Cuban prima ballerina Yolanda Correa was recently awarded with one of the most prestigious prizes given to the major figures of the dancing arts in the world. She was honoured, in Italy, with the Positano Dance Prize “Leonide Massine” in its fortieth edition. The current soloist of the Norwegian National Ballet has played hundreds of roles in various international stages since her name appeared alongside the greats of Cuban National Ballet (BNC), when she began her career in Cuba.

The workshop where Zaida del Rio works is located on top of the La Mina bar-restaurant, in Old Havana. It is a medium-sized apartment with colonial windows that faces the former City Hall, now the Museum of the City. On the walls there are some pictures hanging. Others, still fresh, rest on the easels. A photo of the Buddha Karmapa and various Indian souvenirs brought from the ancient kingdoms of Jaipur, Ashmer, and Phuskar; a banner of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre and several family pictures live along her drawings and ceramics.

The García Lorca Hall of Gran Teatro de La Habana presented this weekend the piece María Viván by the Compañía de Danza Combinatoria Rosario Cárdenas, as part of the activities on the centennial of the famous Cuban dramatist Virgilio Piñera (1912-1979).

A year ago we had the premiere of the documentary “Cristóbal de La Habana“ in the movie room of the San Geronimo University College of Havana, in the historic center of Havana. Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring (August 23, 1889 - August 8, 1964), one of the most outstanding figures of the national intelligentsia of the first half of the twentieth century, stopped being a towering personality right from the history books, at least for me. His role as a communicator in the service of the Cuba heritage was the main topic of the documentary.

Back in the 1930s Argentinean singer Carlos Gardel made popular a phrase that included in one of his most famous tangos “Volver” (Return): “Twenty years are nothing”…by ninety must be. Especially when it comes to working non-stop like the Cuban Radio has done since its founding on August 22, 1922.

Historically, Havana has been a night owl and a diverse city. For several years, one of the main arteries of the capital the Presidents’ Avenue (also known as G Street) has become an objective for theorists and social researchers. Every week-end, hundreds of teenagers and young people meet in that space. The most popular groups are the emos, hippies, mickies, repa, punks and metaleros. But among them there are other much more unique classifications: floggers, Gothic, grunges, wolf-men, among others.

To my surprise, she lives in a small house in El Vedado, Havana, with blue French windows. When I arrived I saw her at the end of the hall. Rocking in the terrace she did not hear the door bell because she was watching a Spanish film. I called her by her name: “María Elena!” I tried it with her last name: “Molinet!” But still she did not lose concentration in the film they were showing that afternoon on TV. After a few minutes she realized that “someone was patiently leaning on the living door frame”.

La máquina del Siglo XXI (The 21st Century Machine) is the title selected for the show that Cuban groups Hipnosis, Chlover, Escape and Rice and Beans will present next Saturday, July 28, 2012 at 6 pm in the capital’s Maxim Rock hall (62 Bruzón Street between Ayestarán and Almendares Streets). The bands will play themes from their repertoires of the last ten years. The concert will be filmed in order to make a DVD. The first 100 persons who arrive at the theater will receive a CD with 12 unpublished songs.

Caminar descalzo sobre los finos tapices del artista cubano Carlos Garaicoa es revivir La Habana de los comercios. Increíble. Son como los mismísimos pisos de mármol o granito de la capital. Algunas de la firmas de las antiguas compañías, plasmadas en los suelos de los grandes portales de las zonas de Centro Habana o del Vedado, construyen parte del universo simbólico de la muestra Fin del silencio.

Flora Fong tiene algo de alquimista. Las obras más recientes de la reconocida artista de la plástica parecieran no perder la esencia de la renovación como principio. Frescura, colorido, luminosidad y arraigamiento, sobre todo arraigamiento, se respira al observar sus piezas. La confluencia en sus temas y estilo pictórico de la cultura oriental con la caribeña la han convertido en una especie de mito en la historia de la paisajística universal. Flora Fong es una cubana que lleva sangre china en las venas.    

Ya sé por qué en Jaimanitas todos conocen a Fúster. Es cierto que el artista cubano de la plástica ha desarrollado una amplia labor comunitaria en esta parte periférica de la ciudad, en el municipio capitalino de Playa, desde febrero de 1995. Más de una casa del barrio tienen sus cerámicas en el techo o en el frontal como muestra de la obra pictórica o de la ayuda social. Pero la esencia de su fama radica en el gracejo y la sinceridad que lo caracteriza.