Art connoisseur Fascinated with Cuban Painting

<div align="justify"> Richard Wiebe traveled to Cuba for the first time in 2001 and became fascinated with the works of Cuban painters. Since then, he has been working helping them to sell their paintings and to get some reknown among collectors. </div> Read More

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In Cuba the Ox is Mightier than the Tractor

<div align="justify"> President Raul Castro is promoting the beasts of burden as a way for the economically strapped communist country to ramp up food production while conserving energy. He recently suggested expanding a pilot program that gives private farmers fallow government land to cultivate — but without the use of gas-guzzling machinery. </div> Read More

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Since 2001 Cuba Has Imported $4.4 Billion in Food from U.S.

<div align="justify"> The Cuban government has been imported food from U.S. for eigth years now. However, for the last three years has been a decline due to he fact that the embargo has remained in place, the international financial crisis and the lack of loans available to the Cuban government. </div> Read More

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Cuban Economy Is Suffering due to the World Turndown

<div align="justify"> Cuba got into trouble after four hurricanes caused $10 billion in damage. Imports for 2008 spiked 41 percent from the previous year while exports remained flat. Now, the world crisis has slashed demand and prices for Cuba's few exports, like nickel, and choked off new credits to a government already in debt. </div> Read More

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Cuba Is Running Short of Toilet Paper

<div align="justify"> &quot;The corporation has taken all the steps so that at the end of the year there will be an important importation of toilet paper,&quot; an official with state conglomerate Cimex said on state-run Radio Rebelde. The shipment will enable the state-run company &quot;to supply this demand that today is presenting problems,&quot; he said. </div> Read More

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Facts in Cuba Contradicts U.S. Goals

<div align="justify"> Castro's resilience is astonishing if we consider that U.S. sanctions, in place since 1961, were significantly tightened after the end of the Cold War, at a time in which Cuba was coping with a deep economic recession after the demise of its former benefactor, the Soviet Union. </div> Read More

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Cubans Become New Clientele of Resorts in Their Own Country

<div align="justify"> For years, Cubans were banned from checking in in the hotels of the island. That changed last year after Raul Castro put a stop to it. Now, Varadero is full of Cubans who are claiming their places in the sand alongside foreign tourists. </div> Read More

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Are the Military in Cuba Becoming the Rulers of Economy?

<div align="justify"> The VI Communist Party Congress has been postponed indefinitely; retail stores have been entrusted to Gaviota, the military enterprise in charge of shuffling tourists areound; more state businesses are in the hands of the military. </div> Read More

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Compulsory Rural Boarding School Quietly Disappearing in Cuba

<div align="justify"> The rural boarding school system emerged nearly four decades ago, but only became compulsory for 10th, 11th and 12th grade students in the early 1990s, as part of a government strategy aimed at linking studies with work. Now, this is gradually going to change again. </div> Read More

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In Cuba's Economy Two Plus Two Sometimes Equals Three

<div align="justify"> Lower world prices for nickel and a fall in tourism revenue have led the government to cut its forecast for economic growth this year from 6% to 1.7%. The island is still recovering from three devastating hurricanes last year, which the government says caused damage worth $10 billion. The American economic embargo is still there, too. <br /> </div> Read More

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