EFE, La Habana
El arzobispo de La Habana, cardenal Jaime Ortega, dijo hoy que tiene la certeza de que todos los presos políticos detenidos en la llamada ‘‘primavera negra'' de 2003 serán excarcelados, como ya ha sucedido con 32 de ellos. Ortega pronunció esas palabras durante la homilía por la misa en honor de la Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, patrona de Cuba, en la parroquia del mismo nombre de la capital ante una iglesia abarrotada de fieles. En una homilía más "política'' que en años anteriores, Ortega se refirió a las excarcelaciones de los presos políticos, negociada personalmente por él con el Gobierno cubano, y que se tradujo en el anuncio de 52 excarcelaciones del grupo de 75 detenidos en una oleada represiva en 2003 (el resto ya fueron liberados por distintos motivos). Ortega dijo tener "la certeza de que todos los que forman parte del grupo de prisioneros de 2003 serán liberados'', en alusión a una decena de ellos que se niegan a partir a España y a dejar Cuba, como han hecho todos los demás hasta ahora en el momento de ser excarcelados. El cardenal también se refirió a los "muchos cambios que desde hace tiempo se espera que ocurran'' en Cuba, y a este respecto pidió a la Virgen del Cobre "que los cambios buenos lleguen'' y que puedan "aceptar los aspectos difíciles que ellos puedan traer consigo''. Aunque no los mencionó, sus palabras fueron interpretadas como referencia a los ajustes económicos que el Gobierno cubano ha anunciado como necesarios para dotar de mayor eficiencia a la economía, y que se han traducido hasta el momento en recortes -aunque muy leves- del enorme sistema asistencial cubano. Por último, el Cardenal se refirió a la espiritualidad del pueblo cubano y se congratuló de que "esto puede haber sido incomprendido o rechazado en un pasado que, afortunadamente, se ha hecho cada vez más lejano''.
La Iglesia cubana vive en los últimos tiempos una mayor tolerancia en todas sus actividades, lejos de la represión sufrida en los primeros años de la revolución comunista. En la procesión celebrada hoy en los alrededores de la Iglesia de la Caridad del Cobre participaron miles de personas de todas las edades, que cantaron y dieron vivas a su patrona. Muchas de las mujeres iban ataviadas con prendas de color amarillo, que es el color de Ochún, la divnidad con que los cultos afrocubanos asocian a la Virgen de la Caridad, en un sincretismo que nunca ha sido visto con buenos ojos por la Iglesia pese a que no lo puede evitar. La Fiesta de la Patrona de la Isla ha coincidido con la peregrinación nacional de una imagen de la Virgen iniciada en agosto pasado con motivo del 400 aniversario de su primera aparición que se celebrará en el año 2012.
Según la leyenda, la imagen de esta Virgen apareció por primera vez en 1612 ante tres pescadores que iban en una barca por la bahía oriental de Nipe. Uno de ellos, Juan Moreno, supuestamente dijo entonces que habían visto "una cosa blanca sobre la espuma del agua'' y que, al acercarse, encontraron la imagen de una virgen morena con un niño en una mano, flotando sobre una tabla con la inscripción "Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridad''. Los obispos católicos de Cuba convocaron en 2008 a todos los creyentes y no creyentes del país a participar del festejo porque la Virgen es símbolo y "vínculo de unidad'' entre los cubanos. La Virgen de La Caridad tiene su santuario nacional en El Cobre, pequeño pueblo cercano a Santiago, a unos 900 kilómetros al este de La Habana. Fue declarada patrona de Cuba el 10de mayo de 1916 y coronada personalmente por el papa Juan Pablo II el 24 de enero de 1998, durante su visita a la isla.
Read more: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2010/09/08/798582/cardenal-ortega-pide-a-la-virgen.html#ixzz1Wf3bZdGl
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
From the Government: Cuban Airline and Pharmaceutical Executives Convicted on Bribery
Saturday, 30 July 2011 13:58
Havana, Cuba, Jul 30.- The Provincial Court of Havana convicted ten former executives and officials of the Cuban Institute of Civil Aeronautics and the Commercializing Enterprise of Pharmaceutical Products HEBER BIOTEC S.A on bribery and handed down sentences of three to 13 years.
