CUBA CULTURE SECTION - Havana Journal
Recent News and Information
These are the civil penalties released by OFAC today for violations of buying Cuban cigars on the Internet
One individual was assessed a penalty totaling $4,351.50 for dealing in property in which Cuba or a Cuban national had an interest: On or about July 26, 2003, August 20, 2003, October 31, 2003, May 3, 2004, June 4, 2004 and July 3, 2004, the individual purchased Cuban-origin cigars offered for sale on the Internet. The individual did not voluntarily disclose this matter to OFAC.
One individual was assessed a penalty totaling $3,250 for dealing in property in…
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By Charlie Smith | Greenwood Commonwealth
Conditions at medical school in Cuba more closely resemble summer camp than a modern university.
“Things are very simple,” says Akua Brown, a Californian studying medicine in Havana. “You stay in a room with about eight to 18 other people. You share bunkbeds. You share a bathroom with the whole floor.”
They don’t have cars. School buses are the most popular form of locomotion.
There’s no air conditioning, and the breakfast menu never varies: bread and milk.
Despite big lifestyle adjustments, Brown and another…
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By WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA | El Nuevo Herald
Architect Nicolás “Lin” Arroyo, who played a leading role in pre-Castro Cuba’s modernist architecture and planning movement, has died, his family said. He was 90.
Arroyo died in Washington, D.C., from heart complications on July 13, just three days after the death of his wife and working partner of more than 60 years, architect Gabriela Menéndez y Garcia Beltrán, relatives said.
The couple met as architecture students at the University of Havana, and after marrying in 1942 started the firm Arroyo & Menéndez, which designed several…
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(Publisher note: original title is Havana Diary. I am posting this story in anticipation of the July 26 anniversary of the Revolution. I’m curious to read about the current state on life on the street in Havana (no propaganda please) and what people in and out of Cuba expect or would like to hear from President Raul Castro in his July 26 speech.)
BBC
Day One by Claire Bolderson
My first ever visit to Cuba began with a kiss on the cheek by way of greeting from the President’s daughter, and ended with an…
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ACN
Cuba’s best road cyclist, Pedro Pablo Pérez, six times Vuelta a Cuba (Tour of Cuba) winner is in a serious condition after having a car accident Monday morning.
At the moment, the athlete who had qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing, is in the Abel Santamaria Hospital in Pinar del Rio province with a cranial contusion, according to medical reports from doctors of the Comandante Pinares Clinic, where the cyclist was first attended. The prognosis is being reserved.
Pedro Pablo was driving a Lada car when he had a road accident; traffic…
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DTCuba.com
The eighth edition of the Routes and Travels project (Rutas y Andares in Spanish), promoted by the Office of the City Historian in Havana, will take place this summer.
The project includes the Route to Independence, which will provide knowledge of the symbols and heroes who participated in Cuba’s wars of independence.
The Route will consist of visits to the City Museum, the Palace of Government and the Numismatic Museum.
It also includes visits to different places in Old Havana to learn about the area’s architectural peculiarities and cultural diversity.
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Today, Cuba’s gays are planning some reform of their own. Working with Florida’s Unity Coalition, activists in Cuba have organized the island’s first gay pride parade.
Members of the Foundation LGTB Reinaldo Arenas in Memoriam and other groups will participate in the march, according to Unity. They will meet in Havana’s Don Quixote park at 10am and march to the Ministry of Justice to deliver a series of demands.
Marchers seek an apology from the government for its past repression and, in some cases, incarceration of openly gay citizens and…
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Reuters
Cuban scientists said on Tuesday the first vaccine to extend lives of lung cancer patients has been approved by Cuban authorities for use and is available in the island’s hospitals.
The drug, CimaVax EGF, has been shown to increase survival rates on average four to five months and much longer in some patients, they said in a news conference at Cuba’s Center of Molecular Immunology.
In contrast to chemotherapy, the traditional treatment for lung cancer, they said CimaVax EGF has few side effects because it is a modified protein that attacks only cancer…
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By LAURA STEWART | The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Alberto Jones paused in front of Daniel Serra-Badue’s 1941 painting, “Cuban Sweets,” and smiled.
“These are typical treats, homemade cookies with fruit in them, mostly guava,” said the Palm Coast resident, a native of Cuba.
Then he turned to another painting in the Cuban Foundation Museum, at the Museum of Arts and Sciences, and frowned.
“But what about the children of Cuba, who have never seen these works - and never will,” said Jones, 69, who has lived in the United States since 1980.…
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Written by Julie Schwietert | Photo by Brayan Collazo Alonso | MatadorNights.com
From the tragically touristy to the totally local, our top 10 nightlife guide to Havana takes you to places that reveal Havana’s complexity… and, of course, its love of music, dance, and drink!
10. Casa de la Musica
Casa de la Musica is one of the best places for live music and local culture in Havana. With shows every night of the week and a punishing schedule (4 PM -7 PM and 10 PM – 2 AM), you’d be lying if you…
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