In 2010 an experimental model of management in Havana was launched from which a Taxi Agency was created where cars serving in convertible pesos (CUC) were leased to CUBATAXI drivers. Since then the relations between the state agency and the driver (by the later becoming self-employed and stop being in the payroll) began to be regulated by a contract where it is included a set of conditions to be met by both parties , Débora Canela Piña, specialist of the Ministry of Transport ( MITRANS ) explained to Granma newspaper. "Given the positive results of the first Agency , and as part of ongoing monitoring and improvement of the experience , in 2011 the Agency # 2 in Havana and in 2012 the Agency No. 3 in Varadero were created " the specialist said. After a period of study and adjustment of the designed mechanisms the Gazette Extraordinary No. 1 this year, today publishes a set of standards with which the process of generalization of this experience begins. " This is part of the broader process of transformation that takes place in the management of many services today and the purpose is that before the end of 2014 the experience...

OnCuba reproduces the text that the General Customs of the Republic recently published which clarifies details on import by passengers and by ship to the island In the past month questions have raised regarding Resolutions 222 and 223 of 2012, issued by the Ministry of Finance and Prices and Resolution 122-2012 of the General Customs of the Republic of Cuba, published in the Official Gazette No. 30. We then will try to clarify these questions, from explaining the changes that were introduced. 1 - In which cases people don’t pay It remains that ALL passengers, whether they are permanent residents in Cuba or not, may import free from payment of customs duties personal effects (equivalent to 25 kilograms, if it applies the alternative method of valuation by the weight).They can also import duty free items that according to the law, are exempt from customs duties (See items in this case). Similarly it stays that no customs duties are paid for the items, as part of passenger baggage, definitely enter the country with a value between one and $ 50.99 pesos (equivalent to 5 kilograms of Miscellaneous if the method applied is alternative valuation weight / value) which, together with the...

It is 45 minute trip between Holguin and Gibara, crossing a narrow road worn by the merciless sun from one end to another. And all the time you go jumping with potholes, listening to the radio and wondering how many times Humberto Solas have done the same route. You might think that is a journey as anyone, but this trip dies in Gibara. And Gibara is another thing. It shakes you like no other corner on this island; it gets you through the eyes, takes your breath away. That same feeling the filmmaker must have felt, so he kept going again and again to rescue his romance with her regardless of the sun, the time or the road. That and some other specific thing one reaches to sense only when it gets there.

Since I was lucky enough to see the documentaries Tacones cercanos (2008 ) and El Mundo de Raúl (2010, co-directed by Horizoe Garcia), I look forward to any new endeavors, both in documentary or fiction, by Jessica Rodríguez Sánchez-Ponte, born in Havana in 1986, graduated in direction from the Faculty of Art of Audiovisual Media, and the Master course in Cinema and Television script from Madrid’s Carlos III University. Tacones cercanos and El mundo de Raúl had the audacity to give word and prominence, respectively, to a transvestite cruelly humiliated by someone passing and a fetishist obsessed with masturbation. In Spain, Jessica focused on female experience and the topic of violence in Crac (2012), and then she co-directed with Shaza Moharam the film Ahlam (currently in post-production). However, the audiovisual activity is not enough for her and recently she published her first novel La Bestia y el Pueblo, which according to a well authorized jury, it represents " the right mix of high literature, social analysis and minor genres that entwine with new literary trends" with a "particularly rich and appropriate" language and the transit " through territories ranging from Latin American boom exotic literature until the Gothic novel and...

Cuba received during 2013 a total of 2 million 851 thousand foreign tourists, a figure only slightly larger than the one recorded in 2012 which does not meet the estimated three million expected, according to the Cuban Ministry of Tourism (Tourism). Tourism in the period between January 1 and December 31, 2013, reported an increase of 0.5 percent over the previous year, when 2,838,607 foreign tourists visited the island, commercial director MINTUR, José Manuel Bisbé, said as quoted by Granma newspaper. Canada, France, Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Russia and Venezuela remain as major emitters during the year, followed by the UK, Germany, Chile, Colombia, Holland, Switzerland, China, Peru and Brazil, according to records from the National Bureau Statistics and Information (ONEI). Bisbé warns that errors in the Cuban trade and hotel industry did not go unnoticed. Between January and November 2013 reached 63,518 Russian tourists visited Cuba compared to 78,835 in the same period of 2012, according to figures from ONEI. Tourism is the second largest economic activity in Cuba, with revenues around 2.5 billion USD a year, after the sale of medical services, that brings in some 6 billion. The island has more than 60,000 hotel rooms over 335...