An official statement released Friday says the defendants were found guilty of favoring foreign companies in negotiations, at the expense of Cuban enterprises, in exchange of cash bribes and perks. The communiqué, which provides the names of the people found guilty and the sentences they were given, states that the sanctions were based on the seriousness of the crimes for the substantial loss to the Cuban economy and the deterioration of the defendants’ ethical values, as well as the level of responsibility of each of them and their conduct. The stiffest sanction went to Cubana de Aviacion’s Freight Director Jose Heriberto Prieto Ferrer, sentenced to 13 years. There were other three executives from Cubana de Aviacion with sentences of 10 to six years; one from Corporación de la Aviación Civil S.A (CACSA); and one from AEROVARADERO S.A. both condemned to six years. From HEBER BIOTEC S.A, former Head of the Exports Department Jair Rodriguez Martin received a 10-year sentence, while Edamir Medina Mendez, exports technician was condenmed to three. The Court also convicted the manager and deputy manager of CARIBE CARGO S.A, Alexei Crespo Gutiérrez and Maria Antonia Lopez Gonzalez on continued bribery and handed down sentences of six and seven years repectively. The two latter defendants are still pending for another trial on corruption. In addition to the jail terms, the sanctions included the confiscation of goods and cash adquired by the defendants as the result of the illegal activity and the prohibition of exercising the professions, posts or positions they were holding. The communiqué says the defendants and the prosecutor have the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.(ACN)
Havana, Cuba, Jul 30.- The Provincial Court of Havana convicted ten former executives and officials of the Cuban Institute of Civil Aeronautics and the Commercializing Enterprise of Pharmaceutical Products HEBER BIOTEC S.A on bribery and handed down sentences of three to 13 years.
An official statement released Friday says the defendants were found guilty of favoring foreign companies in negotiations, at the expense of Cuban enterprises, in exchange of cash bribes and perks. The communiqué, which provides the names of the people found guilty and the sentences they were given, states that the sanctions were based on the seriousness of the crimes for the substantial loss to the Cuban economy and the deterioration of the defendants’ ethical values, as well as the level of responsibility of each of them and their conduct. The stiffest sanction went to Cubana de Aviacion’s Freight Director Jose Heriberto Prieto Ferrer, sentenced to 13 years. There were other three executives from Cubana de Aviacion with sentences of 10 to six years; one from Corporación de la Aviación Civil S.A (CACSA); and one from AEROVARADERO S.A. both condemned to six years. From HEBER BIOTEC S.A, former Head of the Exports Department Jair Rodriguez Martin received a 10-year sentence, while Edamir Medina Mendez, exports technician was condenmed to three. The Court also convicted the manager and deputy manager of CARIBE CARGO S.A, Alexei Crespo Gutiérrez and Maria Antonia Lopez Gonzalez on continued bribery and handed down sentences of six and seven years repectively. The two latter defendants are still pending for another trial on corruption. In addition to the jail terms, the sanctions included the confiscation of goods and cash adquired by the defendants as the result of the illegal activity and the prohibition of exercising the professions, posts or positions they were holding. The communiqué says the defendants and the prosecutor have the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.(ACN)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Castro Regime's Survival Depends Greatly on Ill Venezuelan Leader's Largess
WSJ.com
JULY 20, 2011
In Cuba, a Prayer for Chávez
By JOSé DE CóRDOBA
CARACAS—Venezuela's ailing President Hugo Chávez says he is praying to Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the spirits of the Venezuelan savannah to help him beat his cancer.
Mr. Chávez hasn't mentioned it, but probably no one is praying harder for his health than Fidel and Raúl Castro in Cuba. Their ossified regime now largely depends on help from their ally in Caracas and they will do everything possible—short of an invasion—to keep Mr. Chávez or a like-minded ally in power, say U.S. officials, Venezuelan opposition leaders and analysts. Venezuela ships about 115,000 barrels per day of oil at cut rate prices to Cuba, meeting about 60% of the island's oil needs, according to a recent Brookings Institution paper, which calculates the value of the oil and other Venezuelan aid at about $5 billion a year, a major portion of Cuba's hard-currency earnings. In exchange, Cuba has sent to Venezuela tens of thousands of Cuban doctors, sports technicians, and intelligence and security experts, helping Mr. Chávez stay in power. Havana's relationship to Venezuela is akin to its economic dependence on the former Soviet Union in the 30 years before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which led to a 35% fall in Cuba's economy.
