HavanaReporter
THE
©
YOUR SOURCE OF NEWS & MORE
A Bimonthly Newspaper of the Prensa Latina News Agency
YEAR VI
Nº 4
FEB, 29 2016
HAVANA, CUBA
ISSN 2224-5707
Price:
1.00 CUC, 1.00 USD, 1.20 CAN
Cuba
Obama
To Visit
Cuba
Cuba - France: The
Beginning of a New Era
P. 3
Spotlight On
A Champion Named
Capablanca P. 7
P. 3
Havana
Cigar
Festival to Participate
Honors
in Cuban
Cohiba
Economic
Brand
Entertainment
& Listings/P. 8-9
Culture
Cuban Theater Group
Perform in U.S. P. 10
Photo feature
Development
Cienfuegos: the City that I
Like the Most/P.11
Politics
A Sign of Regional
Integration /P.12
Economy
P. 6
P. 14
U.S. Vintners Offer
a Taste of Their own
Wines/P.14
2
TOURISM
CUBA
3
Obama To Visit Cuba
Cuba’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Minrex
in Spanish), has confirmed that U.S.
president, Barrack Obama, will undertake
an official visit to Cuba from March 21 – 22.
Josefina Vidal, Minrex Director General
for the United States, said at a press
conference that the government and
people of Cuba would extend a most
cordial welcome to the leader.
Vidal described the forthcoming visit
as a further step towards the improvement
of ties between the neighboring countries
that would give Obama an opportunity to
experience Cuban reality for himself and
to discuss any issue he wished to, on the
basis of mutual respect.
The official stated that the visit
would also be an occasion for Cuba to
demonstrate its willingness to build a
new relationship based on the principles
established by the United Nations Charter
and the Declaration of Latin America as a
Peace Zone.
Obama will be accompanied by his
wife Michelle, on what will be the first visit
by a U.S. president o Cuba since Calvin
Coolidge attended the 1928 Annual
PHOTO: Estudios Revolución
By RobertoGARCÍA
International Conference of American
States, more than 80 years ago.
Another figure with White House
connections to visit Cuba, in 2002 and
2011, was ex-president Jimmy Carter
(1977-1981).
During the last century a number of
U.S. presidents were in the U.S. naval base
on illegally occupied land in Guantanamo.
The first was William Taft in 1911, followed
by Franklyn D. Roosevelt in 1939 and 1940
and Harry Truman in 1948.
More than 50 years after the U.S.
unilaterally broke their ties to the island,
Cuban president Raul Castro and his North
American counterpart, Barack Obama,
announced on December 17 2014 their
decision to reestablish diplomatic relations.
Both leaders held official meetings
during the VII Summit of the Americas in
Panama and at the the U.N. headquarters
in both April and September of 2015.
Cuba reopened an embassy in
Washington on July 20 2015 and on August
14, U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry,
presided over the opening ceremony of
the U.S. embassy in Cuba.
Cuban authorities continue to call for
the lifting of the economic, commercial
and financial blockade imposed on Cuba
by Washington for more than half a
century because it is the principal obstacle
to the normalization of bilateral relations.
They are also demanding the return
of land illegally occupied by the North
American Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay,
the cessation of illegal broadcasts to the
island and their plans to subvert internal
order on the Caribbean island.
PHOTO:Theo Duval
Cuba – France: The Beginning of a New Era
The state visit made by the president of
Cuba, Raúl Castro to France from February
1-2 opened a new chapter in the longestablished relations between Havana and
Paris, that according to political analysts
in both capitals confirms the excellent
state of bilateral links between the two
countries and also reflects the shared will
to consolidate the political dialogue at the
highest of levels.
By diplomatic means it was brought
to our attention that this was the first
time that a Cuban president had made a
state visit to France and therefore also to a
member state of the European Union.
Raúl Castro was received by the French
president François Hollande in the Elíseo
Palace, a majestic building situated in the
very heart of Paris, for a round of official
conversations that were followed by
the signing of various accords by their
respective governments and public
declarations in which both presidents
confirmed their will to strengthen the
bilateral relation.
According to the press, among the
signed accords was the treatment of
Cuba’s debt, which was highlighted by
President Raúl Castro who reiterated his
gratitude towards the French government
for their significant role in achieving the
historical accord with the Paris Club.
The other signed documents refer to
the economic and commercial agenda,
the negotiations for the establishment
on the island of the French Development
Agency, bilateral cooperation and the
development of fair trade between
both countries.
HavanaReporter
A Weekly Newspaper of the Prensa Latina News Agency
THE
YOUR SOURCE OF NEWS & MORE
President: Luis Enrique González.
