The implementation of new commercial offers for cell phones, in order to improve the quality of that service, will run from the second half of the year. Among the service designated to optimize the mobile network are offering email and internet browsing, the elimination of mandatory reload of five convertible pesos (CUC), and the balance transfer between prepaid users. Executives of Mobile Phone Services of Telecommunication Company of Cuba (ETECSA by its Spanish acronym), told the press that commercial activities, such as recharging from abroad, positively influenced the progress of that entity. This is mainly due to the acquisition of fresh money by the country, of great importance to the expansion and modernization of the services offered by that institution. It was known that rate adjustments for voice services, international message and local voice will also be made, and customers can make payment of various services from their mobile. Another new service will be the enlargement of mobile tarification modality differentiated by zones to other areas of interest, which consists of establishing differentiated prices in territories presenting traffic low levels of traffic. The measures announced will apply to all wireless service, except the last one, which is performed in selected...

The Secretary of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon stressed the importance that in the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) they will discuss on sustainable development, peace and security. Upon his arrival in Havana early Monday to attend the Summit that brings together the most senior representatives of 33 countries of Latin America, Ban Ki-moon said that the appointment will achieve the integration of Latin America. "I am very happy to be in Cuba, next to this great anniversary of José Martí," the head of the UN said in the José Martí airport and also said he has great interest in meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro and other Cuban authorities. "I am very interested in the process of change that is occurring in Cuba and so am very interested in knowing what is being done and how the UN can support this process," he said. In the first visit of the island in his capacity as Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon arrived invited to participate in the Summit of CELAC. According took a spokesman for the UN; he intends to hold "bilateral meetings" with ministers and heads of various countries in...

A new brewery , similar in the manufacturing process of this drink to that marketed in the current House of Beer, in Plaza Vieja, is ready for its opening. It is part of the rehabilitation project of Havana Port conducted by the Office of the Historian of the City in order to rescue the architectural legacy and memory of the area, with a multifunctional purpose. It is located where the once was the Cigars and Woods Warehouse, in front of Paula Church, at the end of the Alameda of the same name, next to San Jose Storehouses, restored in 2008. After 3 years of implementation, the building is integrated into the incorporating project of this area within the public areas system of the maritime border and it is itself the opening for future purposes in the zone. From the hand of architects Juan José Díaz (General Planner) and Orlando Inclan (Urban Design) and interior designer Monica Pestano, leaders of the Architectural, Planning and Interior Design Project for a brewery, we got to know details about this new establishment, the concepts followed for restoring the site, its implementation and characteristics. Already ready for its opening (there is still no specific date...

The Central American Caribbean has its own season of illegal immigrants. According to AFP, landings from Cuba increase in Honduran beaches during December to May, when there is almost no wind or rain threatening the rustic ships with which Cuban rafters usually try to make this crossing. By accident or mischief of the waves, that country has become a common destination for dozens of Cubans, whose ultimate purpose is not to migrate to Central America but the United States , via the Rio Grande or the Arizona desert. Cubans arriving there follow the trail to Central Americans who for decades have gone through Mexico from south to north, towards the American Dream. This month, there have been reported thirteen Cubans, who after crossing hundreds of miles of salt water reached near an island called Utila, near Honduras. They were rescued just at few kilometers from the mainland by a Costa Rican flag ship, which took them to Castilla Port, Honduras. In 2013 the Directorate for Migration and Aliens in Honduras detained 44 Cuban rafters for irregularities in their documentation. Instead of extraditing them, they solved their problem: they were freed after handing a permit to continue their way to the...

