The singer Bárbara Llanes, considered by critics the best Cuban soprano in recent decades, will perform today at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Sport, UNESCO in Paris, France. Days ago Llanes gave two concerts at the Art Center of Enghien-les-Bains of the French capital. There she was accompanied by pianist Rolando Luna. After the reaction of the audience, during the last of the presentations entitled "Cuban Classic", both artists had to repeat the “Salida de Cecilia Valdés” from the operetta composed by Gonzalo Roig. Soloist of the National Center of Concert Music, belonging to the National Philharmonic of Cuba, and singing teacher at the Higher Institute of Arts, OnCuba spoke with the outstanding performer, just before she left for France, for details of the presentation in the European country, and her opinion about the current state of Cuban lyrical movement. With whom will you perform at the headquarters of UNESCO? It will be another group, I will be accompanied by pianist Marta Lahens , clarinetist Lester Chio and Ahmed Dickenson joins us enthusiastically and will travel to Paris to be at that concert. We will do a more international repertoire although there will be no shortage...

A tour of Havana along with Catalina Lasa is the proposal in the form of a book by famous Cuban architect Mario Coyula Cowley, presented in the context of Cuba International Book Fair. Catalina, book published by Ediciones Unión publishing house, marks the debut as a novelist of the 2001 National Architecture Award recipient. However, the new role as creator of works of fiction gives Coyula the opportunity to merge his two trades. The protagonist of the text is none other than the Creole patrician Catalina Lasa, whom her second husband, the landowner Juan Pedro Baro, built a luxurious mansion on Paseo Street, in the Havana neighborhood of Vedado (now House of Friendship). After the death of Caterina in 1930, he also ordered the construction of a magnificent Art Deco mausoleum in the Colón Cemetery. Catalina and Juan Pedro were the stars of the outrageous love story that shook the Cuban society in the early twentieth century, when there was still no divorce law in Cuba. Cover of the novel by Mario Coyula Catalina Why the interest in Catalina? Catalina always interested me a lot, also at home as a child I heard about her. My grandfather had fought in...

For the first time two Cuban playwrights: Nicolás Dorr and Gerardo León Fulleda are rewarded with the highest award in the performing arts in the archipelago. The awards ceremony will be held on January 22 in the Tito Junco Room at the Bertolt Brecht Theatre as part of the celebrations for the Day of Cuban Theater. "This award comes at a time of recovery, transformation, many plans, desires of doing and living," Fulleda León told OnCuba, days before receiving the award given by the National Council of Scenic Arts. The experienced researcher and theater director said that in no way he expected to become the National Theatre Award this year and said, "I thought the award was for my partner, he deserves it. I thought it would be for Armando Morales, Fátima Patterson, or many other people. I didn’t believe I would be recognized this time. Imagine that I planned to travel to Spain on January 19 to teach a course. "Always bet on the youngsters" the also president of the Section of Playwrights Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, UNEAC said, "I want to be tomorrow, so I'm interested in both the exchange with new generations", he added....