American and Cuban travel specialists meet

<p style="text-align: justify;">American travel specialists are meeting with their Cuban counterparts in preparation for what they hope will be the day when Americans can travel freely to the communist country.The meeting is taking place in Cancun Mexico. Last year President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on the visits of Cuban Americans to Cuba and increasing people to people contact.Since then they have traveled in such numbers that Cuba has had to remodel the airport terminal for American flights. Read More

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Diana Nyad, at age 61, prepares for second attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West

<p style="text-align: justify;">Swimming with sharks at age 61: Legendary long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad is ready to make the trek again from Cuba to Key West, and this time finish.By Sally Jenkins, A couple of years ago, swimming legend Diana Nyad was emceeing a swank awards banquet in the Waldorf Astoria ballroom in New York when she suddenly woke up the crowd by stripping off her dress. Standing on stage in nothing but a swimsuit and high heels, dangling her cleavage, she further enlivened the affair by whipping out a bugle and playing reveille. Read More

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Rainy Season Off to a Poor Start

<p style="text-align: justify;">By Patricia Grogg. CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba, May 25, 2011 (IPS) - Despite major underground water reserves and the start of the rainy season, people in the central region of Cuba are anxiously scanning the skies in the face of scant rainfall, which is needed to ease a drought that has become more severe in recent years. "The situation is tense. As of mid-May, no rain had been reported, and in April, average rainfall did not exceed 50 millimetres," commented Benito Rafael Migoya, a provincial agriculture official in Ciego de Ávila, capital of the central province of the same name 460 km east of Havana. Read More

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Int’l Conference on Rice in Havana, Cuba

<p style="text-align: justify;">Genetic improvement and technology transference will be some of the topics to be discussed during the Fifth International Conference on Rice, scheduled for June 7-10 at Havana’s Convention Center.The meeting, organized by the Institute of Grain Research and the Rice Agro-industrial Group of the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture, will bring together researchers, specialists, producers, and executives from different regions of the world, mainly Latin America and the Caribbean. Read More

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Cuba Expands Number of Hotel Rooms

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.05.25 - 15:38:06 / radiorebelde.icrt.cu. Havana, Cuba. – With an annual growth of 7.5% of the lodging capacity, the renovation of the hotel infrastructure is kept at the top of development priorities for the Cuban tourism industry.Last year, the island started the exploitation of 2,792 new rooms most of them located in the northern keys of Villa Clara and Varadero, in the hotels Riu Varadero, Barceló Santa Maria and Melia Buena Vista. Read More

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Mexico welcomes the Leo Brouwer Guitar Festival

<p style="text-align: justify;">The Cuban Leo Brouwer attended the First Guitar festival, that carries his name, in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, informed here the office of the musician, who is considered an icon of that instrument.A press note indicated that this cultural event included an award to the best performer of the work made by the winner of the Iberian – American Tomas Luis de Victoria music award. Likewise, two concerts were dedicated to his creations. Read More

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Cuba's National Ballet Brings Back The Enchanted Shrimp

<p style="text-align: justify;">By: Martin Hacthoun.12:00Havana, May 25 (Prensa Latina) Cuba's National Ballet will celebrate International Children's Day with a presentation of El Camaron Encantado (The Enchanted Shrimp), performed by about 500 children and young dancers.Under the direction of prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso, the piece, with choreography by Eduardo Blanco, will be performed at the Karl Marx theater in a gala sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef). Read More

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Cubans reaffirm solidarity, friendship with African People

<p style="text-align: justify;">Wednesday, 25 May 2011 10:03 Source: Prensa Latina. Cubans Reaffirm Solidarity, Friendship with African Peoples Guantanamo (Solvision).- Cuba on Wednesday is celebrating Africa Day by strengthening its ties of friendship, solidarity and cooperation with the peoples of that continent. On May 25, 1963, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was created, and then became the African Union in July 2002. Now, it is immersed in putting in place structures and mechanisms to develop that impoverished geographic area. Read More

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The Fountain of Noble Havana

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.05.25 - 14:36:22 / radiorebelde.icrt.cu /The Fountain of Noble Havana. Havana, Cuba. - Havana has many distinctive symbols that make it unique, like the Fountain of the Indian Girl or Noble Havana. It stands at one end of Prado Avenue, only a few meters from the Capitol Building and the Fraternity Park. Every day, thousands of passersby stop to admire its magnificence. The fountain was sculpted in 1837. Italian architect Giuseppe Gaggini designed it, at the request of Count of Villanueva, Don Claudio Martinez.&nbsp; Read More

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USA Criticized in WTO case against Cuba

<p style="text-align: justify;">The United States was isolated again in its refusal to abide by the agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO), relating to the misappropriation of Cuban trademarks for rum.During the session of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO in Geneva, representatives of Washington presented their report in which they endorse their failure to comply with the recommendations, a position much criticized by many countries.The USA is violating the intellectual property in a litigation involving the Cuban rum "Havana Club"and the French company Pernod Ricard, for the use of the brand name by its competitor Bacardi in U.S. territory. Read More

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