Canadian singer Justin Bieber, who less than a month ago announced his retirement from the world of music, wrote on Wednesday in his Instagram account that he was in Cuba. This time, the singer surprised his followers to post on his official account on Instagram a photo of him smoking a Cuban cigar. "I'm in love Cuba Cubans" are the words that accompany the image, which in less than 12 hours had about 943 000 "likes" and 139,000 comments. On his alleged visit to Cuba in the news site Justinbieberday.cl it is clarified that "Justin is not smoking marijuana, he is smoking a cigar called Cuban cigar. Neither Justin is in Cuba. " The Justinbiebermusicx.com site claims that the star apparently was skiing in Colorado and decided to spend a weekend in Cuba to have a slightly warmer holiday, stopping in Miami for a party on Monday night. Some sources claim that Bieber is actually in Miami, where hundreds of thousands of Cubans live, and perhaps his only phrase on Instagram has been said figuratively. Beyond that is true or not, the mention of Cuba, the image of the artist with a cigar and his expression of love for the...

The Gazette of the Republic of Cuba just published a new resolution on the minimum monthly fees in convertible pesos (CUC) for the leasing of real estate to domestic enterprises and natural persons residing in the Island With this new provision it was extended to natural persons residing in Cuba the scope of a resolution (No. 353, 2011) that only favored enterprises. Now, according to the document, the minimum lease fee per square meter (m²) will be 5.00 CUC on property for residential purposes and the same figure for those who will be embassies, international schools, news agencies and NGOs, 7.00 CUC in property with type of housing that will be used as offices, shops and warehouses, and 10.00 CUC those not classified within the type of housing and will be given the same usage as the previous variant. From the minimum established, other rates will be added taking into account market behavior, geographic location and other qualitative elements in correspondence with its comfort. Further, for example, a special plus is set if properties have no common outdoor areas such as pools and authorizes the head of a particular real estate agency to approve a temporary discount on fares apply...

Following the entry into force of the migration reform in Cuba ( last January ) which eliminated the reviled " exit permit " and extended the allowable periods of stay of its citizens abroad , the number of Cubans that travel to other countries has grown up to 284 240, for private matters, during 2013, exceeding by 41.4 % the previous year's records . While most people in the archipelago suffers economic constraints associated with the cost of tickets in relation to their income , and difficulties in obtaining visas , some 201,206 Cubans departed from the island to visit abroad - just 11.5 % more than once, and the third of them went to the United States. If at this point you're wondering how many return, you should know that before December 31 about 30 thousand returned from the US and more than 65,200 from other latitudes : amount representing 47 % of all Cubans who crossed national borders . The rest still has 24 months to return to the Island or extend their stay outside without losing their rights. However, note the contrast within the group of children at the same stage: 16,248 of which came from Cuban...

Sonia Jacobsen described herself with long hair tied in a ponytail so that we can recognize her in the courtyard of Cuba ’s Nacional Hotel. H er third stay here was motivated to collaborate, in her role as a composer, in the concert ¨ Entre electroacústica y acústica¨, held on Sunday afternoon at Ignacio Cervantes Hall . Through salsa, it all started th rough salsa, the interest in Cuban music, sounds and elements that form it , its origins, with that mixture of African and European that I found essential to the history of Latin music, and music in general. So I took Cuba as a starting point, and I came here with the intention of exploring Cuban music, to analyze its components, and see which of them can be traced to reach its roots. On that first trip I met by chance Marita Rodriguez, professor at the Higher Institute of Art (ISA by its Spanish acronym). She was interested in a new music, something that sounded different, so I told her ok; I'll send you my music. I sent it and indeed she liked it. That's when I set out to make something, a concert or a recording, perhaps....

The Casa de las Americas Literary Prize celebrates its 55th edition , from the 20th to 30th of this month , organized by the cultural institution Casa de las Americas, based in Havana. Nearly 400 works from several countries were registered for the various categories of the competition. Argentina, Cuba, Mexico and Colombia are among the most represented. The new edition of the event is dedicated to honoring Latin American writers Julio Cortázar , Octavio Paz, José Revueltas, Julia de Burgos, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Efraín Huerta and Nicanor Parra and the centenary of their birthdays . The jury for this occasion, is integrated by leading writers and intellectuals of the region as Mexican Rosa Beltran, Argentina Saul Sosnowski , Puerto Rican Juan Gelpi , Dominican Chiqui Vicious , Cuban Emerio Medina, Osvaldo Cano, Alberto Garrandés, Maria Teresa Ortega , Norma Vasallo and Pablo Armando Fernández , and the Brazilian Eric Nepomuceno, who will select the winners in the categories of stories, essays of literary artistic subject, theater and Brazilian and Caribbean English or Creole literature. The "Special Award Women's Studies" is also included, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the program that the institution dedicated to these inquiries. As part...