Information Vice President: Víctor M. Carriba.
Editorial Vice President: Maitté Marrero Canda.
Chief Editor: Ilsa Rodríguez.
Translation: Dayamí Interián/ Sean J. Clancy/Caris Brooks
President Hollande repeated on
this occasion the French government’s
opposition towards the economic,
financial and commercial embargo that
the United States has maintained on Cuba
for more than 50 years. He said that the
unilateral policy of punishment should
be permanently lifted. In the international
political circles note was taken of the
desired manifest of the French President
to accompany Cuba on the road to the
opening for which the country has opted.
We would like to go one step ahead,
said Hollande, and the documents that we
have signed are a step in the right direction.
We have opened up a new chapter in the
links between both countries.
Official sources of the Cuban delegation
indicated that the conversations between
the presidents Raúl Castro and François
Hollande explored a range of themes
including human rights.
In his public declaration after speaking
with Hollande, the Cuban president
pointed out that the recently concluded
conversations had taken place in a cordial
.
.
atmosphere of mutual respect. He also
underlined that both countries are united
by historical and cultural links and by deep
bonds of friendship.
According to the Cuban president,
the economic bilateral agenda signed
with France represents an important
joint mechanism for the production,
monitoring and promotion of economic
and commercial links of cooperation and
investment including medium and long
term links.
The Cuban president welcomed the
will expressed by the gala authorities to
accompany Cuba and participate actively
in the countries social and economic plans
for development. He also restated the
commitment to the French government
to continue this solid relation as France is,
has been, and always will be an important
friend of Cuba, he declared.
In this regard, he ratified the will
to expand the bilateral relations in
all dimensions: politics, economics,
commerce, finance, and in academic and
cultural cooperation.
.
.
.
SOCIETY HEALTH & SCIENCE POLITICS CULTURE
ENTERTAINMENT PHOTO FEATURE ECONOMY
SPORTS AND MORE
Graphic Designers: Laura Reyes.
Chief Graphic Editor: Antonio Paneque
Advertising: Irina Hernández
Circulation: Commercial Department.
Printing: Imprenta Federico Engels.
.
Publisher: Agencia Informativa Latinoamericana,
Prensa Latina, S.A.
Calle E, esq. 19 No. 454, Vedado, La Habana-4, Cuba.
Telephone: (53)7838-3496 / 7832-3578 Fax: (53)7833-3068
E-mail: thehavanareporter@prensa-latina.cu
4
CUBA
Do New U.S Measures Show a Further Move
Towards Normalization?
By RobertoGARCÍA
Some political analysts consider the measures
implemented by the Obama Administration on
January 27 to be a further step on the road to the
normalization of Cuba-U.S. relations.
However, although these provisions point in the
right direction, others regard them as being once
again, less than what might have reasonably been
hoped for.
The measures, which also ease restrictions for U.S
citizens to travel to Cuba, were announced jointly by
the Departments of Commerce and the Treasury.
Almost all U.S. daily papers -including USA Today,
The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall
Street Journal - the news media in Florida, the main
TV networks and other sources highlighted their
future impact on relations between the neighboring
states.
James Williams, president of the organization
Engage Cuba that advocates for the lifting of unilateral
sanctions imposed on Havana said that “it is now time
for Congress to lift the embargo (blockade), a policy
that has for 50 years been a monumental failure”.
The adjustments demonstrate that Obama has
the power to essentially disable the bundle of laws
that define the anti-Cuban sanctions, even though
only Congress can totally repeal them.
The new measures permit the granting of credit to
the island in order to make payments for specifically
authorized exports from the United States, excluding
agricultural produce.
Nevertheless they have left in place the prohibition
on Cuba’s use of the dollar for international
transactions, which seriously complicates the actual
use of such loans.
A spokesperson for Cuba’s Foreign Ministry told
The Havana Reporter that in order to repay credits
within established time-frames, Cuba would have
to do so in a currency other than the dollar via a
third country, adding considerably to the cost of the
process.
There are even more obstacles associated with
this, because the Obama Administration has excluded
products that generate income for the state, such as
materials for tourism, the extraction or production of
minerals and others that might be used by the armed
forces, the police or other state security related
agencies.
In keeping with the recent preliminary accords
signed by both sides on the reopening of commercial
flights, the measures also broaden the possibilities
for travel to Cuba for airline or passenger ferry service
operators.
There are also sections included in these latest
accords which are directly related to Washington’s
endeavors to influence Cuba’s internal socio-political
order, something it failed to do for more than 50
years of what the White House now accepts as being
an absolutely ineffective policy.
