The Christ from Havana to be restored

<p style="text-align: justify;">The Havana Christ, the giant sculpture that presides over the bay of the Cuban capital and is a symbol of the city, began its restoration process to repair damages to an arm and hip.“We are going to clean it all and to repair some parts that have been affected by to lighting that fell on it”, said the worker Roberto Riveron.he work, which stands twenty meters high was made by the well known Cuban visual artist Jilma Madera(1915-2000) and it shows a full bodied Christ, with a light smile, fat lips, long hair and beard. Read More

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US Scientists Advocate Wider Exchange with Cuban Specialists

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.05.06 - 18:35:25 / radiorebelde.icrt.cu. Havana, Cuba.- Professor of the US University of Auburn Joseph Malnar extolled today in Havana the work of Cuban scientists and specialists in the implementation of ecologic agricultural technologies.Malnar is attending the International Seminar on Agriculture underway at Havana’s Convention Palace. Read More

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Backlash against Cuba concerts in South Florida

<p style="text-align: justify;">For the past few years, the local media - this paper included - has printed a lot of hype about how the old days when Cuban artists could not perform in Miami were over. Concert after concert took place in South Florida without a hitch. But there's been a quiet movement afoot to get cities to put a stop to cultural exchanges with Cuba. Read More

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Cuba to finally unveil Communist-approved reforms

<p style="text-align: justify;">HAVANA May 7 (Reuters) - More than 300 economic reforms approved last month at Cuba's Communist Party congress will be unveiled on Monday when publications containing the changes go on sale, the country's state press said on Saturday.Communist Party newspaper Granma said there will be a pamphlet listing the changes and a 48-page tabloid explaining them.They will sell for, respectively, one and two Cuban pesos each, or the equivalent of about 12 cents U.S. for both.Major reforms already underway include the slashing of state payrolls, allowing more self employment, and the leasing of state lands to would-be farmers. Read More

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Literature grad writes thesis on Hemingway, Cuba

<p style="text-align: justify;">May 06, 2011. Is there anything left to write about Ernest Hemingway and his stories? One would think that the noted American author has been thoroughly covered, but according to ASU graduate student Sarah Driscoll, there’s still more to learn. And more to say.Driscoll, who will receive her master’s degree in American literature May 12, wrote her thesis on Hemingway’s relationship to the people of Cuba, and to Cuban artist Antonio Gattorno, whom Hemingway met in Havana in the late 1920s or early ‘30s. Read More

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Cubans begin to enjoy making money

<p style="text-align: justify;">By Mary Murray&nbsp;&nbsp; Producer. NBC News NBC News. updated 5/6/2011 10:37:25 AM ET 2011-05-06T14:37:25. HAVANA&nbsp; — Wealth sticks out like a sore thumb in Cuba, especially with a person like Orlando – who has amassed a small fortune for over 20 years – and lives in Cuba’s generally humble countryside. Orlando's three-story stone white house with its hand carved wooden doors and tar paved driveway sits in shiny stark contrast to the surrounding homes, most of which are four-room small rectangles topped with thatched roofs and marked by exterior walls badly in need of a splash of paint. Read More

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Noted Cuban Scientist Dies in Havana

<p style="text-align: justify;">Cuba cries death of professor Gustavo Kouri. Photo: articulos.sld.cu Cuban scientist Gustavo Kouri, who carried out an excellent work for over three decades as director of Havana’s Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute (IPK), died unexpectedly on Thursday afternoon in this capital at 75 years of age: He will be indelibly etched in Cubans’ memory, due to his dedication, his teaching to generations of professionals, and his valuable contributions to science. Read More

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Cuba Begins Export of Medical Product Deriving from Scorpions’ Toxin

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.05.06 - 11:37:51 / radiorebelde.icrt.cu.HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuba has begun to export Vidatox, a medical product for cancer therapy derived from a toxin found in scorpions, as announced by Jose Antonio Fraga, the director of the Havana-based Pharmaceutical and Biological Laboratory (Labiofam), which produces the medicine.Fraga explained that the substance is extracted from the Rhopalurus junceus, also known as red scorpion, which is an indigenous species of Cuba. Read More

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Cuban artists descend on NYC for three-month festival

<p style="text-align: justify;">May, 06, 2011 01:20 AM - Miami Herald (FL)&nbsp; May 06--NEW YORK -- Before this year, Cuban filmmaker Gerardo Chijona had not been to the United States in almost a decade. So far in 2011, he's already come twice.The director and screenwriter of the 2010 film Ticket to Paradise is one of some 200 Cuban musicians, filmmakers, artists, dancers and writers who are expected in New York City this spring for what promoters say is an unprecedented display of Cuban culture. After months of increased cultural exchanges between the two nations, the Si Cuba Festival has become the most significant demonstration of the Obama administration's departure from Bush-era policies. Read More

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Florida Senator’s bill seeks talks over oil

<p style="text-align: justify;">Apparently responding to Cuba’s persistent drive towards offshore drilling, a Democratic Senator from Florida quietly introduced a bill in February that would compel the United States to seek talks with Cuba over deep sea drilling safety and spill response.Phil Peters, a Cuba analyst with the Washington-based Lexington Institute, first reported about the bill in his Cuban Triangle blog.A consortium led by Spain’s Repsol YPF is expected to begin exploratory drilling by October. Read More

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