Cubasí website, belonging to the Telecommunications Company of Cuba ETECSA S.A., has just released information announcing that from January 21, 2014, and from the website www.ezetop.com, Cubans living on the island can benefit from payment services through Internet. From abroad, users can, in addition to recharge cell phones in Cuba, use the new service “Mi Cuenta Prepago” and pay bills in CUC to residential users who pay telephone service in CUP and have bills in CUC for other services (such as international calls, caller ID and brief number). From www.ezetop.com, the service recharges and bill payment will have a minimum value of 10.00 CUC up to 50 CUC, although those interested may make as many transactions as they want. It is important to note that if you pay a bill and the money deposited exceeds the amount to be paid, the remaining balance is kept as a credit for future bills. These operations can also be performed from Cuba, if the user has the bank cards required by this Web site. To verify that an account has been recharged you must access the service 16307 where you will hear a voice message to confirm that your service has been recharged...

The new Partagas cigar brand can be tasted during the 16th Habanos Festival, taking place in Havana from February 24 to 28. According to the event organizers, the new Habano cigar has more than 15 centimeters long-highly appreciated size among smokers, and corresponds to a unique production. All cigars belonging to this first Partagas Grand Reserve were entirely handmade with long filler for the most experienced rollers and have the characteristic band of La Casa del Habano, Habanos SA website noted. The Partagas brand, founded in 1845, is one of the most recognized among the most demanding smokers. Lusitanias, is made from tobacco leaves of the harvest 2007, from Vuelta Abajo, the most famous Cuban tobacco production area, located in the province of Pinar del Rio, on the western end of the island. The careful selection of the leaves was performed by the experienced and veteran master blender Arnaldo Bichot, from Partagas Factory, and supervised by experts from the Tobacco Institute. The new cigars will be available soon in specialized stores around the world, with a numbered production of 5,000 boxes of 15 units each. Weeks ago, the Cuban tobacco industry also announced the release of Libertador, another new Bolivar...

¨Contigo pan y cebolla¨ is a play for all time. As Virgilio Piñera did with ¨Aire frio¨, Hector Quintero takes a snapshot of Cuban society and part of its history, with a huge load of universality. The play, written in 1962 and the following year won a mention in Casa de las Americas Award, was first brought to the stage in February 1964 by Sergio Corrieri with Teatro Estudio group. Teatro D'Dos takes this time the challenge of staging a classic of vernacular theater, when it is just taking place the 50th anniversary of its premiere. Julio César Ramírez, director of the group, shared his views about the play and what it means assuming one of the most symbolic texts of Cuban theatre. -For many, ¨ Contigo ... stands as an essential moment of Cuban theatre for its popular essence. What do you think about that? "It is one of the key texts in the history of contemporary theater. In my view, Hector Quintero is the great creator of comedy and master of dialogue , he knew to explore the essence of Cuban people, take it on the scene with a huge sense of closeness and identification with the public....

New regulations published by the Official Gazette authorize the release of land extending to 67.10 acres also to individuals linked to Credit and Services Cooperatives (CCS). These rules are contained in Decree Law No. 311 “amending the Decree Law No. 300 " and Decree No. 319 " amending Decree No. 304 " , published in the Official Gazette No.4 . In these cases, applications are subject to approval by the Chief or the Provincial Director of Agriculture, and the Chief of the Special Municipality Isle of Youth, as appropriate. The published regulations state that those authorizations will be granted in those municipalities where only exist CCS or in cases where state farms with legal personality , the Basic Units of Cooperative Production ( UBPCs ) and Agriculture Production Cooperatives (CPA ) are located more than five kilometers away from the areas requested in usufruct. If, as applicable, other special situations occur, the Delegate or Provincial Director of Agriculture and the Chief of the Special Municipality of the Isle of Youth may approve exceptionally the lease of lands, after consulting the Minister of Agriculture. Over one million 580 thousand hectares of idle land have been given so far in usufruct since...

