The 2nd Gourmet Festival: Tastes of Cuba and the world , taking place in Havana until 30 November, is an attempt to rescue the culture of good food and the culinary heritage of our country. This initiative, supported by the Office of the Historian of Havana, led by Alicia García and Ana Busquets and sponsored by companies like Habanos SA , VIMA , Havana Club, Cubacafé, among other – are added to other projects currently that in the world advocate in defense of the native food , but has the distinction of making art as a starting point to reflect on the centrality of expressions of traditional cuisine in the Cuban identity. “The culinary theme is one of the irreplaceable contents of art. Through painting, photography, film and literature, we reassess this fundamental aspect of our character. In the practical sessions, demonstrations and tastings of food, we intend to demonstrate that our most everyday cuisine can also be gourmet , " Garcia told OnCuba , sure " that quality may be provided when there is creativity, both with simple products available to us as other finest . The daily food, the farmer ‘s and the city dweller’s , the professional...

Denis, Manuel and Celestino became more than four months ago , along with other 52 people, members of a cooperative that rebuilds motor vehicles. Located in the Cerro municipality in Havana, this is one of the first non-agricultural cooperatives formed after the implementation in Cuba, as an experiment, of the new management model. Although their purpose remains the same as when they were employees of the Provincial Motor Transport Company of Havana, which is to offer services of bodywork, paint and upholstery to legal and natural persons, now they feel more motivated to work. Currently, in addition to higher profits, they have the opportunity to take collective decisions “that previously relied on the direction of the company." For example , since the cooperative was formed last July 1 as a result of the prerogatives granted by Decree -Law 305 of the Cuban Council of State " In non-agricultural cooperatives " , the partners agreed to buy already prepared lunch and deduct that expense of the profits of the group , which also allowed them to streamline work processes . Marcelo González- president of the Board - explained to OnCub that these powers have allowed streamlining work processes. Before establishing as...

Juan Padrón is already thinking about a third release of ¨Vampires in Havana¨. "It will be a prequel that will tell what happened to Pepito before he discovered he was a vampire. The director of Star Wars copied my idea, "the renowned Cuban cartoonist and screenwriter said laughing during a tribute held last week in Old Havana with the opening of the exhibition ¨El otro Padrón.¨ This proposal brings together some of his cartoons published between 1965 and 1979 and was organized by Impresiones project, led by curator and art critic Caridad Blanco. Padron, besides talking about Vampires in Havana III, said that he already has in mind a new adventure of Elpidio Valdés: "I want to make the cartoon before the movie and one of the topics will be the pneumatic cannons used by mambi rebels. It will also deal with the so-called " majases", who were men that left the fight and got into the bush to avoid fighting. This time Elpidio convince them to help him on a mission . " But the plans of this artist who has made laugh out generations of Cubans with his jokes do not end there. He is already mulling over...

Leo Brouwer Chamber Music Festival does not wait for the public; it gets out of the theaters and goes after it. This happened during this fifth edition where street performances of musical and dancing groups have taken place, a social phenomenon that currently has large international development and it is called flash mob or instant crowd. Although flash mobs occurred in Havana by these days differ in some respects from those occurring in the world, for example, in the means of calling , as in other geographical areas social networks are used for this purpose, but they maintain their essence when the participants surprise people in public spaces with unusual actions, fulfill their purpose and then quickly disappear. Those who were in Saint Francis of Assisi Square in Old Havana, on October 8, must have been astonished by the appearance of the members of Ars Longa ancient music group who, without further requirements than their musical instruments, played pieces of their repertoire, which includes works from the Renaissance to Baroque. "Have you ever listened to old music in a square? No, I’ve never seen that, but it seems very original to me, I was passing and stopped out of curiosity,...

For some time the name of a woman is repeated in the jewelry exhibition catalogs in Cuba. Her work, which can be described as minimalist, stands out for the sculptural projection of the pieces, geometric shapes and the excellent combination of silver with other materials less common in this manifestation of art as wood. She is the young artist Mayelín Guevara whose style has also captivated audiences elsewhere. Precisely in 2012 she won the award for fashion design, textiles and accessories in the III Ibero American Design Biennial with the collection Havana Noir. "At that time I wanted to reflect the dichotomy in Havana from its beautiful architecture and destruction of the streets," Guevara said while displaying some of these jewels, made ​​with silver and asphalt, in which there is a strong influence of the Art Deco movement. "I nourished a lot from fashion, architecture and fine arts. I'm always looking and mixing things up in my head and then I create. However, in my work you will never see a building or a particular image, because what interests me is to take the essence of these other arts. " Combining precious materials with other less expensive and more accessible,...

In addition to the world-famous image of Che-that is entitled Heroic Guerrilla and is considered by critics as one of the most famous in the history of photography with others like Marilyn Monroe by Philippe Halsman and Kennedy , authored by Cornel Capa-, Alberto Diaz Gutierrez (Korda) captured with his lens the natural resources of the Caribbean Sea. His daughter and heiress, Diana Diaz Lopez, says that after taking pictures underwater for the first time, his father was so enthralled that he spent over ten years at that side. "He said, 'I do not understand why man wants to know the moon if you still do not know what exists under the sea", and therefore was determined to unravel the mysteries of the deep sea. This hobby began in the summer of 1963 when, as a photographer of Fidel Castro, they went together to try a camera that the leader of the Revolution had given him. I'd never done this kind of pictures but ventured and discovered a fascinating world. " Years later, after leaving the photojournalism, Korda was one of the founders of the Department of Scientific Photography of the Underwater Institute of Oceanology of the Academy of Sciences...

In Cuba the word Coppelia refers, first of all, to the Havana ice cream parlor and it is a must for Cubans and foreigners who come to the capital and usual destination for those who live in it. However, almost no one thinks about the ballet that gave name to this place. Many do not even know that from there the name comes. And so far, going to have ice cream bore no relation to the art of fouettes. But a few weeks ago a new salon opened this enclosure designed by architect Mario Girona in Vedado. Now, in addition to cool off with ice cream, you can approach the most emblematic works of the National Ballet of Cuba and its dancers. The Four Jewels has been named the space as a tribute to the famous Cuban dancers Josefina Mendez, Aurora Bosch, Araújo and Mirta Pla Loipa. One of its attractions is the collection of photographs of pieces from the repertoire of the company as Giselle, Carmen, Grand Pas de Quatre, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Blood Wedding and Flora, by photographers Maurice Saymour , Nancy Reyes, Luis Alberto Alonso, among others. At the same time, people can enjoy their ice...