Gold mine in eastern Cuba to re-open

<p style="text-align: justify;">A gold mine in eastern Cuba will “soon” reopen, Deputy Basic Industries Minister Iván Martínez said, according to official media.The Oro-Barita project at El Cobre near Santiago de Cuba is financed by Venezuela and the ALBA trade and integration agreement, and part of a larger effort to restart gold mining at five locations on the island.Cuban state company Geominera S.A., which is in charge of the project, expects the mine to have gold reserves for five years in a first phase. Read More

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Cuba’s Habanos S.A. Challenges Recognition of Tobacco Brand before the General Court of the European Union

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.05.19 - 14:56:41 /radiorebelde.icrt.cu.HAVANA, CUBA.- The Cuban enterprise Habanos S.A. requested the General Court of the European Union (EU), on Wednesday, the annulment of the Kiowa tobacco brand since it might bring about confusion with the Cuban brand Cohiba.According to the website of Cubadebate, the Brussels-based court held a hearing on the demand presented by Habanos S.A. against the EU’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and against Tabacos de Centroamerica, the enterprise that commercializes Kiowa products. Read More

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Cuba's first transsexual gets surgery

<p style="text-align: justify;">Friday, May 20, 2011 » 07:59pm. After 40 years of waiting, 61-year-old metalworker Juani Santos finally underwent a sex reassignment surgery as part of the Cuban government's revolutionary program to fund sex-change operations.According to Reuters, Santos was clinically diagnosed as the first transsexual man on the island in 1972, when he still struggled with a lot prejudice even from his family and friends.In 2008, when authorities approved a program to allow free sex changes, Santos was one of the first inline and managed to be among some 30 patients approved for the operation. Read More

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Business Opportunities in Cuba Explored in London

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.05.19 - 22:01:33 / radiorebelde.icrt.cu. Havana, Cuba.- Over 50 entrepreneurs and representatives of financial institutions participated on Wednesday in the British capital in a seminar on business opportunities in Cuba, organized by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCL). The event, co-sponsored by the Cuba Initiative in cooperation with the Caribbean island’s embassy to the European nation and the British mission to Havana, assessed the prospects for trade and foreign investment, in the light of the process of updating of the Cuban economic model.&nbsp; Read More

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National Ballet of Cuba performing locally

<p style="text-align: justify;">The Downey Patriot. COSTA MESA – The National Ballet of Cuba will be at the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa where they will present "The Magic of Dance" June 15-19."The Magic of Dance" is a collection of excerpts from classical ballet works of the 19th century, including "Swan Lake," "Giselle," "Coppelia," "The Sleeping Beauty," "Don Quixote," "The Nutcracker" and "Gottschalk Symphony." The compilation program is choreographed by Alicia Alonso, the company's founder.Formed in 1948, the company occupies a prominent place in Hispanic and international ballet culture. The tiny island of Cuba has produced one of the foremost schools of ballet, which has trained all of the company’s dancers. Read More

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Mixed Cubano: Danza Contemporanea de Cuba debuts at the Joyce

<p style="text-align: justify;">Cuba has had a high profile in the dance world mainly due to the tireless efforts of the legendary Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso who, at age 90, still directs the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. That purely classical company will show New York its current roster of dancers next month, with four performances (June 8–11) at BAM. At the moment, however, we have a chance to discover where Cuban contemporary dance has been heading as well. Read More

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NYT on Cuba Oil Drilling Plans

<p style="text-align: justify;">Today's New York Times has a piece on William Reilly, co-chair of the panel that made recommendations on the safety of Gulf oil drilling. He complains that the Obama administration slapped his wrist when he expressed interest in visiting Cuba to express interest in their plans to drill 50 miles off Key Wests' shore. Read More

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Cuba Remembers Jose Marti

<p style="text-align: justify;">By: Dayami Interián García.10:03Havana, May 19 (Prensa Latina) The validity of Cuban national hero Jose Marti's work acquires new dimensions Thursday, when millions of Cubans mark his fall in combat against Spanish colonialism 116 years ago. The tribute began in Granma province, where children walked to the memorial built to mark the site where the main organizer of what is known as the Necessary War died. Read More

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Smoking: Leading Preventable Cause of Death

<p style="text-align: justify;">Smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature death, and accounts for 12 percent of the annual mortality rate, Elba Lorenzo, head of the Cuban tobacco control and prevention program, said Tuesday.Known as a habit, when it is actually an addiction, the consumption of cigars and cigarettes is associated with 90 percent of deaths from lung cancer, and 33 percent of other malignant tumors, as well as ischemic heart disease, bronchitis and enphysema. Read More

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17th Sao Paulo Forum Underway in Managua

<p style="text-align: justify;">The 17th Sao Paulo Forum enters its second day of sessions Thursday, an event aimed at analyzing the common problems of Latin American and Caribbean nations in 13 working committees.The forum brings together 257 representatives from 47 leftist political parties and progressive organizations from 32 Latin American, Caribbean, European, and Asian nations.The forum was first held in 1990 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, out of the need to find an alternative to the neoliberal model promoted by the United States. Read More

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