The first Cuban motorway or rock road over the sea, linking the northern keys of Ciego de Avila province with mainland, progresses from the recently completed year in its rehabilitation plan after being seriously affected by Hurricane Ike in 2008. The land route, located about 490 kilometers from Havana gives access to one of the main areas of tourist destinations in the country, where it is located the modern hotel chain Jardines del Rey, with facilities of four and five stars category. Ernesto Rios, director of the Transportation unit in the territory, told Prensa Latina that nine bridges have been already repaired with ridges, cables and cones, among other elements to provide greater security and resilience. Likewise, they worked in the traffic signs and placement of breakwaters, or the location of rock protection on both sides of the road, he said. He stressed that to achieve greater firmness, the foundations and structures were strengthened by means of post-tensioning beams that increase bearing capacity of platforms damaged by being exposed to the aggressive action of natural agents. The elements have a special treatment with anti-corrosion and waterproofing materials thus having greater strength, durability and are able to withstand the aggressive environment,...

The Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Frans Timmermans, will inaugurate next Monday a soccer clinic by SC Feyennord, a Dutch top division soccer c lub, the Cuban Foreign Ministry reported. According to the note, Timmermans will come to Havana on Sunday for an official visit that will last until next Tuesday. The meeting with players of both countries is part of the agreement Karel van Ooesterom, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Political Affairs CEO of that country, signed here seven months ago. This agreement aims to boost relations between the two countries and increase cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, health, culture and sports. During his visit to Havana, Timmermans will hold official talks with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez, who will sign a memorandum on the establishment of a mechanism for bilateral consultations. Holland, one of the main European trading partners of Cuba, had in 2012, according to official figures, a trade exchange with the island of $ 792 million. Data provided by Prensa Latina News Agency.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom included the renowned Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta in her 2014 list of honor for his contributions toballet, the British Royal Family reported in recent days. In her traditional New Year list, the monarch decorated the artist, invited by the Royal Ballet of London, as Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The also choreographer, writer and movie artist said the distinction is "a great surprise and an enormous privilege," he told reporters. The 2011 National Dance Award currently passes through one of the most diverse stages of his career, as in just three months he debuted in cinema, published his first novel (Pata de Puerco) and also debuted as producer for the Royal Ballet with a remake of Don Quixote. Acosta, gold medal at only 17 in the international dance competition in Lausanne, Switzerland, stands out on stage for his exceptionaltechnique and interpretive elegance; hence the specialized press deems him the successor of Rudolf Nureyev and the new Vaslav Nijinsky,two virtuosos of the dance world. The Cuban dancer, one of the highest representatives of the Cuban School of Ballet, is credited with numerous roles in the most prestigious dance companies in the world and also began writing in 2007 with his autobiography No Way Home. His awards also include the Laurence Olivier for the best show presented on London stage in 2006, through the play Tocororo; the PrincessGrace Foundation Dance Fellowship in 1995 and the one to the Merit in the Young Talent Competition, in Positano, Italy. Over a thousand personalities of the art, academic, medical, scientific, social and economic development world of UK were honored by Queen Elizabeth II in four categories. Another of the figures honored by the monarch were the opera singer Katherine Jenkins, the British conductor Simon Rattle, leading the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the octogenarian actress Angela Lansbury, the composer and conductor Maxwell Davies and the former Wimbledonchampion Ann Jones. For the first time since the creation of the Order of the British Empire in 1917, there are more women (51 percent) than men among the winners. Source: EFE

Cuba ended up 2013 with an infant mortality rate of 4.2 per 1000 live births, the lowest figure in its history, according to the official media. Cuba reached for the first time an infant mortality rate under 5.0 in 2008 with a rate of 4.7 per 1,000 live births and since then it has maintained similar rates with 4.8 in 2009, 4.5 in 2010, 4, 9 in 2011 and 4.6 last year. Granma newspaper said on Thursday that this result places the island "among the first nations in the world with lowest indicator" and recalled that infant mortality rate allows measuring " the quality with which a society cares for and protects its children, its health and welfare.” "In the case of Cuba, it also shows how an archipelago of just over 11 million inhabitants , brutally blocked by the United States for over half a century, is able to achieve such an amazing success," the newspaper added. Eight of the 15 Cuban provinces achieved indicators below the national rate of 4.2 at the end of 2013, period in which there were 125.830 births, about 156 more than those occurred in 2012. According to the Ministry of Public Health, the...

