Actress Veronica Lynn, with a career of more than 50 years, is an icon of Cuban artistic manifestations ranging from theater, cinema and television. She talks to us as reflexive, chatty and spirited as usual. Form fiction to successful reality “I come from San Diego de los Baños, Pinar del Rio, a small but colorful town, with wonderful thermal waters worldwide. I used to play alone with my dolls, my paper dolls, I even used to sketch dresses for them and I rehearsed my plays, I gave them voice, made them cry and laugh but I didn’t know for certain what I was doing.” Hope “My mum used to love Cuban artists, their radio soap operas, but mostly Carlos Gardel. We used to call her Gardel’s widow. But no one ever imagined one of her daughters would become an actress. By that time people was really old fashioned and she was a poor woman and her way of thinking was a bit narrow, though later on she accepted many things, she grew in the inside. My father was an interesting character; he even used to read the telephone book. But his philosophy was not much practical. He used to say...

It seems that the fourth month of the year wants to give competition to December when it comes to films. With the arrival of April starts in Havana the ICAIC Young Sample 2014, which returns as the most important thermometer to the production of new filmmakers in the country. The same month also culminates with the International Low-Budget Film Festival in Gibara, the magical little town north of Holguin, where Humberto Solas not only filmed part of some of his best known films, but also created the event more than a decade ago, with the intention of opening spaces to a cinema devoid of economic budgets, but not of art. Over fifty works compete in this thirteenth edition of the Young Sample, which starts next April the first, and ends on Sunday, 6. Among the 178 works that were registered there are competing materials 29 fiction films, 16 documentaries and 11 short animated films, all made in 2013, as Marisol Rodriguez, director of the event, announced. This is without doubt, the greatest merit of this meeting where traditionally creators are competing across the country (this time from 10 provinces), in most cases with no professional cameras or even recorded with...

Breaking the ice "In 1959 I was living in Candelaria, Pinar del Río, there I met a television model and told her," Oh, look, I'd like to be a model and those things that most young people say about art. “My ambition at the time was to be a TV model.”Go to Havana and I will get you in touch with someone who will give you a card of the association of artists for you to work," she told me. "Ten days after I was already in the capital, in the house of that person, who gave me the phone number of René Socarrás, an actor who at that time was the President of the Society of Artists, located in Laguna Street and of course I got the card. "After that I started. I came to Havana to work as a model, in television shows playing extra and doing very simple stuff. So I stayed until 1965 “That same year I went to the theater because the actor Edwin Fernandez was directing a play at the Teatro Martí and needed two people, of course, to make two very small parts. I worked there -which was very important for my career...

The Cuban dancer Liszt Alfonso was in charge of the choreography of the video clip version of Bailando, by the singer Descemer Bueno, sang by the Spanish musician Enrique Iglesias. "It was a wonderful experience, Enrique is a very professional, attentive, excellent artist and gives his best every time," the director of the ballet troupe that bears her name and which is represented in the clip with two dancers, told the press. Alfonso was accompanied by the choreographer of the Cuban Television Ballet Roclan Gonzalez, who worked on the video where also Bueno sings, featuring reggaeton group Gente de Zona , of Cuba . The intersection of Duarte Avenue and Paris corner in the Dominican Republic, one of the most important and popular road crossings in that country was chosen for the filming stage. The production team grabbed the curiosity of viewers who will come out on the video clip as extras. The original version of the song, performed by Bueno and Gente de Zona , has a clip in which Alfonso was also involved with the ballet and choreography and has been widely accepted by the public and the critics. “Enrique was very pleased with the work together and...

On Wednesday, the Council of Ministers, chaired by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, passed, in special session, the wage raise that will benefit more than 440,000 workers in the Cuban health system. Granma newspaper highlighted that the new measure will contribute to the stability and quality of medical services to the population and to meet international commitments. The increases will start from June 1st this year, which will correspond to the work done in May. According to Granma, Marino Murillo Jorge , head of the Commission for Implementation and Development of the Guidelines, explained that with this measure they are advancing in the implementation of several of the guidelines approved by the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba -154 , 160 and 171 - , referred to critical issues as the care of the health personnel, training of specialists in order to meet the needs of the country and increase wages gradually, aiming this in an early stage at activities with more efficient results and the work of those workers who provide economic benefits and social impact. By addressing at the meeting the implementation policy of wage raises, Murillo noted that the wages of workers in this sector...

