Cuba: Yasiel Puig’s Amazing Debut in MLB
It has now been little more than two weeks since the latest refugee from Cuban baseball settled into the big leagues and Puigmania has now apparently taken full root in the City of the Angels (appropriately enough, since LA was also erstwhile home to a... Continue reading
Cuba: $2.6 Billion in Remittances in 2012
According to an independent study, remittances sent to Cuba from abroad continue to grow at an uncontainable pace and reached the record figure of US $2.605 billion in cash during 2012. In cash flow alone, this represents a 13.5 increase with respect to the previous year’s figures. Continue reading
US Froze $253 Million in Cuban Assets in 2012
According to an official US government report, the United States froze US $253 million in Cuban assets in the course of 2012, the second highest figure among countries currently sanctioned as sponsors of terrorism. Continue reading
Gender Equality in Cuba: Is it Real?
The book highlights “the progress Cuban women have made towards gender equality since the 1950s and examines whether that progress can be sustained into the future.” It accomplishes its goal in five, concise, non-judgmental and well-documented chapters, enriched by personal profiles of some remarkably perceptive Cuban women. Continue reading
Smuggling Satellite Dishes into Cuba
An Internet freedom activist linked to the smuggling of satellite dishes to Cuba said he wouldn't feel safe going back to the island "until the situation changes there." Robert Guerra said: "It's very important for democracy groups and others that are... Continue reading
Cubans Visit their Ancestral Home in Africa
There are very few good news stories to come out of the transatlantic slave trade, but there was one recently in Sierra Leone. This April, 180 years after their ancestor was loaded aboard a slave ship, four Cubans reunited with their family in Upper Ba... Continue reading
How Expensive is having a Child in Cuba?
For the second consecutive year, the London-based organization Save the Children has identified Cuba as the best country in Latin America to be a mother. Reading this, I cannot but think that the author of the report must have visited a Cuba located on... Continue reading
Cuba’s Agriculture Continues to Slump
Despite efforts to bolster agricultural and livestock production and reduce food product imports, the most recent Cuban government statistics reveal that production statistics for crops not included in the sugar cane sector plummeted by 7.8 percent dur... Continue reading
Cuba/Homophobia: It’s Never Too Late
I am even more bemused by those who affirm that legalizing same-sex marriages and accepting homosexuality as “normal” sets a bad example for young generations. I wonder if they are just as worried by the violence in the movies these young generations are watching. (34 photos)
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Cuba’s 2013 Anti-Homophobia Parade Held
Some 500 members and supporters of Cuba’s LGBT community paraded on Saturday morning along the busy 23rd Street in Havana in the now traditional anti-homophobia campaign calling for respect for diversity and rejection of sexual prejudice. The march took place to the beat of the popular Cuban sound of the "conga" with trumpets and drums. (21 photos)
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Cuba’s Real Estate Market: Booming Speculation
When after more than 50 years of restrictions, the Cuban gov. opened the Pandora’s box of Cuba’s real estate market, many experts predicted that the country would experience a boom in home sales and purchases. Rather than a mad spiral of sales, however, this incipient and atypical market has given rise to a speculative phenomenon. Continue reading
Cuba and the 2013 Hurricane Season
Research scientists* at the Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science anticipate that the 2013 hurricane season (June 1 – November 30) will have enhanced activity, primarily due to an anomalous warming of the tropical Atlantic and the unlikeliness of an El Niño event during the summer and fall. Continue reading
Klinsmann Keen on Cuban Soccer Player
Renowned US Soccer trainer Jurgen Klinsmann is asking Havana to decide whether Cuban player Osvaldo Alonso is eligible to play as part of the US national soccer team. At the 11th Gold Cup, held in 2007, Alonso wore Cuba’s soccer selection jersey for the last time as he deserted from his delegation. Continue reading
USAID/Cuba, a Schizophrenic Policy
If Washington's policies toward Havana were a person, the poor soul would likely be confused. US officials try to starve Cuba into submission with economic sanctions for more than five decades. Then they undermine sanctions by allowing Cuban-Americans ... Continue reading
Santiago de Cuba Six Months after Hurricane Sandy
Many people have taken an active interest in seeking out information about the real situation that the inhabitants of Santiago de Cuba have faced since hurricane Sandy lashed the province last October. Those who live far from the city aren’t fully satisfied with the news offered by Cuba’s official media. (16 photos)
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A Desperate Situation at GITMO, Cuba
The U.S. military has acknowledged for the first time the number of prisoners on hunger strike at the military prison has topped 100. About a fifth of the hunger strikers are now being force-fed. Lawyers for the prisoners say more than 130 men are taki... Continue reading
HT Announces Cuba Photo Contest 2013
After a great response in 2012, the time has come to begin our Cuba HT Photo Contest for the year 2013. This is the fifth such contest, one for each year of HT. The five categories for photos taken in Cuba are: Lines, Gardens, Transportation, Rain and ... Continue reading
Cuba/Venezuela Alliance Assured by Castro and Maduro
Nicolas Maduro chose Cuba as the destination of his first foreign visit since his proclamation as Venezuela’s president on April 19. Hugo Chavez’ successor met with Fidel and Raul Castro on Saturday to ratify the “strategic alliance” between the two nations, reported dpa news. Continue reading
Venezuela Elections: Voting and Aftermath
The following is an extensive analysis and on-the-scene account by the Center for Democracy in the Americs of the recent Venezuelan elections that gave Nicolas Maduro a slight victory over challenger Henrique Capriles and the lingering controversy in t... Continue reading
Cuba’s Capitolio Undergoes Major Restoration
The Capitolio Nacional, one of the architectural wonders the city of Havana is known for, is currently being refurbished in a major restoration effort which includes all of the building’s wings and interior decor pieces. Work will probably continue through 2015. Continue reading
Cuba/Cinema: “For Sale”
For Sale (Se Vende), a newly-released Cuban film directed by established actor/director Jorge Perugorría, has an interesting logline: “When death becomes a pretext to talk about life”. An absurd comedy, a painful depiction of contemporary Cuba, painted with strokes of sarcasm and humor. Continue reading
Cuba/Travel: Opportunism and Meatballs
Director Philip Lord is a very bright, young man. No doubt he’s on many lists of up and coming Hollywood directors. He’s already registered two box office successes with “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” and more recently “21 Jump Street.” This past week he ventured into the political fray – with a vengeance and head first. Continue reading
Cuba, the Crisis in Venezuela and the Specter of the Special Period
Nicolás Maduro’s electoral victory, recently announced by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), has left us with more questions than answers. A number of analysts have argued that Cuba could enter a second "Special Period in Times of Peace", should Caracas be unable to maintain its oil shipments to the island. Continue reading
Venezuela Accuses US of Plotting Coup
Venezuelan President-elect Nicolás Maduro has accused the United States and opposition of planning a coup against him after seven government supporters were killed and 60 people were injured in clashes after the election. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council has certified Maduro’s victory, but opposition candidate Henrique Capriles is refusing to accept the results. Continue reading
Three Cubans and a Scam Artist
About a year ago, I wondered how foreigners see me. Now I think I have the answer: We are the perfect candidates for a scam. We are so hungry for opportunities that only foreigners can offer that we do not stop to calculate the risks involved when it c... Continue reading