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(credit: photo courtesy of Daniel Shak via Twitter) LAS VEGAS (105.3 THE FAN) - So Mark Cuban, Chris Paul and Tiger Woods walk into a bar… It sounds like the beginning of a joke in need of a punchline. But in fact, it’s the rich a... Continue reading
One of a collection of posters in support of FOR ANOTHER CUBA. Artist: Rolando Pulido. Tweet Continue reading
Cuba Nostalgia, a three-day event that celebrates pre-Castro Cuba, once again drew those wanting to relive the past and those trying to reconnect with their roots. Continue reading
… time ever record the Abakuya dance tradition, which has its roots in Nigeria, then Cuba and then Equatorial Guinea. In the forest Lucy goes in… Continue reading
… he hopes a deal can be reached within months rather than years. Peace negotiations began in Cuba in November. Mr Marquez told reporters in the… Continue reading
Cuban Diary XIX: What the UN Rapporteur Should See / Angel Santiesteban
Posted on May 19, 2013

If the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva saw through a crack the
horrors that occur in Cuban prisons, surely it would do two things:

1 – Expel Cuba from the United Nations.

2 – Knowing the alleged violations that are occurring in the prison of
Guantanamo Bay, according to accusations from the Castro government,
they could send the directors who lead the prisons in Cuba — true
concentration camps — to pass a course at Guantanamo, in order to
improve their behavior.

The dictatorship, always obsessed with attacking the United States,
transmits TV images denigrating what is allegedly happening in
Guantanamo Bay.

It's not my job to defend it or make value judgments about it, this is
the role of the American people; my obligation as a Cuban and
intellectual is to denounce the terrible tortures that take place in the
prison where I have been held and of which I am not a witness.

At present, in the cell, there is a young man with his mouth sewn shut
with wire. Today he passed through the prison before the frightened
looks from the other inmates.

There are daily fights between prisoners and between them and the
guards. I guess this is common in any prison in the world but I am not a
specialist to confirm that. But here, when the guards confront a
prisoner, the ratio is ten to one, along with their batons and pepper
sprays.

The food they serve is a tiny amount and badly prepared. It consists of
a few grams o rice, a boiled egg, and a colorless and odorless but
always disgusting soup.

The barracks are populated by prisoners who have completed their
sentences, and who, because of bureaucratic problems, remained locked up
without any consideration. The constant beatings and dungeons are
increasing their sentences along with the blackmail to not demand their
"rights."

Silence is the only ally of the Cuban prisoner; talking could lead to a
new condemnatory charge in the most arbitrary of decisions.

They wait and resign themselves. They have no alternatives.

That is the stark reality of the Cuban prisoner, who lives without
guarantees of his rights or the chance to make demands. Even without
reviewing the records of those processed in light of international
guarantees applied to the condemned, I can say without any fear of being
mistaken that if that were to happen half of the prison population would
be freed.

A court that has before it a young man without hope, who, unfortunately,
is a part of the children nobody wanted, who has left school and has no
place to be nor can he be offered a reliable life project that invites
him to get on track that isn't emigration, the place he can best be held
is in jail.

A great part of Cuban youth that has not found a way to go into exile is
in prison; and I say this with total confidence, they are following
there a criminal course for their future as thugs.

Hopefully the Rapporteur who is sent to Cuba will be able to meet with
the people who so greatly suffer the need for him.

Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580
May 2013

18 May 2013

http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-diary-xix-what-the-un-rapporteur-should-see-angel-santiesteban/ Continue reading
Cuba: Sex, Taking All Comers / Ivan Garcia
Posted on May 19, 2013

There is still the ration book. Potatoes are scarce, the price of fruit
is going through the roof, and drinking a natural orange juice is a
luxury. Sanitary pads are only distributed every two months — a package
of ten to menstruating women. And connecting to the Internet is still a
science fiction story for a large part of the population.

However, sex is liberated. A national sport. According to some, the
infidelity between couples is a gene human beings carry. If those verse
in it give a tour of Cuba, we can confirm their strange theories.

And they confirm that teenagers of 12 and 13 are "experts" in the field.
Unaware that Australian is a continent, or that Henry Lee was in
independence fighter in the American Revolution and not the creator of
Lee jeans. But when it comes to sex, they have countless stories to
tell. For many boys, their fathers teach them from the time they're
small, that the more women they have the more macho they are.

It's the ABCs of a Cuban father to his son; life is dick. Men don't cry.
And the boss of the house is the one with balls. If in the 19th and 20th
century fathers paid prostitutes to de-flower their sons, today it's not
necessary.

Most children are more up-to-date and more promiscuous than their
parents. Having a "honey" or a lover is synonymous with masculinity. An
athlete of sex. A son of a bitch of the street.

The more lovers, the more drinks friends pay for. In the bars they offer
"wise" council about how to get into an impossible female. For hours,
they tell sex anecdotes without ceasing to drink like Cossacks, beer and
cheap rum.

Sex in Cuba is messy, but it has its hierarchies. Not like the
neighborhood pimp that manages a five-star hotel. A capital that's a
general. A boring and monotonous deputy to parliament that's a mandarin.