Miguel Diaz- Canel , member of the Politburo and first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers in Cuba , has referred repeatedly to the importance of renewing the discourse of the Cuban press . During the closing of the IX Congress of the Upec he said: "I think the main thing, what really is going to feed that passion that we all have to improve our press, make it useful, make it virtuous, and is the ability we have to talk. I believe in dialogue , I believe in the controversy , I believe in everything we can discuss from a position of improvement, respect , understanding around these issues , and I think the main role UPEC has to play, along with the Party and the media , is that we are constantly feeding from the dialogue, controversy , meetings among all of us for from the input from everyone, from the experiences of each and from dissatisfaction of each we keep building that press model to which we all aspire and actually carries the Cuban press to the role it must play at the present time " Recently, the official website of the Association of...

Nowadays, the Cuban press is discredited by audiences for being triumphalist and it is said to be detached from the social reality. On the occasion of the discussion on the role of the Cuban media in the usual space Catalejo of the Association of Cuban Journalists (UPEC by its acronym in Spanish), Fernando Perez, one of the greatest figures of Cuban cinema, gave us his vision of the journalism made in Cuba today, though he states: “I don’t like to judge nor make generalizations”. This filmmaker, producer of movies that have left their mark such as Clandestinos(1988), Madagascar (1994), La vidaessilbar (1998), Suite Habana (2003) or José Martí: el ojo del canario (2009), also relies on his experiences from his time at ICAIC’s Latin American Newsreel. What’s your opinion on Cuban journalism nowadays? I have impressions, but they are personal and everydayimpressions. In general, I think that our press should be more dynamic and should provide information in a way that readers are able to judge for themselves rather than receiving conditioned information. I also believe that there needs to be more room for opinion and debates. Are you of the opinion that our journalism should step a bit aside...

The signal of Cubavisión International ( CVI ) – the only Cuban channel that transmits via satellite to the rest of the world- will begin airing this March 23 in Angola and Mozambique. With the inclusion of these two Southern African countries, Cubavisión International is distributed in 56 countries , with a presence in America, Europe , Asia , Oceania and Africa. On this continent the Cuban television channel already reaches the region of the Maghreb: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and may be seen by over 6 million subscribers via open digital reception in these 3 countries. The coverage of the Cuban signal in America is done through 849 cable operators and a university channel that enables distribution in 22 countries through the SES 6 and Hispasat 1D satellites, to a total of more than 7 million subscribers. CVI is distributed via satellite AsiaSat 5 on the territory of the People's Republic of China through a network of hotels and other institutional clients and can be received by operators in Asia and Oceania. In this region the signal reaches 274 facilities located in 24 provinces for a total of 157,982 rooms. In Europe CVI is distributed through two satellite operators:...

With the presence of senior officers of the Ministry of Culture of Cuba and the U.S. Rep. James McGovern of Massachusetts a ceremony was held today to celebrate the eleventh anniversary of the agreements for the restoration of Finca Vigia , home of the Literature Nobel Prize Ernest Hemingway. Organized by the National Council of Cultural Heritage and La Finca Vigia, between Monday and Tuesday several activities will be held in remembrance of the signing of this agreement between the council and the U.S. institution Finca Vigia Foundation , responsible for preserving the legacy of the writer. The Congressman McGovern first thanked Fidel Castro for his contribution to this project and to all those who have collaborated in the past eleven years. "This project brings together our two peoples. There is no reason we don’t have relations between us. It is crucial that we work together. " He also stated that Cuba and the United States share a common history, as in the case of Hemingway, who lived and worked in Cuba for decades. Between 1939 and 1960 he lived at Finca Vigia, a house built in 1886 by the Catalan architect Miguel Pascual y Baguer on a hill 11...

With the presence of Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler a modern brewery opened this Friday at the Jetty of Paula or Warehouse for Wood and Tobacco, as it is also known, located in the Avenida del Puerto de La Habana. The brewery, with Austrian technology, can accommodate up to 500 people and has three highly experienced brewers. During the inauguration, Dr. Leal said that soon other works will be opened in the Office of the Historian, among which he mentioned the House of Obrapía and the Museum of Colonial Art. He also announced that they will begin construction work on the second floor of the San Jose Warehouses for this space to be rented to booksellers who currently had their stands in Arms Square. The history of the Jetty of Paula or Warehouse for Wood and Tobacco begins from the late eighteenth century, a period in which the Havana coastline experienced the boom of docks or piers with their sheds. Its value as an industrial heritage is indisputable, as it responds to a time of renewal of the Havana harbor. That is why it was essential to rescue it, because of the economic history of Havana and Cuba is on those...