It was Sunday, and the No. 174 bus that runs between La Víbora and El Vedado had miraculously arrived quickly and empty. We walked down G street to the Malecón, and sat on the wall. That trip, and every step of what happened that day, was in many ways my first action as an adult. My sister, who was younger than I but more advanced in affairs of the heart, had warned me that if I didn’t give my first “real” kiss to Carlos, my boyfriend for the extremely long time of two months, I would lose him. That genius, the envy of all of the girls at my junior high, would run out of patience for my dopiness. So there I was, 14 years old, sitting on the wall gripped by fear, along with a gentleman who was determined to score the famous first kiss of my life. He did it, and so one of the “milestones” of my history was inscribed, even though—to be truthful, after more than 20 years of experience—that kiss didn’t deserve it. Like those undying memories of love, and under the influence of the New Year and Valentine´s Day, we would like to offer...

On the airplane a voice announces, almost warns, that we’re arriving in Camagüey. Once there, if you drink water from a traditional tinajón (large clay vessel), you run the risk of remaining in this city forever, or at least falling hopelessly in love with it. Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, now 500 years old, has the charm to reel you in. Your stopover is only for one day, and you’re going to need a place to stay, eat, go out on the town, have fun. Based on typical Camagüeyan creativity, OnCuba suggests… ...hail a cab or bicitaxi (bicycle taxi) near the airport; there are plenty to choose from. Ask the driver to take you to Reparto Boves, a residential area close to the city’s historic district, and—if you made your reservation a week earlier—you’ll find all the commodities you need at Casa Yaneva. This two-story, Art Deco-style home is located in a quiet area with an environmentally-friendly atmosphere. Its owner, who has more than 20 years of experience in tourism, has worked in the bed-and-breakfast industry in Spain, Italy, and Brazil. Her slogan: “Our family is at your family’s service.” In her garden and on her verandas, you can...

The reddish color of its tiled roofs identifies the central-eastern Cuban city of Camagüey, cradle of military leaders such as Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz; scientists like Carlos J. Finlay; and literature greats like Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda and Nicolás Guillén. However, the historic colonial villa once known as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe is distinguished above all by the culture of its people. Founded in 1514, Puerto Príncipe was always a land of cattlemen, a prosperous city where the railroad arrived in 1846, thanks to Gaspar “El Lugareño” Betancourt Cisneros. A setting for the country's liberation struggles, the villa was where Frasquito Agüero and Joaquín de Agüero carried out their pro-independence efforts, and in 1868, it was where the Ten Year War began, with the Las Clavellinas Uprising on the 4th of November. Ignacio Agramonte and Salvador Cisneros Betancourt are just two of the men who made their country’s freedom their raison d’être early on, and they were joined by women such as Ana Betancourt de Mora and Amalia Simoni. With a unique urban layout referred to as “broken plate,” formed by narrow streets and a system of plazas and smaller plazas, the colonial villa of Santa María del...

The first Partagas Gran Reserva is today the most outstanding new release at the end of 2013 and beginning of New Year, a statement of the corporation Habanos SA states. That company adds that it is a numbered production of five thousand boxes of 15 units each with tobacco leaves aged for at least five years, giving it a distinctive touch to these Habanos, a highly coveted brand by Premium cigar fans worldwide. Partagas, founded in 1845, is one of the most recognized brands among the most demanding smokers. This new Gran Reserva delves into the unique character of Habanos as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). For the development of this novelty, there were selected the best tobacco leaves of Vuelta Abajo, region of Cuba's westernmost province, Pinar del Rio; leaves harvested in 2007 and subjected to a long and careful aging process . The statement adds that such raw material received utmost care and controls on aging evolution, which finally, in the hands of Partagas cigar rollers experts, took shape to produce a unique cigar. They added that the iconic vitola Lusitanias was chosen for this unique production that comprises Partagas Gran Reserva, brand renown for its intense flavor....

How much is my house worth? How much time to I need to sell it? What price should I put on it, if there are no market references from the last half century? Where should I advertise? Who will the buyers be? These are some of the questions we have when we decide to buy or sell. Answering them is the job of real estate agents. Buying or selling a piece of real estate is a very important decision for a person, family, or business, and it often has sentimental implications that go beyond the financial aspect. Selling the home where you were born and where your kids grew up is not the same as buying a vacation home. We believe that this is the factor that is most affecting the real estate market in Cuba. Let’s be realistic; the infrastructure on the island is not on par with the average on the continent. And the average Cuban cannot save up $200,000 to buy a home. In today’s prices, we are including our love for our homes and their future value. In this sensitive area, real estate professionals plays a fundamental role: what is the real value of the as-built...

