The poet and journalist from Matanzas, Lianet Fundora, received an Honorable Mention in the José Jacinto Milanés Debate Contest with her poem in décimas "All the Thirst of an Island", a lyrical piece that captures the everyday struggles in the country, particularly those related to water.
The recognition occurred in the context of the 34th International Book Fair held in Matanzas between August 20 and 23, as published by the newspaper Girón on Friday the 21st. The mentioned contest is a poetry competition with a long-standing presence in the literary life of the western province. It has historically been organized by the Casa de las Letras Digdora Alonso, Ediciones Matanzas, and the José Jacinto Milanés Literary Promotion Center.
Lianet Fundora's décima, structured in four espinelas—a classic form of ten eight-syllable verses deeply rooted in Cuban culture—depicts a father kneeling, striking the pavement and carrying a pipe under the scorching three o'clock sun, waiting for water that does not arrive.
Fundora explained that the work speaks "of our realities, of those wounds we carry within, of the everyday life that characterizes Cubans," and draws "an analogy with the crucifixion of Christ and those daily crosses that we also bear in our daily existence."
The poem opens with a scene of searching and physical pain: "My father is kneeling, / strikes the pavement again, / does not avoid the pain, crushes / his fingers. Lost in his search he has forgotten / his birds in captivity. / Someone hurls an insult / and midday cracks, / the weight of a pipe / burdens his shoulder. He is serious."
The second verse delves into waiting and broken hope: "From his side does not emerge / water, there's only a bloody trace / on the arm / of so much broken hope. / Father sweats drop by drop / the aftermath of forgetfulness, / his hands have dissolved / in the crowd that burns. / -It’s already three in the afternoon- / but nothing has been fulfilled."
The closing elevates the everyday scene to a collective question without answer: "He buries his ear in the soil / to which he is promised. / My father is a wounded deer / in a silent war. / His hand gropes and clutches / the hand that legislates / while the drought isolates / the resurrection of the soul. / He asks how it calms / all the thirst of an Island."
The crisis of water scarcity resonates strongly in the face of the serious water crisis affecting Cuba. According to data from May 2026, around 2.7 million Cubans were facing severe difficulties in accessing potable water, while several million others received it intermittently. In Havana, the affected population exceeded half a million in July, and neighborhoods have reported being without supply for several consecutive weeks in various provinces.
The causes are structural: more than 80% of Cuban aqueducts rely on the National Electric System, which makes them vulnerable to blackouts, and the hydraulic system operates with a very limited portion of the necessary fuel, which drastically reduces pumping capacity.
The ten-verse stanza, which constitutes a strong tradition in the poetry of the Island and throughout Latin America, has recently been employed by other Cuban poets such as José Martínez, Juan Carlos García Guridi, Jorge Luis (Veleta) Mederos, and Sindy Manuel Torres, to refer to the harsh reality faced by Cuba.
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