For the past ten years, Matanzas province has annually held the International Puppets Workshop (TITIM by its acronym in Spanish). This year it is celebrating the 11th edition of this event. The workshop, which will take place from April 19 through 27, offers a space for dialogue, reflection and debates between Cubans and foreigners on puppets’ theater. The event will host workshops for professionals; for example, El cuerpo en ascua by Spanish Joan Baixas; an animation workshop on stick puppets, interactive and intercultural, by the German group Stabfiguren Company; a stop motion puppet workshop by Cuban teachers Ivette Avila and Ramiro Zardoya There will be a community workshop with giant puppets for children and teenagers given by Argentinean Gabriela Céspedes and the community workshop Basura que juega y habla by Mexican Lizette Castro. The Freddy Artiles theoretical event will include the participation of Animation Theatre in Brazil by Brazilian ValmorNíniBeltrame. Chico Simoes, also from Brazil, brings a conference on mameluke popular art and Alejandro Jarafrom Mexico brings Millenary Middle American Puppets. The event has also organized the presentation of books from the Ediciones Matanzas and Vigia publishing houses and a meeting with Sandglass Theater from the US. Along with the...

Despite their impressive heights and muscles, requirements for any super heavyweight boxer, José Ángel Larduet and Yoandi Toirac feel small compared to the pride they show for belonging to the team representing Cuba in the fourth edition of the World Series of Boxing. Both are overwhelmed by the urge to get into the ring at every opportunity they get to help the Domadores to win in its first participation in the event of higher quality organized by the International Boxing Association (amateur)(AIBA ) . However, fate had to do with the fact that two such impetuous fighters coincide in time and space in the same division, what, along perhaps other coincidences like that Larduet is from Santiago and Toirac from Havana, explosive combination in Cuba when it comes to sports showdown, has motivated both fighters recognize each other as their main adversary, regardless of the quality and merits foreign rivals might have. Clashes between them from last year to date have brought show to a division many already dismissed as boring because ended in hugs and grips between two sweaty behemoths that just moved and threw very little. Toirac transferred from juvenile to adult category with overwhelming path, defeating far...

The 13th International Festival of Drums “Guillermo Barreto in memoriam”, internationally known as Havana’s Rhythm and Dance Festival is taking place in the Cuban capital with the attendance of about 1600 national and foreign artists. The festival takes the name of Cuban percussionist Guillermo Barreto (1929-1991), a pioneer inBe-Bop Jazz and someone who accompanied with his drums great figures like US singer Nat King Cole, Benny Moré or Chico O’Farrill. In an exclusive interview to OnCuba, Giraldo Piloto Barreto, his nephew and director of the Festival, stated that he owes his music to his uncle, which presupposes a double commitment as organizer of the event. “My uncle gave me my first drumsticks when I was 4 or 5 years old, he was the earliest and more direct influence I had. He taught me to play danzon, cha cha and many other genres. He was also a pattern for me when I began to create a style of my own”. In addition, he said that this year the Festival pays homage to Jose Luis Quintana (Changuito), one of the most famous Cuban percussionists, to the 75th anniversary of composer and orchestra director Leo Brouwer and to the 20th anniversary of the...

In Cuba the social networks have also become spaces for undertaking actions in real life. A few months ago, a call was launched from Facebook to pay homage to Teresita, a Cuban trova singer and songwriter that recently passed away, by bringing together almost a hundredth people at the Saint Francis Square, in Havana. There is a different call this time to share books for free. This event, called “Suelta Masiva de Libros” (Massive release of books in Havana), will take place on Sunday, April 6, and its purpose is to “release” (leave) a book in a public space (a square, a bar, a bus, a museum, etc…). The idea came from Rafael González, author of the blog The Microwave, who wrote a post called “Un libro a cambio de nada” (A book in exchange for nothing). In this post, he called people to release their books to participate in some sort of treasure hunt to be held at a park in H and 21st streets, in Vedado, Havana, on April 6. The event caught the attention of many people. Thanks to the comments posted in Facebook, this idea has improved and a few hours ago Gonzalez launched a call...