Next year should be the Foreign Investment in Cuba if the custom established by Fidel Castro to name the years in accordance with the historical moment, either by the political event or by a change or economic sector would have more important context is kept. Not only because the port of Mariel opens its docks and the Special Development Zone, but the emergence of a new legal framework ... and the circumstances in which it will be approved. In March 2014, the National People's Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session to discuss the new Law on Foreign Investment. Cuban President Raul Castro reported it in his speech during the last meeting of the legislature of the island in 2013. He referred to the “improvement of the policy for foreign investment” , commenting that they are working on the development of future legislation to regulate the entry and stay of entrepreneurs and foreign capital in the country. The Cuban National Assembly is not used to call extraordinary sessions. The latter was requested by former President Fidel Castro, in August 2010. Exceptionally, the Cuban Parliament will break the habit and will meet outside their usual dates to discuss the new law. None...

"Tourism is no longer the privilege of a few to become everyone's right," Carlos Vogeler, Regional Director for the Americas of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) said at a conference on Updated international tourism, given in the Plaza America Convention Center in Varadero resort. World tourism now accounts for nine percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), one in 12 jobs, six percent of international trade and eight percent of the exports from the least developed countries, according to the World Tourism Organization. In 2012 occurred an increase of four percent, both on arrival (1, 037 billion people) and revenue (1, 075 billion dollars), Vogeler said. It is noteworthy that America was the world's fastest growing continent in revenue in 2012, because it grew faster than the international average with a total income of U.S. $ 215 million, and 7 million arrivals. Only the hotel industry in the Pacific presented a 66, 5 per cent occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) of $ 176, as released by the OMT. Major emitting countries worldwide last year were in the following order: China, Germany and the U.S., and the outlook for growth this year worldwide is estimated to be four per cent,...

"We are confident that someday we will get to America because there is no reason why a client cannot enjoy good Cuban rum." These were the optimistic words of Jérome Cottin - Bizonne , CEO of the Corporation Havana Club International, in an interview to OnCuba after the official presentation of the new brand of rum in the northern nation registered for sale in that market, when the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba is lifted. As part of the celebrations for the twentieth anniversary of the creation of the Cuban - French company, the lead manager of the entity shared with this publication the interest that Havana Club continues its attempts to conquer a neighboring and accessible market, and spoke of the dispute surrounding the trading name of the rum which is drank in over one hundred countries, leaving large dividends, and is an ambassador of Cuban beverages, in complicity with its French ally. What is Havanista? Havanista is a brand of rum, belonging to the Havana Club International SA Corporation, and registered in the U.S. in 2011. We designed this product because we are confident that one day we can sell in that country when the restrictions imposed by...

Thirteen artists from the Havana Company of the National Circus of Cuba will participate in the International Circus Festival in Rome, Italy. The Cubans will perform two acts that were awarded last year’s International Circus Festival in Summer, Circuba 2013, that took place in Havana. The new Pole Dance-Silver Star and the number of fixed bars with double rank-Bronze Star-will measure their talent among about 50 artists from various countries at the event, which opened on Saturday, December 21 and that will run until Sunday January 12, 2014. It parallel to contest, they will have the world premiere of Circus Pain, photographic exhibition byJosé Manuel Cordero and noted for his humanistic approach for circus artists worldwide. Here are some of the pieces in this exhibition.

The state budget for 2014 was approved by the Cuban Parliament, which meets in its last session in 2013. According to the national media, the highest incidence is in financing export and import substitution. It was learned that 54 percent of the funds will be spent on education and public health (with 27 and 22 percent, respectively). Social assistance will have a support of 341 million pesos, of which 58 percent goes to the attention of the construction status of Grandparents Homes and Nursing Homes, consistent with the level of increasing of the aging population. For current activity budgeted expenses were approved 31, 8 billion million pesos (similar in dollars), while current transfers to the unbudgeted activity, expenses for 12.1 billion pesos were approved, representing an increase of 2.177 billion pesos, a 22 percent growth. Funding of basic goods at subsidized prices require 2.437 billion pesos, representing 314 million more than the estimated for the end of this year. The Cuban budget will operate with a deficit that is expected to be 1.899 billion pesos. The Minister of Finance and Prices, Alina Pedraza admitted that the growth of the deficit is higher than the growth of gross domestic product, causing...