In this regard, they promote the export and reexportation of goods and information programs for
“human rights” organizations, individuals and entities
aligned with U.S. interests in Cuba.
The measures increase the scope of travel licenses
to include work on informative materials, including
recording and film production, musicals and
television programs and also permit the until now
prohibited organization of meetings and conferences
in Cuba.
The measures that came into effect on January 27
are encouraging for those who are convinced that
Obama could use his executive powers to eliminate
the bulk of restrictions that impede enhanced
relations between both nations in order to give form
once and for all to his stated desire to do away with
all obsolete policies on Cuba.
We are more than a travel magazine...
Cubaplus is available
in 134 point of sales
located in hotels in
Havana and Varadero,
at International Airports
and Holguin's Telecorreos
as well as in the bookstores
of Casa de las Americas.
www.cubaplusmagazine.com
To subscribe please contact :
Gerencia editorial Prensa Latina
Email: gerenciaeditorial@cl.prensa-latina.cu
Telf. 7833 2279
HEALTH & SCIENCE
5
CENSA, A Center for Animal, Plant and Human Health
By ReinaMAGDARIAGA
PHOTO:Emilio Herrera;
LEADING PRODUCTS
The need to preserve and improve
animal, plant and human health was
the main objective for the creation in
Cuba of a scientific center coping with
this task.
The National Center for Agricultural
and Livestock Health (CENSA) thus
emerged and was inaugurated in
1969 in San José de las Lajas, a zone in
the western province of Mayabeque.
With its headquarters in what
is considered to be Cuba’s second
scientific pole after the one in Havana,
CENSA is committed to research
projects and technological innovation
efforts related to animal, plant and
human health.
With a group of staff comprising
some 430 workers, the center carries out
studies for the prevention, diagnosis
and control of exotic diseases affecting
animals and crops of economic interest
to the country.
CENSA implements projects that
support producers and communities
in San José de las Lajas, a region that
stands out for its intense agricultural
and livestock activity which ensures
good food quality and safety through
highly qualified services.
The
prestigious
institutions
also develop and commercialize
products for human, veterinary and
agricultural use.
CENSA’s leading products include
Surfacen, a product which is patent
in Cuba, Mexico and Spain. It is a drug
made out of pig lungs for treating
the
Infant
Respiratory
Distress
Syndrome, with antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties.
In addition, CENSA produces Stabilak,
a product used to preserve the quality of
raw milk, saving the country $1 million in
imports. It is registered and marketed in
several countries of Latin America, Asia
and Africa.
Next on the list of CENSA’s leading
products is Klamic, which is applied during
the different vegetable growth cycles, with
proven results in Honduras, Kenya and Spain.
As for technology, the National Center
for Agricultural and Livestock Health is
immersed in projects for intensive pest
control through technological packages
that help increase the production of grains
(beans and rice) and vegetables.
Furthermore, experts
rate
as
significant the center’s intensive
program for preserving the quality of
milk (Procal), which allows an increase
in its production through eleven basic
training actions, products, technologies
and specialized services.
Procal favours the production of
eight litres of milk per cow; it reduces the
prevalence of mastitis in dairy cattle, and it
is used in Nicaragua, Mexico, the Dominican
Republic and Venezuela.
It is worth mentioning that CENSA
is a center that is certified in teaching
postgraduate courses that has welcomed
professionals from Mexico, Ecuador,
Colombia, Angola, Panama, the Dominican
Republic, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Similarly, it develops co operational
projects with various countries, as well
as with international organizations
such as FAO, the Pan-American Health
Organization, the UN Development
Program and UNESCO.
CENSA has received 45 awards from the
Cuban Academy of Sciences and 31 Carlos
J. Finlay Orders, as well as three prizes for
technological innovation, eleven from the
Agriculture Ministry and three from the
Ministry of Health.
U.S. Neuroscientists Interested in Cuban Medicine
Doctors from the Neurology department at the Children‘s
Hospital in Miami expressed their interest in coming
to Cuba as part of solidarity efforts with Caribbean
countries, press sources reported in the eastern Cuban
province of Camagüey.
Driven by the presence in southern Florida of
the renowned Cuban neurosurgeon José Montejo,
representatives from that institution announced their
intention to visit the children’s hospital of Camagüey
with the objective of strengthening cooperative bonds
between Cuba and the U.S. scientific community.
U.S. specialists praised the high level of the Cuban
school of medicine, the head of the neurosurgery team
at the Eduardo Agramonte Piña Children’s Hospital of
Camagüey told the press.