Since 2011, the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy included on its agenda the elimination of the dual currency. In popular discussions ever since few topics bring about more speculation, projections and discussions than the currency unification. The spectrum for the imagination here is so broad, because the information about the time and the exact way of what until now has been presented as the Gordian Knot of the Cuban economy will take place have been indecipherable, or to say the least, very imprecise . The recently published Resolution 19 of 2014 describes the financial and accounting measures that will come into force on the day before the monetary union takes place as well as the procedures and regulations of the revaluation of the Cuban peso in state institutions. Is the Zero Day near? Can it be tomorrow? A more seasoned and expert view from economist Pavel Vidal identifies hints in what was published and tackles paths and points with far greater degree of certainty. OnCuba suggests “The disappearance of the CUC will be pretty swift," interview by journalist Milena Recio to Pavel Vidal, in Havana. As an introductory note, we share with our readers some excerpts Pavel Vidal:...

If you enjoy the genre in its purest form, then this is not jazz. Do not approach this album. Neither do it to these musicians. If you are clinging to a preconceived idea, rhythm, phrasing used, don’t think it twice, this is not jazz. If you are expecting a naive remake, better look elsewhere. Because, here they defend a peculiar sound, even if they have to move some lines to achieve it. That’s why the CD / DVD Mother Earth, the second phonogram by Cuban saxophonist Michel Herrera, is primarily a shelf of genres, styles and formats. The spoken word, rumba, Latin jazz, the Peruvian waltz and bossa entwine on a disc that seeks dialogue with universal codes, from the reinvention of national musical essences as foreign. Thus, he tries to be part of the renovation that has come with the hybrid sounds of world music or are enriched by the ways of free jazz. He also explores areas ranging from acoustic to electronic, looking for a way to say, where there are no limits to experimentation. "It's an ambitious idea in order to take our music everywhere, make it international while remaining Cubans and bring the public to that...

Hexed since little by the sound of drums and bongos, Yuliet Abreu Fernandez is part of this new generation that is continuing the musical tradition of the popular Cuban band Los Papines. After making some incursions with the piano during her adolescence, this girl, referred to as “La Papina”, found out that she had rumba in her blood. That’s when she moved to percussion instruments, specialty in which she majored at the National Institute of Arts (ISA, by its acronym in Spanish). Her father, Jesus Abreu, the single survivor of the founding Papines, has had to maintain the legacy of the original band during the past years. The Abreu family (Luis, Ricardo, Alfredo y Jesús), come from Marianao, a neighborhood in Havana that has been the cradle of many street rhythms and percussionists and are constant referents for Afro-Cuban percussion internationally. When did you join LosPapines? “In 2001, after my uncle Alfredo passed away, I and my cousin Luis Abreu Chantres joined the group. At first it was not easy at all because there had never been a woman in the band and they were very demanding with me. Besides, rumba is a sexist genre, and we women have been...

“We live working on requests and, thanks God we do, but sometimes I get nostalgic of that epoch when I used to sit and write whatever was on my mind”. José MaríaVitier. Do people talk about economy in the cultural circles in Cuba? How? Is it acceptable to turn art into some sort of merchandise? These are some frequent questions in the debates of young creators that get together monthly every last but one Wednesday at the Cuba Pavilion in its space “Dialogar, dialogar” (Talk, talk). This meeting space allows having a general idea on the way of thinking of some figures in the cultural world. That’s the reason why our participation was required in their latest reunion. The researchers and artists present are right in their opinions, which are free from any red tape and take objective approaches to the national and international market. This is a good opportunity to know the course of arts. Reality that imposes itself: those well positioned in the market and those who don’t have financial support to maintain their business. The differences? They are part of the risks but to share experiences and to show your accomplishments is a significant result. A few...

It was announced already: there will be French theater in Havana. The artistic director of the event, Serge Sandor, has confirmed that from March 16 through the 23 t, the Francophone dramatic creation will be brought to Cuba, highlighting on these days contemporary plays from France, but also Belgian, Swiss and Canadian ones. It is not the first time Cubans attending the theater hear of Serge Sándor . He is known in the country for the dramatic play El Caballero de Paris, which he took to the scene with patients of psychiatric hospitals in Havana. Sándor told reporters that "the idea is that it is a popular festival and also a place of reflection between Cuban and French speaking people, with ways of seeing drama in a very different way, but with a common passion : the theater." To begin this upcoming event they will feature in theaters Por ahora dudo and La prueba de lo contrario Swiss Marie Fourquet and Olivier Chiacchiari, respectively, La Pandilla by Xavier Carrar (La Bande), juan y Beatriz, by Canadian Carole Fléchette and Vanda 's will, by French Jean -Pierre Simeon. In addition to El caballero de Paris, Serge Sándor has staged other works...