"To save Chávez is to conserve [Raúl's] presidential seat," wrote Yoani Sánchez, a well-known Cuban blogger and critic of the regime. "To lose him could lead to [Raúl's] own downfall."
Were Mr. Chávez to become gravely ill—he arrived in Havana Saturday to undergo chemotherapy after doctors recently removed a "baseball-sized" tumor—the Cuban government is likely to use its sway to try to shape events. Analysts say the Cuban leadership has significant clout, owing to its relationship with Mr. Chávez and top Venezuelan officials. The Cubans could also deploy their intelligence services to help one faction at the expense of another. "Cuba is the most important foreign power with a stake in Venezuela," said Moisés Naím, a former Venezuelan cabinet minister and an analyst at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "They are not going to be passive bystanders. They will be players." There is no political relationship in the Americas quite like the tie between Fidel Castro and Mr. Chávez. Mr. Castro, who officially handed power to his younger brother Raúl in 2008, has been a mentor, spiritual and political father, savior, psychiatrist, and even bedside doctor to Mr. Chávez. In return, Mr. Chávez has bankrolled Cuba's government and given Mr. Castro occasion to dream again of a Latin America united against his bëte noire, the U.S., or as both men sometimes call it, "the empire."
At times, Mr. Chávez and top Cuban officials have talked of melding the two countries into a single confederated state—an unpopular idea among most Venezuelans. "Cuba has two presidents, Fidel and Chávez," said then Cuban vice president Carlos Lage on a visit to Caracas in 2005. Two years later, the Venezuelan president said virtually the same thing. "Deep down, we are one government," said Mr. Chávez during a visit to the island.
During his tenure, Mr. Chávez has tried to indoctrinate the Venezuelan military, bringing on thousands of advisers to replicate Cuban military doctrine, and to deal with security and intelligence issues. Cuban officers are deeply involved in intelligence and security matters in Venezuela, from the acquisition of military equipment to overall military strategy, according to people with knowledge of the matter. One source estimates the number of Cuban intelligence experts working in Venezuela at 3,000. Last year, Brig. Gen. Antonio Rivero, once the head of Venezuela's civil defense, resigned his commission because of what he said was Cuban interference and influence at all levels of the armed forces. Shortly after, he was accused of revealing state secrets and forbidden by a judge from speaking publicly about the military. On Tuesday, Jorge Giordani, Venezuela's finance minister, said there was no doubt Mr. Chávez would run for re-election in 2012. Nonetheless, if Mr. Chávez dies or is too ill to run, his movement, divided by money, ambition, ideology and economic interest, will have a difficult time fielding a candidate who satisfies all factions, analysts say. The Cubans could push for Adan Chávez, Mr. Chávez's elder brother, now a state governor and a former ambassador to Cuba. "They will pick a horse, or more than one horse," Mr. Naim said.
"A negotiation will involve the Cubans," said Alexander Luzardo, an ex-senator and former Chávez supporter. "We will need to talk to them."
Mr. Chávez's relationship with Mr. Castro dates to 1994 when the Cuban dictator invited Mr. Chávez, then an obscure cashiered lieutenant colonel and failed coup plotter recently released from prison, to Havana. Mr. Chávez was given the red-carpet treatment, and even gave a speech to students at the University of Havana. "Fidel saw that in Chávez he had a diamond in the rough," said a former Chávez cabinet minister. "He turned on the full force of his charm and started to work on Chávez."The relationship blossomed when Mr. Chávez, riding a wave of revulsion against corruption, won the presidency in a landslide victory in 1998. Mr. Castro's blessing of Mr. Chávez's "Bolivarian Revolution" endowed the tank commander with revolutionary legitimacy. In return, Mr. Chávez's billions in oil money and his admiration of the Cuban leader have afforded Mr. Castro a chance to extend his revolutionary philosophy, at least by proxy. In 2000, Mr. Chávez took Mr. Castro on a trip to his dusty hometown of Sabaneta in the southern plains state of Barinas. There, Mr. Castro suggested that in 100 years pilgrims would flock to visit Mr. Chávez' humble house, said Luis Miquilena, a former Venezuelan Interior Minister who was on the trip. Mr. Chávez was overcome by Mr. Castro's flattery, Mr. Miquilena said.