Montejo, who recently completed a term as
scholarship holder at the Neurology Children‘s
Hospital, became the first Latin American physician
to get recognition from the U.S. Association of
Neurological Surgeons.
According to reports, the Cuban specialist’s exchange
with his U.S. colleagues allowed him to make known his
surgical techniques during his 90-day stay in the United
States in late 2015.
Dr. Montejo, one of Camagüey’s first specialists to have
developed minimally invasive surgery of the nervous
system, noted that the best result of the exchange was
that it allowed for practical activities and the observance
of surgical procedures among children.
Experts agree that endoscopic surgery is very costly
and in constant development.
Montejo expressed his satisfaction for the warm
welcome given to him by his U.S. colleagues and for
having the chance to take part in the exchange, which
resulted in the donation of several up-to-date texts on
neurosurgery and a very expensive piece of equipment
for the Children’s Hospital of Camagüey.
¨I fulfilled my expectations with this trip: to get scientific
information about the subject matters of my PhD thesis,
get familiar with the clinical manifestations of epilepsy
and related treatments, and learn more about the new
approaches for minimally invasive surgery,“ he said.
Montejo, 58, is a second degree specialist in
neurosurgery who has a master’s degree in science
and works as a regular professor at the Carlos J. Finlay
School of Medicine in Camagüey.
He has been the president of the Provincial
Neurosurgery Group since 2004, is a member of the
Latin American Association of Pediatric Neurosurgeons,
and has attended several congresses on this specialty
in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.
6
SOCIETY
Havana Cigar Festival Honors Cohiba Brand
The 50th anniversary of the Cohiba brand
is one of the highlights of the 18th edition
of the Habano Cigar Festival scheduled
to run from February 29 to March 4 in
Havana, together with the launch of
the new Cohiba Grand Reserva of 2012,
among many other activities.
Featuring hand-rolled premium
cigars, the festival is attended by
hundreds of cigar experts from around
the world, who considerer it to be the
world’s most important cigar fair, only
comparable to the Big Smoke Las Vegas
event in the United States.
However, the event in Las Vegas
cannot feature the Cuban premium cigars
due to the punitive measures adopted by
the United States over 50 years ago to
the detriment of the Cuban economic,
financial and commercial sector.
It is because of the U.S. blockade
on Cuba that the Big Smoke event
cannot offer the variety of cigars seen
every year at the Havana festival, with
headquarters at the Convention Center.
That is one of the reasons why
experts, businessmen and smokers come
to the Cuban capital every February to
praise the Cuban cigars and attend the
different activities held as part of the
festival, including a closing dinner that
also features a cigar auction and the
Habanos of the Year award ceremony.
As announced by the organizers of
the festival, the 50th anniversary of the
Cohiba cigar launch will be celebrated
this year alongside the 20th anniversary
of the Cuaba brand, whilst the new
Cohiba Grand Reserva of 2012 will also
make an appearance.
Sources from the organizing
committee for the event said the
number of participants is expected
to surpass that of 2015, when 1,200
representatives from 60 countries came,
accompanied by around 300 journalists
with approximately 150 media sources
from 40 countries.
As usual, Cubans are already
excitedly awaiting the arrival of famous
U.S. actors, businessmen or personalities
from the fashion world, information
that is made known last minute.
Like in previous editions, the festival
includes visits to cigar factories in
Havana and the westernmost province
of Pinar del Río where the visitors will
be given a tour around the famous
cigar plantations in that region. An
international workshop on cigars
will also take place as well as the
Habanosommelier contest, with the
objective of connecting the Habanos
with drinks and food.
Pabexpo Trade Fairs to be Relaunched
PHOTO: FERVAL
By Tino MANUEL
Cuban authorities have announced their
intention to relaunch a series of specialized
trade fairs for a range of sectors such as
food, security and the hotel industry.
Accompanied by Miguel Serrano
and Claire Gracia, representatives from
Fira Barcelona, Spain, the director of the
exhibition center Pabexpo, Luís Gutiérrez
discussed the subject with the press. In
statements made during this encounter
at the headquarters of the Chamber of
Commerce of the Republic of Cuba in
Havana, Gutierrez announced an alliance
between Pabexpo and Fira Barcelona for
the organization of three events during
2016 and one the following year.
The executives announced that during
2016 Pabexpo, situated in the Cuban
capital, would host HostelCuba (May 1719), the Cuban Food Fair (July 5-7) and
Securtec Cuba (September 13-15).
They also announced that from
February 7-9, Pacgraf Cuba, dedicated to
graphic art and packaging would be held
at the same center.
The director of the exhibition center
explained that they had previously
organized similar fairs, such as Tecnotur,
dedicated to tourism technology, but
these had been discontinued for a variety
of reasons.
