The building of a Malecon (seafront promenade) from the birth of the Alameda until the Ports Authority building is one of the most important projects underway to mark the half millennium of life of the city of Santiago de Cuba The city, the sixth founded by the conquistadores, and first Cuban capital, with have again a sea promenade in the Alameda Michaelson, which was inagurated in 1840 by then General Governor Tello, and at that time it was filled with trees and where the different groups of Santiago society gathered. The Santiago Malecon is part of the General Master Plan to give life back to the historical center of the city. To open the city to the sea is one of the main goals of this plan created by Man Architect Lina Magdariaga, who works with the Office of the Projects and Management of the City’s Historian The project is in its initial phase, when they have dismantled warehouses and raised the floors for the first part of the Malecon to be ready by July 25, 2015 to mark the 500 anniversary, said architect Laura Tania Montañés García The children’s playground that is in front of the promenade will receive...

The 16th MatamoroSon Festival was inaugurated in Santiago de Cuba with the strains of “Esa familia a mí no me conviene”, one of the hits of Santiaguero Septet. The biennial event to be held from October 15 to 19 this year was hosted by the majestic Heredia Theatre, in Santiago de Cuba city. This edition of the event is dedicated to the 120th and 95th births of Miguel Matamoros and Benny Moré, two paradigms of Cuban Son. Similarly, the meeting will honor the musical work of Juan Formell and Los Van Van and the 500th Anniversary of the founding of the town of Santiago de Cuba. "I'm very happy to be in Santiago and to see here that Son remains the most sublime to entertain the soul," Maestro Adalberto Alvarez, President of the Festival and one of the leading proponents of this musical genre and Casino dance, said. “Changüí Santiago”, “Ellas Son”, “Soneros Camacho” were among the groups that enlivened the evening; but undoubtedly the climax of the night came when Jose Alberto "El Canario" joined his voice to that of Eduardo "Tiburon" Morales, who accompanied by the Santiaguero septet played ¨Pruebe este Tono¨, track included on the latest phonogram...

Forty-eight years have elapsed since Adela Legrá debuted in Cuban cinema. Despite the time, this woman smiles with the same intensity as she did in "Manuela" (1966) and "Lucía" (1968) on celluloid, characters that made her, once and forever, an icon of national cinematography. The director Humberto Solás traveled throughout the island looking for a character with certain physical characteristics for his film "Manuela". It was in Baracoa (Guantánamo) where he met the exotic beauty and miscegenation of this woman who captivated him, he betted on her and managed to extract her surprising histrionic qualities. Adela, according to Humberto, is an actress capable of extraordinary animal catharsis, full of light and of an overwhelming sincerity. At home, a sort of spiritual retreat, surrounded by flowers and fruit trees (in the Cuabitas neighborhood, 7 kilometers from the city of Santiago de Cuba) Adelaida López Legrá told OnCuba how unwittingly she became one of the iconic actresses of Cuban cinema. ¿Adela, how do you remember your first meeting with Humberto Solás in Baracoa? The first meeting with Humberto was not very nice. I worked as an activist of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), and a companion had warned him that I...

From a marvelous real Caribbean, described with clever remarks and truthfulness in The Kingdom of this World by great Alejo Carpentier, emanates a fulfilling invisible and intangible spirit that can be sensed. However, those pages, intense given the richness of its characters, its religiousness and detailed descriptions of incredible places, become a true story in this city with the Fire Festival. Readers will remain doubtful about the man who performs surgeries with knives, or about the fact that people in Cuba speak other languages in addition to Spanish. The most skeptical would say “let’s wait and see”. “It takes all sorts to make a world”, would faithfully assure devotees. The truth is that most unusual events can take place in Santiago de Cuba during the Caribbean Festival. The Workshop on popular religiousness in the Colloquium El Caribe que nos une (The Caribbean that brings us together) offers a specific opportunity to confirm it. There, practitioners and scholars come together and exchange their visions on a phenomenon that is definitely leaving an imprint on their lives. They agree the Caribbean peoples have an authentic way of believing which is linked to Africa and Europe, but is already genuine, because it nourishes...

The Caribbean is some sort of melting point for ethnic, cultural, language and religious plurality. Even though this region is diverse in terms of culture and beliefs, the Caribbean is actually united. For that reason, the Cuban eastern province of Santiago de Cuba has hosted the Caribbean Festival, also known as Feast of Fire, continuously since 1981 till present day. Traditionally, this festival takes place annually from July 3 through 9. This time, it is dedicated to the Republic of Surinam. The program of the festival includes cultural events as well as theoretical spaces on different subjects: an International Colloquium “El Caribe que nos une” (The Caribbean that brings us together); workshops on popular religions, theater, music, natural and traditional medicine; among other activities. Kenia Dorta Armaignac, Deputy Research Director of the Caribbean House and organizer of the event, commented for OnCuba about the origins of the festival, its founder and some of the activities arranged for this 34th edition. How did the Caribbean House emerge? It emerged in the early 80’s, when Joel (James) was a history assessor for the Conjunto Dramático de Oriente, then called Talento Teatral Santiago. There, he worked with actors such as Carlos Padrón, Raúl...