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Manuel Insulza, will travel to Havana invited by Raul Castro to participate in the II Summit of CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States). On January 28 and 29, Insulza will join the rest of the presidents and prime ministers from the region who will participate in this annual political meeting, attended by all heads of state and government of the Western Hemisphere, except from the U.S. and Canada. The presence of the Secretary General of the OAS in Havana has a very special diplomat significant because Cuba was suspended from the organization in 1962. The separation of Cuba from OAS was formally lifted in 2009. But Cuba didn’t rejoin the organization although it was considered from that date a Member State. Until 2012, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba had on its website a page dedicated to the “shameful history of the OAS” and another to an account of the actions of that organization against the country. However, the Government of Cuba has shown interest in attending the meeting, although the lack of consensus among the remaining 34 countries prevented it from being present in the...

The well-known filmmaker and screenwriter won the Coral Prize for Best Short Film with ¨Casting¨ in the 35th edition of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, Havana 2013. Some describe him as "incisive filmmaker" and he answers: "It's a redundancy, I p refer director or creator.”A film written by Del Llano gives off its smell from distance, it has the ability to provoke, to make people laugh and also think. He does not try to mortify with his work, what matters is his talent-and he has enough-and the immense desire to continue, stubbornly, making movies. What are the most characteristic elements in your work, which, until now, have not been modified or abandoned? You're asking me to become a critic. I guess humor is one of the most significant things that characterize what I do. It does not mean it always works, although I always try it. In the cinema and literature I love the fantasy and science fiction, or at least certain areas of them and probably also certain iconoclastic style, both in the political and ethical field, various types of social grants that from time to time, it's healthy to put them into question, at least...

The baseball team from University of Tampa, The Spartans, has developed for a week a broad agenda that included the celebration of games and exchanges with students, artists and children of the island. A review of the first days of the trip said that on Monday night they hosted a dinner where they invited Victor Mesa, director of the Matanzas team that right now is disputing the second stage of the LIII National Series. The former outfielder from Villa Clara invited them to attend a game of his team. The group of visitors that includes , in addition to athletes and coaches, university staff and some parents shared last Tuesday with people gathered in the famous Central Park. In the preferred site for the eternal Havana baseball discussions, they chatted animatedly with those fans who gather daily at the side of the statue of Cuban National Hero José Martí. The next day they played the first of the planned games. The Spartans, current kings of the second division of the NCAA circuit faced a team from the capital city’s Baseball Academy. The result favored the northern squad with the scoreboard showing a tight 2 to 1 victory. The Cuban Play...

The Cubana de Aviacion Corporation S. A. announced in a press release, the organizational measures taken in order to ensure good services during the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to be held January 25-27 in Havana. According to the release, it was necessary to establish the following changes: Between January 23 to the 31, 2014, domestic flights will move from Terminal No. 1 of the José Martí International Airport, to Terminal No. 5 of the Airport, located in the town of Wajay. From January 22 to February 1, 2014, international flights will move from Terminal No. 5 of the José Martí International Airport, to Terminal No. 3 of the same airport. From January 24 to 30, 2014, g domestic cargo services that are offered in stores in Terminal No. 1, will move to cargo warehouses, located in Lombillo and Buena Vista, Plaza de la Revolution. Between January 23 to 30, 2014, they will not allow the waiting list for domestic flights from José Martí International Airport. The note also emphasizes that the Terminal No. 5 of the José Martí International Airport, has the conditions required to ensure domestic flights, similarly, cargo warehouses that...