A glimpse of how seriously Havana takes the relationship, and the risks should Mr. Chávez leave the stage, was on full display in 2002, when Mr. Chávez was ousted briefly by army generals. Mr. Castro assumed a major role in Mr. Chávez's return to power, as he helped mobilize support among Venezuelan generals and world leaders. Mr. Chávez' return was a lucky break for the Cuban regime. In the 48 hours that Mr. Chávez was out of power, thousands of Venezuelans who were angry over Havana's outsized role in their government surrounded the Cuban embassy in Caracas, demanding the new Venezuelan government cut off ties between the two countries. Meanwhile, Venezuelan officials mulled ending oil shipments to the island. Two years later, Mr. Castro sent thousands of doctors to man Mr. Chávez' neighborhood health program, known as Barrio Adentro,a move that helped revive Mr. Chávez' popularity.
More recently, Cuba last year sent Ramiro Valdez, the regime's legendary secret policeman, on an extended visit to Venezuela, ostensibly to advise Mr. Chávez on Venezuela's spluttering electrical grid. Another leading Cuban official has been a top adviser on Venezuelan agricultural and food issues. Last month, Mr. Chávez credited Mr. Castro, in almost religious terms, with being the first in realizing the Venezuelan leader was ill during his recent trip to Havana."We were...with Fidel, that giant who has surmounted time and place," said Mr. Chávez when he announced for the first time that he had cancer. "He interrogated me almost as a doctor, and I confessed, almost as a patient."
Write to José de Córdoba at jose.decordoba@wsj.com
JULY 20, 2011
In Cuba, a Prayer for Chávez
By JOSé DE CóRDOBA
CARACAS—Venezuela's ailing President Hugo Chávez says he is praying to Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the spirits of the Venezuelan savannah to help him beat his cancer.
Mr. Chávez hasn't mentioned it, but probably no one is praying harder for his health than Fidel and Raúl Castro in Cuba. Their ossified regime now largely depends on help from their ally in Caracas and they will do everything possible—short of an invasion—to keep Mr. Chávez or a like-minded ally in power, say U.S. officials, Venezuelan opposition leaders and analysts. Venezuela ships about 115,000 barrels per day of oil at cut rate prices to Cuba, meeting about 60% of the island's oil needs, according to a recent Brookings Institution paper, which calculates the value of the oil and other Venezuelan aid at about $5 billion a year, a major portion of Cuba's hard-currency earnings. In exchange, Cuba has sent to Venezuela tens of thousands of Cuban doctors, sports technicians, and intelligence and security experts, helping Mr. Chávez stay in power. Havana's relationship to Venezuela is akin to its economic dependence on the former Soviet Union in the 30 years before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which led to a 35% fall in Cuba's economy.
"To save Chávez is to conserve [Raúl's] presidential seat," wrote Yoani Sánchez, a well-known Cuban blogger and critic of the regime. "To lose him could lead to [Raúl's] own downfall."
Were Mr. Chávez to become gravely ill—he arrived in Havana Saturday to undergo chemotherapy after doctors recently removed a "baseball-sized" tumor—the Cuban government is likely to use its sway to try to shape events. Analysts say the Cuban leadership has significant clout, owing to its relationship with Mr. Chávez and top Venezuelan officials. The Cubans could also deploy their intelligence services to help one faction at the expense of another. "Cuba is the most important foreign power with a stake in Venezuela," said Moisés Naím, a former Venezuelan cabinet minister and an analyst at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "They are not going to be passive bystanders. They will be players." There is no political relationship in the Americas quite like the tie between Fidel Castro and Mr. Chávez. Mr. Castro, who officially handed power to his younger brother Raúl in 2008, has been a mentor, spiritual and political father, savior, psychiatrist, and even bedside doctor to Mr. Chávez. In return, Mr. Chávez has bankrolled Cuba's government and given Mr. Castro occasion to dream again of a Latin America united against his bëte noire, the U.S., or as both men sometimes call it, "the empire."
