Yoani Sanchez is a 32 year old woman, college educated, living in the very closed country of Cuba. For the duration of the tyrannical reign of Fidel Castro (and his brother, Raul), the government has controlled the press. Police scour the streets of Havana, searching pockets and purses for "contraband" (meaning anything not approved by the government), on a daily basis.
In spite of the iron fisted grip kept on all media sources in her country, Sanchez has been able to practice freedom of speech through her blog, "Desde Cuba" (From Cuba). She is able to effectively avoid government scrutiny by posting to her blog through Internet Cafe's in Cuba, posing as a tourist. She dresses like a tourist and heads out to blog in secret. The Internet Cafe's are reserved for "foreigners." Average Cubans are not permitted access to the internet. In disguise, Yoani finds a computer, and voices what so many of her paisanos cannot.
She defiantly criticizes her governement and does so in charming, poignant, often funny ways.
She made TIME Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World List" this year. The article says of Sanchez, "She has earned international acclaim. With a feisty dedication to the truth, Yoani Sanchez's activities bode well for the future of her country."
He blog is in Spanish, so for all you non-Spanish speakers out there, you have to take my word for it, this lady is awesome!
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733756_1735878,00.html
you'll have to translate some for me...i am very curious.
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