According to the latest statement issued by ETECSA cell phone customers who have an account with e-addresses @nauta.cu can now check their mailbox from the phone. The main requirement to provide the new service is an email account with the domain @nauta.cu enabled. For this they must apply for a permanent Nauta account with access to the @nauta.cu mail Meanwhile cell phones that can access this ETECSA service are those that can support data transmission and containing one email application. These accounts can be obtained at ETECSA business units that have an associated internet navigation room. For this service the rates established in Resolution No. 8 of 2014 are of 1.00 CUC per MB (Megabyte). This rate does not depend on the speed and the time spent in sending or receiving messages, but the volume of information transferred in Bytes . It is clarified that consumption is deducted from the balance on the mobile phone and not the balance in the account of the Nauta service, which must be enabled. Similarly the official Etecsa website through their FAQ section notes that by the time you cannot browse the Internet from mobile, and that only mail for @nauta.cu customers who have...

Yale Glee Club will be embarking on a concert tour to Cuba on March 10, 2014. The Yale Glee Club is the premier mixed choir of students from Yale University and one of the largest of its kind in the United States. The choir is directed by the phenomenal Dr. Jeffrey Douma, who toured Cuba with the Yale Alumni Chorus in 2010. The choir will give two concerts during its stay in Cuba. The first will be at the Iglesia de San Pedro Apóstol in Matanzas city, 100 kilometers east of Havana, on Wednesday the 12th along the Coro de Cámara de Matanzas directed by José Antonio Méndez. The following day they will move to have for their second concert, this time at the Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís, along the Entrevoces choir, directed by Digna Guerra On this trip and his previous visit to Havana, OnCuba interview Dr Jeffrey Douma, who gracioulsy accepted to tell us on his experiences and projects this time: Mr Douma, this will be your second visit to Cuba as a conductor of a Yale choir: what were your impressions on Cuba and Cubans last time? First of all, I was...

Raul Castro proposed to the State Council to renew the position of Minister of Culture, to be held from today by Julián González Toledo, so far deputy minister and former President of the National Council for the Performing Arts 1999-2011. His predecessor, Rafael Bernal, "will be assigned other duties" after his "liberation", that is, he will leave his position with an unblemished record. The official note played by the Cuban media, presents the credentials of Julian Gonzalez Toledo with: "52 years old, graduated from college, has gone through different responsibilities from the base to the Ministry. He has over 20 years experience in the sector. He successfully obtained a Diploma in Public Administration at the Higher School of the State and the Government. " In February this year, the new Minister of Culture chaired the advance debates prior to the next Congress of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) when he was still deputy, giving a sign of his future promotion. Along with the appointment of Toledo González, Cuban Culture Ministry also takes on a new First Deputy Minister: Maria Elena Salgado Cabrera, who is also a veteran of the ministry. The appointment takes place almost two...

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, told reporters the decision of his government to respond positively to the proposal made by the European Union (EU) on February 10 this year, through the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, to start a dialogue with the Cuban government. "Cuba has welcomed this proposal and will act constructively on the basis of the principles of unconditional respect and non-interference in internal affairs," the Cuban minister noted. Rodríguez Parrilla said that the Foreign Ministry had just sent a message to the EU ambassador in Cuba with the aim of initiating exchanges for a dialogue between the European Union and the Cuban government. In October 2008, the EU and Cuba agreed to resume political dialogue and cooperation on a reciprocal basis, with unconditional and non-discriminatory basis, with full respect for the sovereign equality of States, the legal framework and institutional systems of the parties and in adherence to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of States. Since then there have been five high-level meetings of political dialogue and fourteen European states have signed "reciprocal and respectful" agreements with Cuba. Rodriguez also said that it will...

On March6-9, the Love and Peace Festival will return to Cuban scenarios. The change will be visible. A Swedish landscape on a Cuban factory. Havana by Borlänge . And although his history comes from a movement that proliferated in the late 1990s, east of Havana, also holds its own as an independent and multicultural project. During four days , the Cuban Art Factory, a recently opened platform for contemporary art led by creative angel musician and producer X Alfonso , will host the fourth edition of the event, which this time will bring together representatives of the most innovative hip hop flows, rock, pop and punk genres but not as isolated from the interconnection. From Sweden bands Green Moon, Atomic Swing and invasion will arrive, while the music of Norway will be represented by Razika and Honnigbarna projects. The invited groups have an important recognition in their countries, but they are hardly known in Cuba and will be an opportunity to approach the work of these musicians who are leaving their mark in the context of European art. From Cuba there will be the rappers of Obsession, musician David Blanco and of course, X Alfonso with his artistic project. For...