At times, Mr. Chávez and top Cuban officials have talked of melding the two countries into a single confederated state—an unpopular idea among most Venezuelans. "Cuba has two presidents, Fidel and Chávez," said then Cuban vice president Carlos Lage on a visit to Caracas in 2005. Two years later, the Venezuelan president said virtually the same thing. "Deep down, we are one government," said Mr. Chávez during a visit to the island.
During his tenure, Mr. Chávez has tried to indoctrinate the Venezuelan military, bringing on thousands of advisers to replicate Cuban military doctrine, and to deal with security and intelligence issues. Cuban officers are deeply involved in intelligence and security matters in Venezuela, from the acquisition of military equipment to overall military strategy, according to people with knowledge of the matter. One source estimates the number of Cuban intelligence experts working in Venezuela at 3,000. Last year, Brig. Gen. Antonio Rivero, once the head of Venezuela's civil defense, resigned his commission because of what he said was Cuban interference and influence at all levels of the armed forces. Shortly after, he was accused of revealing state secrets and forbidden by a judge from speaking publicly about the military. On Tuesday, Jorge Giordani, Venezuela's finance minister, said there was no doubt Mr. Chávez would run for re-election in 2012. Nonetheless, if Mr. Chávez dies or is too ill to run, his movement, divided by money, ambition, ideology and economic interest, will have a difficult time fielding a candidate who satisfies all factions, analysts say. The Cubans could push for Adan Chávez, Mr. Chávez's elder brother, now a state governor and a former ambassador to Cuba. "They will pick a horse, or more than one horse," Mr. Naim said.
"A negotiation will involve the Cubans," said Alexander Luzardo, an ex-senator and former Chávez supporter. "We will need to talk to them."
Mr. Chávez's relationship with Mr. Castro dates to 1994 when the Cuban dictator invited Mr. Chávez, then an obscure cashiered lieutenant colonel and failed coup plotter recently released from prison, to Havana. Mr. Chávez was given the red-carpet treatment, and even gave a speech to students at the University of Havana. "Fidel saw that in Chávez he had a diamond in the rough," said a former Chávez cabinet minister. "He turned on the full force of his charm and started to work on Chávez."The relationship blossomed when Mr. Chávez, riding a wave of revulsion against corruption, won the presidency in a landslide victory in 1998. Mr. Castro's blessing of Mr. Chávez's "Bolivarian Revolution" endowed the tank commander with revolutionary legitimacy. In return, Mr. Chávez's billions in oil money and his admiration of the Cuban leader have afforded Mr. Castro a chance to extend his revolutionary philosophy, at least by proxy. In 2000, Mr. Chávez took Mr. Castro on a trip to his dusty hometown of Sabaneta in the southern plains state of Barinas. There, Mr. Castro suggested that in 100 years pilgrims would flock to visit Mr. Chávez' humble house, said Luis Miquilena, a former Venezuelan Interior Minister who was on the trip. Mr. Chávez was overcome by Mr. Castro's flattery, Mr. Miquilena said.
A glimpse of how seriously Havana takes the relationship, and the risks should Mr. Chávez leave the stage, was on full display in 2002, when Mr. Chávez was ousted briefly by army generals. Mr. Castro assumed a major role in Mr. Chávez's return to power, as he helped mobilize support among Venezuelan generals and world leaders. Mr. Chávez' return was a lucky break for the Cuban regime. In the 48 hours that Mr. Chávez was out of power, thousands of Venezuelans who were angry over Havana's outsized role in their government surrounded the Cuban embassy in Caracas, demanding the new Venezuelan government cut off ties between the two countries. Meanwhile, Venezuelan officials mulled ending oil shipments to the island. Two years later, Mr. Castro sent thousands of doctors to man Mr. Chávez' neighborhood health program, known as Barrio Adentro,a move that helped revive Mr. Chávez' popularity.