Camilo Cienfuegos Oil Refinery, belonging to CUVEN Joint Venture, Cuba-Venezuela Oils, is expected to begin operating from January 21st. This industry, located at Cienfuegos city, at about 250 kilometres Southeast Havana, will meet the maintenance process to which it underwent 50 days ago at the end of this week, stage in which 11 towers, 50 tambours, 25 filters, 10 interchangers, along with ovens, reactors, and security and manually operated valves. According to Radio Rebelde radio station, the enterprise undergoes an investment process in the system of lightning rod in the crude tanks and a flowmetry system is being installed at the railroad loading area to increase operational liability and reach an efficient management of client-supplier chain by the end of the year. With a staff made up by around 500 workers, at the end of last year, they celebrate the feat of fulfilling for the sixth consecutive occasion the annual plan with more than 19 683 000 barrels of crude. They also achieve the historical mark over 121 394 000 barrels. The best achievements of the industry in the last years have been energy sources savings such as water, electricity, chemical reagents, lubricant oils and oil, which favours refining margin....

The Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba published details of a new law on self-employment at the end of September 2013, which adds figures, removes limitations on the exercise of certain activities and define more precisely the name and scope of each. This publication discloses now in its Special Issue no. 3 the Decree Law 315 which updates the provisions for the implementation of measures as a result of offenses committed in the exercise of this form of non-state management. Executives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security assured that among the major changes there is a single fixed amount for fines corresponding to the gravity of the infringement, eliminating the minimum and maximum ranges established so far. Prohibition from exercising certain self-employed activities when it is established that the violation threatens the health or life is also included. This does not prevent the offender from being allowed to have another activity that does not entail the same danger. The Decree states that when the situation warrants it, confiscation of tools and raw materials will apply both to those involved in the self-employment in legal and illegal ways. Specifically raw materials will be confiscated if they are proven...

Energy, industry, agriculture and tourism will be the focus of attention in this capital of entrepreneurs of Cuba and the United Kingdom, who will assess on Tuesday new opportunities to strengthen economic and commercial relations. During the business forum, to be held until Wednesday at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, the parties will present their potential in various economic sectors, which will include the opportunities offered by the new Special Development Area of Mariel (ZEDM) in Havana. For the 15th, organizers have scheduled the presentation of results of bilateral cooperation in agribusiness and renewable energy, obtained thanks to the association of British and Cuban companies. Also on this date, there will be exhibitions by the British Council of Potato and by the group Taylor Food, around the processes of production, storage and commercialization of this tuber, of high consumption in the Caribbean nation. Brian Wilson, business ambassador of the Trade and Investment Office of the UK (UKTI), and Odalys Seijo, acting president of the Chamber of Commerce of Cuba, will head this meeting. Standing out among projects boosted by London and Havana are the construction in 2015 of an electricity generation plant, taking sugar cane bagasse and marabou wood as...

Cuba will host again the biggest international event that honors the best cigar in the world and the 27 Habanos premium brands, entirely hand-manufactured. The 16 th Cuban Cigars Habanos Festival will begin on Monday February 24, a single week in which thousands of people from more than 80 countries around the world share their passion for Habanos in presence of more than 250 accredited international journalists. Until Friday February 28, the event will feature its traditional activities accompanied by novelties and exclusive nights. All those wishing to travel to the origins and know the secrets of a unique tradition accumulated over centuries in Cuba, may get registered from next January 14 on Habanos official website. Hoyo de Monterrey, Partagas, Trinidad and H. Upmann are the brands that will star the Festival’s next edition. Attendees will be able to exclusively taste Habanos S.A. major launches for 2014, in which there is always the presence of Cohiba and Montecristo brands, as well as enjoying a full program of activities. A novelty in this edition will be the Alliance of Habanos with some of the best and most exclusive beers in the world, which will be led by Ben Vinken, a Belgian...

