Cuba: Too Soon for Halloween?
Many of Cuba’s State-run nightclubs closed up shop on Halloween or forbade people from entering the premises in costume. The new private bars and alternative venues took in crowds eager to celebrate. These included places that had thrown Halloween parties last year and had announced this year’s celebration, such as the disco Galaxia, a privately-operated (but State-owned) venue in Matanzas. “We found out the parties weren’t authorized in Havana and Varadero, which is why we called the Ministry of Culture representative in the province. They told us Halloween wasn’t authorized at the national level,” Yohervis Rodriguez Martinez, the nightclub’s art director, explained. La Salsa, another nightclub in Matanzas, texted the public informing that they were not to attend in custom a mere hour before the venue opened. Halloween party at the University of Matanzas. When people asked the reason over the phone, the replied that “no one’s saying why.” On Thursday, October 29, however, the Camilo Cienfuegos University of Matanzas threw a huge Halloween party. Students studying English at this university has been organizing a “witch’s night” party for years to improve their language skills. In addition to performing musical numbers in Shakespeare’s tongue and promoting Anglo-Saxon culture, they give...