The "honeys" of the superiors respect them. Secretly they look at their
breasts or butt, but desist from the rude compliment or indecent
proposal. A boss can fire you or make your life impossible if he finds
you prowling around his woman.

Meanwhile, the more stars on your epaulette or if your photo appears
among the members of the Central Committee, the more chances you have to
give major luxuries to your lovers. You can even choose: blondes
brunettes, mulatto or black. Or have a collection with one of each. As
all are stunning, with pride and discretion we see you on the weekend in
exclusive recreational villas for senior officers, or at parties their
wives don't attend.

Being the "honey" of a major character in Cuba, is synonymous with
social status. As if rocket-propelled, you climb the ladder at work. All
over Havana everyone is talking about the meteoric rise of a famous
television report, who is both beautiful and talented. According to the
rumors, the lucky guy who sleeps with her is the "boss of the bosses."

It's still remembered that in the 90s, when Carlos Aldana was the third
strong man on the island, in charge of the ideological sector of the
Communist Party, came to have three "darling" journalists, the three
well-known.

Even Fidel Castro, between sips of Jack's Daniel, liked to talk in
private about his sexual exploits, like the affair he had with the
German Marita Lorenz and she told about it in a book. In a
macho-Fidelista Revolution like the Cuban one, having amorous adventures
in bulk sets you apart from the pack. A rogue, a pimp. A hallmark of
virility that makes the difference.

In a note from Juan Juan Almeida published in Marti News, told about the
debauchery of Cuban officials in Angola. He gave a figure, taking from
the Ministry of the Armed Forces: 40% of the woman who were on the
mission in Angola were harassed or raped. That figure has never appeared
in the newspaper Granma. For me, Almeida Jr. is a highly credible
source. He lived among the creme de la creme of the Cuban hierarchy. His
father, a great person in the opinion of his relatives, took to his bed
every woman who stirred his pleasure.

And I pardon their children and wives. The great difference between
being the "honey" of a leader and dying of hunger, are luxuries and
comforts. The guy with few resources invites you to a movie and buys you
popcorn or peanuts. The "bigwig" puts a roof over your head. And if you
really satisfy him he buys you a car. And in addition, you climb the
ladder in your profession.

There are women who live off their lovers, like the pimps off their
prostitutes. And sometimes they have more than one "girlfriend," they
compete to see who gets more and remains preferred. Recently I heard an
argument between two hookers. One said to the other, "Yeah, I'm a
monster, I bought my boyfriend a motorcycle and three gold chains. The
others just give him shirts and sneakers."

You can live in tile house in Carraguao, or a residence in Miramar. But
if you were raised to it, you have to have a "honey." In a conversation
between "tough men," if you don't talk about the "girlfriends," "honeys"
or lovers you have, they might label you Catholic or retarded. A bore
who doesn't know how to use the penis God gave you. That is, taking care
not to mention or even look at the boss's lover.

Ivan Garcia

16 May 2013

http://translatingcuba.com/cuba-sex-taking-all-comers-ivan-garcia/ Continue reading
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If the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva saw through a crack the horrors that occur in Cuban prisons, surely it would do two things: 1 – Expel Cuba from the United Nations. 2 – Knowing the alleged violations that … Continue reading Continue reading
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Cuban Parliament Speaker Esteban Lazo said his country is interested in expanding economic cooperation with Russia. Lazo, president of Cuba's unicameral parliament, the People's Power National Assembly, Continue reading
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There is still the ration book. Potatoes are scarce, the price of fruit is going through the roof, and drinking a natural orange juice is a luxury. Sanitary pads are only distributed every two months — a package of ten … Continue reading Continue reading
*LOS ANGELES - Multiple GRAMMY Award-winner Natalie Cole 's first Spanish-language album, " Natalie Cole en Espanol " will be released June 25 on Verve/Universal . The album finds Natalie personally Continue reading
A Cuban cigar-themed custom chopper was probably one of the last things we thought we'd see. However, as weird such a contraption might seem, Tarhan Telli of TT Custom Choppers fame was eager to show Continue reading
If in every dream the dreamer is the author of the fable that he lives while he sleeps, in every journey the traveller interacts with his own emotions, the landscape, some passengers and with cities that evoke events and personalities … Continue reading Continue reading
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Note: The following lecture was delivered at the Africa & U.S. Imperialism Conference held in Detroit on May 18, 2013. The event was sponsored by the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice Continue reading
Since 2007 my wife and I Yoaxis Marcheco have also been serving as assistant professors at the Luis Manuel González Peña Baptist Theological Seminary of the Trinity Baptist church in the city of Santa Clara. The magnanimous Office also opposes … Continue reading Continue reading
In January 2010 the Office used its networks and spokespeople to interfere with my transfer as a pastor in Taguayabon to the Baptist church in Bejucal, then in Havana province, now Mayabeque Province. According to the spokesman whom they used … Continue reading Continue reading
I, the priest Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in the town of Taguayabon, Cuba, find myself in the painful and distressing need to condemn before the world the manipulation and blackmail of the so-called Office of … Continue reading Continue reading