees?
“It is called cyclone prevention. It is called telephony and electricity without ecological interference. It is called sanitation against disease. It is called sunlight. It is called power”: Orlando Luis Pardo thinks that the felling of trees might be “part of a deferred vengeance against the government”, but fears that...
Cuba: Archbishop Ortega Carries On
Unlike other bloggers and many dissidents, The Cuban Triangle supports the Archbishop of Havana, whose resignation letter was dismissed by the Pope, who “told him to stay where he is, and to continue doing what he is doing.”