More recently, Cuba last year sent Ramiro Valdez, the regime's legendary secret policeman, on an extended visit to Venezuela, ostensibly to advise Mr. Chávez on Venezuela's spluttering electrical grid. Another leading Cuban official has been a top adviser on Venezuelan agricultural and food issues. Last month, Mr. Chávez credited Mr. Castro, in almost religious terms, with being the first in realizing the Venezuelan leader was ill during his recent trip to Havana."We were...with Fidel, that giant who has surmounted time and place," said Mr. Chávez when he announced for the first time that he had cancer. "He interrogated me almost as a doctor, and I confessed, almost as a patient."
Write to José de Córdoba at jose.decordoba@wsj.com
An Adolescent is Killed for Trying to Eat Genips* in Havana
by Laritza Diversent (Cuban blooger)
July 19, 2011
On the afternoon of July 15, 2011, the town of Mantilla, on Havana’s outskirts, was shocked by the death of Angel Izquierdo Medina, a 14-year-old black teenager, who died from a gunshot to the femoral artery by Amado Interian, a retired police Major. According to the victim’s family members, three boys, including Angel, entered the property of the ex-police officer, to take genips, also known Spanish limes, from a tree. When the ex-cop caught them in the act, he fired two shots from his pistol. Before retiring, Interian had been a police chief in the area. The child’s body was laid out in the Mauline funeral home, at the entrance of Santa Amalia residential neighborhood. More than 500 people attended the viewing, most of them fellow students, in shock from the news, and also teachers and neighbors.
“Oh my God he was the same age as my son, because a mischief, that only can be done by an extremist”, said one of the spectators sobbing, while passing by the coffin. Agents of the State Security Forces dressed in civil clothes took over the funeral home because the mourners had been threatening to protest. Around midnight there were incidents reported at the site, without arrests being made. The burial was on Saturday July 16, 2011, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, in the Christopher Columbus cemetery.
Mantilla is a Havana suburb, with a low income population and high levels of dangerousness. It belongs to the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, the most violent and poor of the capital city. So far, we don’t know if the ex-police officer will be prosecuted because of the adolescent’s death. As is usual in Cuba, when things of this nature happen, the official media prefers to keep silent and not to report what happened.
Mamoncillos. With its sweet flesh, it is one of the most preferred fruits in Cuba. But as with so many fruits, after 1959 they were scarce in the market and could still be consumed only by those who have a tree of Melicoccus bijugatus (its scientific name) in the backyard. The genip along with the sugar apple, soursop, custard apple, cashew, canistel, loquat, plum and apple banana, is listed as one of the extinct fruits after Castros took power. Years after this barbaric event — one of the tasks of the ‘famous’ Che Guevara’s invasion brigade was to uproot fruit trees from the fields where it passed by — little by little the fruits started to reappear again — mangoes, guavas , mamey and avocados — among others fruits that have been always been greatly eaten by Cubans. With the only difference that before the bearded men, with 10 or 20 cents you could buy a mamey or an avocado and now days you cannot find them for less than 10 or 20 cuban pesos. (Tania Quintero)
*Translator’s note: Melicoccus bijugatus, commonly called Spanish lime, genip, genipe, quenepa, mamoncillo, limoncillo, it is a one-inch, round fruit with a green leathery skin at maturity. Each fruit has a large seed inside, the same ovoid shape as the fruit itself , the seeds have a fleshy tan-coloured edible sweet and juicy seed coat.
July 19, 2011
On the afternoon of July 15, 2011, the town of Mantilla, on Havana’s outskirts, was shocked by the death of Angel Izquierdo Medina, a 14-year-old black teenager, who died from a gunshot to the femoral artery by Amado Interian, a retired police Major. According to the victim’s family members, three boys, including Angel, entered the property of the ex-police officer, to take genips, also known Spanish limes, from a tree. When the ex-cop caught them in the act, he fired two shots from his pistol. Before retiring, Interian had been a police chief in the area. The child’s body was laid out in the Mauline funeral home, at the entrance of Santa Amalia residential neighborhood. More than 500 people attended the viewing, most of them fellow students, in shock from the news, and also teachers and neighbors.
