The XXXIV Caribbean Festival to be host from July 3 by Santiago de Cuba with the participation of more than 30 countries will pay tribute to Juan Formell, who died recently. La Casa del Caribe, an institution which convenes the meeting, awarded the Special Prize of the institution to Formell "for being, along with his band Los Van Van, faithful promoter of Cuban popular culture," according to the Cuban News Agency. The Caribbean Festival or Feast of Fire (Fiesta del Fuego)in Santiago will gather about a thousand foreign participants, including people from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Haiti. The event, which is becoming one of the most important in the region for its cultural heritage and history, this time, is dedicated to Suriname, sources from the organizing committee announced. For the traditional celebration they have enabled 48 areas in which most groups bearing the most representative parts of the cultures of the peoples of the region will be presented, expressing their stories and traditions through dance, music, painting and orality. One of the areas that will host the Fiesta del Fuego is the Heredia Cultural Complex, where the opening ceremony will be held.  

Cuban producer Marcos Menéndez was presented the Latin America Short-length Award at the 12thNotodofilmfestShort-length Film Festival, held this year in Madrid, Spain, for his film Undia mas. In about three minutes, the short animated movie tells the story of Manolo, a man that has been absorbed by daily life to the extent he doesn’t realize he is dead. “This award opens many opportunities for promoting this piece in particular and my work in general, because the Festival favors promotion and distribution of the films awarded”, pointed out Menéndez to the Cuban News Agency (ACN by its acronym in Spanish). In 2011, the producer, who lives in Puerto Padre in the eastern Cuban province of Las Tunas, won a special mention in a contest with the film Lluvia de estrellas. Menéndez is now working on a project entitled Pescador de arcoíris, with which he is approaching 3D techniques for the first time. Notodofilmfest 2014 first award went to the short-length film El Alpinista, by Oriol Segarra García-Granados and Adrián Ramos Alba, according to the jury chaired by Spanish filmmaker Isaki Lacuesta. Notodofilmfestis one of the most important animation festivals in the world. It is held in the web with the participation...

Humboldt 52, the trendy gay bar, is as the likeness of stereotype. The show of the transvestite that imitates Rocío Jurado between spasms and blows a closed fist in the middle of the chest, and the congregation of pingueros (male gay prostitutes) standing there with old foreigners hanging from their  necks as mink coats. "Let the gays come to me" the owners of Humboldt 52 seem to say, who opened the bar not because they are very good, but because they are very intelligent. The owners realized (and they are not the first to do so), that if a public pay whatever it takes to have a place to freely enjoy at night is the gay audience. With the opening to self-employment and the adoption of the Law on Foreign Investment in Cuba, more than one particular business has seriously thought of becoming homosexual. Now being friendly with the gay cause is profitable in Havana. Humboldt 52, strategically located near the Malecon and 23 streets and therefore one of the busiest gay night circuits in Havana, is open every day of the week, from May 25 last year. Mariela Castro attended its inauguration. The Ghetto The idea of ​​the ghetto...

A new edition of the International Underwater Photography Competition began working sessions in Cayo Largo del Sur from Wednesday May 14 until next 18. During the four days, local experts and foreign divers will explore the seabed to catch digital snapshots and compete in the categories of fish, Environment, Environment with model, Macro and Macro-themed. The initial agenda for today's session includes the investigation of technical information on water, the environment and other important details for competitors. Cayo Largo del Sur, also known simply as Cayo Largo, Cuba is a small island located in the Caribbean Sea, at the eastern end of the archipelago of Canarreos. The International Underwater Photography Competition is organized by the Ministry of Tourism of Cuba and the group of marinas Marlin, handling the bulk of the maritime activities of the Island The issue of recreational nautical activities will be in the center of the upcoming International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2015, scheduled for May of the following year, where diving will have a big role, as one of the strategies of the tourism authorities in Cuba is currently focused on also diversifying offers related to culture, health, and marine nature. Photo: taken from JR

In its seventh version the Day Against Homophobia gathered on Saturday morning activists for the rights of LGBTI people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean , as well as the general population , accustomed to the Conga Against Homophobia through 23rd Street in downtown Vedado , culminating at noon in the Pavilion Cuba. During the roundtable discussion that took place in that premise, Mariela Castro , director of Cenesex , once again confirmed that these activities are devoted to families, " because they have the important responsibility of generating understanding, respect and love for all their members » . Foto: Roberto Ruiz "The family is one of the most important areas to establish values of solidarity, social justice and equity, to educate in a culture of peace," Mariela said. Then she said that Cuban society is advancing in this fight : " There are more and more institutions and social groups that support us , that join us, but we still face resistance from people who do not understand the undeniable inclusive nature of the Cuban Revolution process '. This day had the peculiarity of coinciding with the VI Regional Conference of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex...

The single Bailando, which had the featuring of Gente de Zona and Descemer Bueno that will be on the next album by the Spanish Enrique Iglesias, has debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in position 81. The Billboard Hot 100, one of the most important in the music industry in the United States, every Thursday updates its website to list the 100 best selling singles that week in the country. Just below the single Bailando is Part II (On the Run), by rapper Jay -Z and his wife Beyoncé. This week has been of less successful sales by other strong performers in the music market as Lady Gaga with her new album ARTPOP and Britney Spears with Britney Jean. Gente de Zona and Descemer Bueno join the still meager list of Cubans as Gloria Estefan and Pitbull that have since reached the Billboard Hot 100. Although Bailando just entered the list, indicating it is having good sales in the market, it could keep rising, with the passing of weeks.

The Fourth Day of Cuban Culture in digital media, theoretical event underway in the Casa del ALBA Cultural capital since last November 11 that wraps up today , spent its penultimate theoretical debates issues of economy culture , Cuban creative industries and their relation to Information Technology and Communications. Tania García Lorenzo, economist at the Juan Marinello Cuban Cultural Research Institute, explained how the Cuban cultural GDP grows at small scale, and is not consistent with the levels of creation. According to the researcher, one of the root causes of this mismatch is the digital divide that does not allow Cuban products to enter a global market position. “Even when the Cuban National Statistics Office (ONE by its Spanish acronym) said that more than 4.2% of the country's budgetary activity is intended for culture and art, cultural GDP represents only about 5 % of the total GDP of our country, and these figures have even one greater weight in total GDP than other sectors of our production , " Garcia said. Also, the specialist mentions statistics from the International Trade Centre (ITC) claiming that 40% of cultural products exported by Cuba correspond to the visual arts. The state of the...