New legal rules for the import and marketing of motor vehicles shall be published in the coming days in the Official Gazette, reports Granma newspaper in its Thursday edition. It is "the retailing sales of motorcycles, cars, panels, vans and microbuses, brand new and second hand, for Cuban and foreign natural persons residing in the country as well as foreign legal entities and diplomats, setting prices similar to those recognized in the retail market among private individuals.” "This free sale -adds the note, will be implemented gradually and progressively, and it will have priority who currently own letters of authorization. With the income raised Cuba will create a fund especially dedicated to the development of public transport throughout the country ". “It also keeps the authorization of direct imports of new motor vehicles and resale to authorized importers and the diplomatic corps.” "With the new regulations also continues the transfer of ownership among all owners, both domestic and foreign, and stays the limitation to Cuban and foreign legal entities from selling vehicles to individuals. The sale of internal combustion engines (gasoline and diesel) and body parts among individuals is permitted. In addition, the sale of bodies resulting from disarmament of...

The Spanish navigator Alvaro de Marichalar performed for the first time a Jet Ski travel through open sea with his wife, the Russian Ekaterina Anikeeva, a distance of nearly eight hours from Key West to Havana, where he said today that it is a record he hopes to be officially recognized. De Marichalar and Anikeeva arrived Cuba on Tuesday completing the stage Key West- Havana of the trip the adventurer began this month in Miami ( USA) to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Vasco Nunez de Balboa. "For the first time I sail with someone else in my same ship," Marichalar told reporters this Wednesday at the Marina Hemingway Nautical Club in Havana, after highlighting the "courage" of Anikeeva, whom he described as a "hero." According to the Spaniard , they made ​​the crossing "100 percent standing" on board his jet ski "Numancia" and suffered two falls without "panicking," the first was at just 25 miles after leaving Key West, and another one at night at just seven miles from the Cuban capital. Marichalar explained that Ankikeeva, who was born in Kamchatka and from a family close to marine life, had accompanied him...

Miguel Diaz-Canel, Politburo member and first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers, raised the need for the media to move from the first half of 2014 on the fundamental issues that have been under discussion since the conclusion of the IX Upec Congress. "Congress raised hopes. There is already a way in which progress has been made. We have done things, but you have to work harder and make progress on key issues. We must avoid starting to bore, "Diaz-Canel said during a meeting with the senior leadership of the Upec, in which Rolando Alfonso Borges, head of the Ideological Department, also participated. Díaz-Canel mentioned among these quality issues, the controls on what people are contributing, continuing the fight against secrecy, improvement and professionalism, culture of redacting, Party-press relationship, redesigning profiles in the media, the material support to the press and communication strategies. During the sixth meeting of the Upec Presidency with Diaz - Canel from the IX Congress, President Antonio Molto informed about the response of the International Institute of Journalism José Martí to central government agencies on the various course modules to contribute to the pictures of these institutions are better prepared to face the...

The Gaviota Varadero Marina is one of the largest development projects by the Gaviota Tourism Group SA , leading company in the sector in the Caribbean Island . This seaside resort, considered the largest tourist port of Cuba and the Caribbean, will mark a new stage in the country, since it is a window to navigation tourism. Located at the tip of the Hicacos Peninsula, the facility will be expanded with over 1300 berths for small boats to mega yachts. It has a large fleet of own boats, catamarans, ride and fishing yachts, as well as providing moorings for passing yachtsmen and sailors. “A modern international port with all the facilities necessary for the care of the boats, it is becoming the main gateway to Cuba for boating enthusiasts and to the new Meliá Marina Varadero and its apartments, along with a beautiful shopping area in process, we aspire to be ready for the 2013-2014 winter season, " Frank País Oltuski , vice president of marketing of Gaviota said at the International Tourism Fair of Havana ( FITCuba , 2013) . Oltuski recalled that the Marina is protected from northeast winds prevailing in the area and close to the top...

The Louis Cristal cruise begins its journey through Cuba. The boat will start a season trips around the Caribbean country, which will run until March 2014, departing every Monday from Havana, and Fridays from Montego Bay, Jamaica. This project organized by the Canadian company Cuba Cruise and the Ministry of Tourism in Cuba is part of the marketing and promotional campaign for MINTUR for the winter months. The circuit planned for the first season of the Louis Cristal lasts for seven nights and has six ports of call, among them, those of Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuegos, and also will have a stopover in Punta Frances, isle of Youth, and at the Holguin tourist pole. In a meeting this Sunday held aboard the vessel, Dugald Wells , president of the northern company claimed to have high expectations on this project that they have worked with Cuban authorities for the last four years, and finally it is a reality . He told reporters that he and his team are committed to the development of new product, designed to show the world the diverse charms of Cuba, its people, culture and nature, and also looking for benefits for both parties.