A new version of La Bodeguita del Medio, Cuba's most famous restaurant bar was opened in the city of Trinidad, which these days celebrates the 500th anniversary of its founding. Located a few meters from where the first foundational Christian Mass was celebrated, and right next to the famous Canchánchara on Real Street, the Trinidad replica of the Bodeguita, in Old Havana, is set up to serve than more fifty diners at same time. With the opening of La Bodeguita del Medio in Trinidad, there are three facilities of its kind in Cuba, which are added to a dozen overseas, many of them concentrated in Central and South America, and various European countries. Like its predecessors, both on the island and in other countries, it maintains the supply of local food and traditional mojito immortalized by his predilection by the great American writer Ernest Hemingway, reported Cubacontemporánea website. In parallel, the colonial mansion makes its walls available to every visitor, but especially the intelligentsia from the village, an opportunity that had at the time in the one in Havana, founded in 1942, figures as Gabriela Mistral, Ernest Hemingway, Agustín Lara, Pablo Neruda and Nicolas Guillen, the website said. The new...

It is now possible to portray, as Juan Carlos Tabio did on house swaps with his movie “House for swap”, the adventures of buying and selling houses in Cuba. Since the entry into force of Decree -Law 288, the facades of the roughly main avenues are filled with posters of sale , and virtual markets as Revolico are crammed with ads both vendors, as well as people interested in purchasing. the activity enjoys such vitality that in 2013 more house were sold and bought more than swapped. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) analyzes that statistically the transfer of property by purchase or donation in the previous year increased, while decreased the number of swap agreements. However, the corresponding figures were not mentioned. Between December 2011 and November 2013 many homes were sold and bought up to five times, but in ensuring legal security, according to statements made to local media by Aniuska Puente, Property, Commercial and Heritage Records Specialist at the MoJ. The official noted an increase in homeownership records, between January and October 2013 that attested 873, 314 properties, of which 213,346 are state properties and 659,968 are private houses. The registration requirement for real estate transactions legalized in...

Tablas Alarcos Publishing House already announces the titles they will present in the nearby 23rd International Cuba Book Fair , in Havana, to be held from February 13 to 23. In the same institution headquarters-211 of Linea Street, Tables Alarcos will offer the readers in addition to previously published books, new copies of its collections. “El trigo y la cizaña”, by Jesus Lozada Guevara, is a recent acquisition of the House, and is the third of Oralia collection. Another new title is "Escenas entrevistas", from La Selva Oscura Collection, a compilation by Norberto Codina which brings together 17 personalities of the Cuban scene interviewed in La Gaceta de Cuba journal for 20 years. The latter Collection also brings “Otro heredero. Elementos neobarrocos en los espectáculos de El Ciervo Encantado”, by Amarilys Pérez Vera. This book opens the series of volumes that Alarcos publishes to the research award granted by Hermanos Saiz Association. "Mi vida en el arte" by Konstantin Stanislavski is the title number 31st of Biblioteca de Clasicos collection, and is the third of the very important Russian author that Tablas Alarcos publishes along with “El trabajo del Actor sobre sí mismo en el proceso creador de las vivencias”...

OnCuba Representatives of the U.S. and Cuban governments resumed dialogue on migration in a respectful environment this Thursday in Havana, after six months after a similar one took place in Washington. During the talks, as in the previous meeting, officials reviewed the implementation of existing agreements in this area between the two countries and the evaluation of the actions undertaken jointly to deal with illegal migration and trafficking of people. The delegation headed by the Cuban director of the US Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba , Josefina Vidal Ferreiro - insisted that these phenomena cannot be eradicated or achieved a legal , safe and orderly flow of migration between the island and the U.S. - purpose that the American administration claims to be making its best efforts, despite maintaining its policy toward the island , while the policy of dry feet, wet feet and the Cuban Adjustment Act haven’t been repealed ; main stimuli –according to Cuba - for illegal departures and irregular arrivals of Cuban citizens to American soil. During the meeting, Cuban officials provided updated information on the implementation of new immigration procedures in its territory, as well as on agreements with other countries...