“Oh my God he was the same age as my son, because a mischief, that only can be done by an extremist”, said one of the spectators sobbing, while passing by the coffin. Agents of the State Security Forces dressed in civil clothes took over the funeral home because the mourners had been threatening to protest. Around midnight there were incidents reported at the site, without arrests being made. The burial was on Saturday July 16, 2011, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, in the Christopher Columbus cemetery.
Mantilla is a Havana suburb, with a low income population and high levels of dangerousness. It belongs to the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, the most violent and poor of the capital city. So far, we don’t know if the ex-police officer will be prosecuted because of the adolescent’s death. As is usual in Cuba, when things of this nature happen, the official media prefers to keep silent and not to report what happened.
Mamoncillos. With its sweet flesh, it is one of the most preferred fruits in Cuba. But as with so many fruits, after 1959 they were scarce in the market and could still be consumed only by those who have a tree of Melicoccus bijugatus (its scientific name) in the backyard. The genip along with the sugar apple, soursop, custard apple, cashew, canistel, loquat, plum and apple banana, is listed as one of the extinct fruits after Castros took power. Years after this barbaric event — one of the tasks of the ‘famous’ Che Guevara’s invasion brigade was to uproot fruit trees from the fields where it passed by — little by little the fruits started to reappear again — mangoes, guavas , mamey and avocados — among others fruits that have been always been greatly eaten by Cubans. With the only difference that before the bearded men, with 10 or 20 cents you could buy a mamey or an avocado and now days you cannot find them for less than 10 or 20 cuban pesos. (Tania Quintero)
*Translator’s note: Melicoccus bijugatus, commonly called Spanish lime, genip, genipe, quenepa, mamoncillo, limoncillo, it is a one-inch, round fruit with a green leathery skin at maturity. Each fruit has a large seed inside, the same ovoid shape as the fruit itself , the seeds have a fleshy tan-coloured edible sweet and juicy seed coat.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Political prisoners not exiled from Cuba
Published: June 23, 2011
HAVANA, June 23 (UPI) -- Cuban President Raul Castro made no deal to free 115 political prisoners if the Catholic Church got them to be exiled to Spain, a church spokesman said. The exile was totally voluntary, Orlando Marquez said in a statement. Representatives of the Ladies in White opposition movement, consisting of wives and other female relatives of jailed dissidents, said some family members thought it would be best if "their dear ones could leave Cuba, even if unaccompanied, because that was preferable to keeping them in prison," Marquez's statement said. Spain agreed to accept any prisoner wishing to leave Cuba, but going there was not a requirement for freedom, said Marquez's statement posted on the Web site of the church magazine Palabra Nueva. Cardinal Jaime Ortega, archbishop of Havana, called the prisoners -- 52 of whom were rounded up in 2003 -- to ask if they wanted to leave the island, Marquez said."A few asked if the trip [to Spain] was a condition for leaving prison. The cardinal told them no, and assured them that they would be freed later, as indeed occurred," Marquez wrote. The 115 who agreed to leave went directly from prison to the airport in Havana and flew to Madrid. The 12 who refused to go were later freed too, he said. Ladies in White spokeswoman Berta Soler told Miami's El Nuevo Herald Marquez was "telling the truth" and the decision of the 115 to leave for Spain was "understandable and voluntary." Ortega was recently accused helping Castro by forcing the 115 political prisoners freed during the past year to go into exile in Spain.
© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
HAVANA, June 23 (UPI) -- Cuban President Raul Castro made no deal to free 115 political prisoners if the Catholic Church got them to be exiled to Spain, a church spokesman said. The exile was totally voluntary, Orlando Marquez said in a statement. Representatives of the Ladies in White opposition movement, consisting of wives and other female relatives of jailed dissidents, said some family members thought it would be best if "their dear ones could leave Cuba, even if unaccompanied, because that was preferable to keeping them in prison," Marquez's statement said. Spain agreed to accept any prisoner wishing to leave Cuba, but going there was not a requirement for freedom, said Marquez's statement posted on the Web site of the church magazine Palabra Nueva. Cardinal Jaime Ortega, archbishop of Havana, called the prisoners -- 52 of whom were rounded up in 2003 -- to ask if they wanted to leave the island, Marquez said."A few asked if the trip [to Spain] was a condition for leaving prison. The cardinal told them no, and assured them that they would be freed later, as indeed occurred," Marquez wrote. The 115 who agreed to leave went directly from prison to the airport in Havana and flew to Madrid. The 12 who refused to go were later freed too, he said. Ladies in White spokeswoman Berta Soler told Miami's El Nuevo Herald Marquez was "telling the truth" and the decision of the 115 to leave for Spain was "understandable and voluntary." Ortega was recently accused helping Castro by forcing the 115 political prisoners freed during the past year to go into exile in Spain.
© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Aroldis Chapman's path back to the Big Leagues
May, 29, 2011May 2911:16AM ETEmailComments1
The most pivotal moment for Aroldis Chapman, in the end, might not have happened on a mound, or in a bullpen session. It might've occurred in a conversation that he had with Reds pitching coach Bryan Price.
The Cincinnati left-hander is currently in the minor leagues, working his way back to the majors, after a spectacular start to his season, and an equally spectacular crash. Chapman didn't allow a run in his first 12 appearances of the season.
But in his 13th appearance, Chapman lost the strike zone, walking three batters in an inning. It was the first in a string of four outings in which Chapman walked 12 batters in 1.1 innings. The worst of it may have happened in Houston on May 10, when Chapman walked all three batters he faced.
It was apparent to the Reds' staff that Chapman, a defector from Cuba, was greatly embarrassed by his outing, and greatly frustrated. There were times when he was in the minors in 2010 in which he had seemed isolated, and appeared to struggle to assimilate with teammates. After the three-walk outing in Houston, he disappeared from the main room of the clubhouse.
Chapman and Price met that day to talk about what had happened and to discuss adjustments, not an easy conversation -- which is probably expected for players of Chapman's background, at this point. Many major League evaluators believe that the players who have the greatest cultural adjustments to playing Major League Baseball are not players from Japan, like Daisuke Matsuzaka, or from Korea, like Shin-Soo Choo. Rather, through the years, they have noticed that players who defect from Cuba tend to struggle within clubhouses, largely because they don't exhibit trust -- they fear an ulterior motive for routine decisions or interactions.
The most pivotal moment for Aroldis Chapman, in the end, might not have happened on a mound, or in a bullpen session. It might've occurred in a conversation that he had with Reds pitching coach Bryan Price.
The Cincinnati left-hander is currently in the minor leagues, working his way back to the majors, after a spectacular start to his season, and an equally spectacular crash. Chapman didn't allow a run in his first 12 appearances of the season.
But in his 13th appearance, Chapman lost the strike zone, walking three batters in an inning. It was the first in a string of four outings in which Chapman walked 12 batters in 1.1 innings. The worst of it may have happened in Houston on May 10, when Chapman walked all three batters he faced.
It was apparent to the Reds' staff that Chapman, a defector from Cuba, was greatly embarrassed by his outing, and greatly frustrated. There were times when he was in the minors in 2010 in which he had seemed isolated, and appeared to struggle to assimilate with teammates. After the three-walk outing in Houston, he disappeared from the main room of the clubhouse.
Chapman and Price met that day to talk about what had happened and to discuss adjustments, not an easy conversation -- which is probably expected for players of Chapman's background, at this point. Many major League evaluators believe that the players who have the greatest cultural adjustments to playing Major League Baseball are not players from Japan, like Daisuke Matsuzaka, or from Korea, like Shin-Soo Choo. Rather, through the years, they have noticed that players who defect from Cuba tend to struggle within clubhouses, largely because they don't exhibit trust -- they fear an ulterior motive for routine decisions or interactions.
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