He added that the idea now was
to resume the promotion of such
specialized fairs, aimed at the corporate
sector in order to facilitate exchanges
that strengthen trade.
With a site measuring 8,000 square
meters, Pabexpo, one of Havana’s most
important exhibition centers, enjoys
global recognition.
The Fira representatives explained
that the Barcelona fair,led by the president
of Spain’s Chamber of Commerce, Josep
Bonet, comprised 400,000 square meters
of exhibition space in two compounds.
They added that Fira organizes
80 fairs per year, 15 of which rank
amongst the world’s most important,
demonstrated for example by the
participation of 140,000 professionals
in the food fair that occupied 100,000
square meters and attracted 1,100
exhibitors from 75 nations.
The organizers predict that the Cuban
Food Fair in Pabexbo this year will bring
together representations of a broad
range of products of interest to both
the tourism sector and to the everyday
consumer such as water, soft drinks,
beers, grape juices, ciders, wines, spirits,
jellies, jams, meat, dairy products, seafood,
frozen products, sweets and oils.
There is a year-on-year growth in the
interest of companies in expanding their
ties to Cuba and the organization of fairs,
workshops and seminars are of critical
importance in this regard.
PHOTO: JOSE TITO MERINO
PHOTO: Roberto F. Campos
By Roberto F.CAMPOS
CULTURE
7
SPOTLIGHT ON
A Champion Named Capablanca
By CiroBIANCHI ROSS
José Raúl Capablanca spoke about
chess on rare occasions. His cultural
knowledge was so vast that he could
talk about the most diverse topics at
length, and intelligently engage in any
type of conversation with interlocutors,
no matter how difficult the subject of
conversation might have been.
As a chess-player, he was not
disciplined and his lifestyle was
completely out of the ordinary: he used
to go to bed when most people were
about to wake up and he would have
breakfast at lunch time. He was paid
up to $25,000 a year, an amount that
no other chess player ever received at
the time.
Capablanca did not have to make
any huge efforts to become the great
chess player that he was; that is why he is
considered the greatest chess players of
all times. In fact, Master Mijail Botvinnik,
once said that the world of chess cannot
be understood without seeing it through
Capablanca’s eyes.
In 1909, Capablanca was already
enjoying great popularity in the United
States, which he proved again when
he defeated Frank J. Marshall, the U.S.
chess champion at the time and one of
the best and most complete players on
record. It was an amazing game: eight
wins, 14 draws and one loss.
The U.S. master had thought that
competing against Capablanca would
be a piece of cake. The possibility –well
paid indeed- of “putting up an easy and
brief objective demonstration of the
difference between a great master and a
good amateur” proved him wrong.
Marshall was very upset by the
defeat. He said that a Cuban could not
be considered a champion of the United
States. Capablanca replied: “The United
States is nothing other than a part of
the continent. I’m the Champion of the
Americas.” That title did not exist at the
time but the Cuban master’s intention
was to advocate a culture and an identity.
In 1921 in Havana, Capablanca
competed for the world title against
Enmanuel Lasker. He had a resounding
victory: four wins, ten draws and no
losses.
In 1927 however, he lost against
Russian Alekhine. Stories came up about
his play showing signs of decline, but he
proved them wrong, tournament after
tournament. But Alekhine never wanted
to play a return game with him and
chess rules at the time did not compel
him to ratify his title, which could have
been for life. Capablanca had received
no title when he died but is regarded as
the greatest chess player ever.
By the time the champion was
preparing the edition of his book Jugadas
fundamentales, a famous player helped
him check the printed draft. He visited
Capablanca every afternoon and they
analyzed the position and movements
of the pieces drawn by Capablanca.
They never used a chessboard for
that. But one day, Capablanca’s colleague
failed to understand one of the master’s
proposed moves and he had no other
alternative but to look for a chess set and
show him the move.
Capablanca’s assistant was excited.
After so many visits, he would finally
see the chessboard and pieces used by
the Cuban to study and conceive all his
sensational moves. He was so excited
that he even imagined them to be made
out of ivory and diamonds…
When Capablanca came back to him,
he was holding a piece of frayed grid
fabric that had been cut carelessly. The
pieces were even more disappointing, of
different types and styles, as though they
were from different sets, except for the
white rooks, which were almost identical
because the master had replaced them
with lumps of sugar.
Spanish Engravings on Display at Cuba’s
Fine Arts Museum
BY ALAINPLANELLS
The exhibition ¨Estampas del aire. Aguafuertes
españoles del siglo XX¨ was the perfect excuse for
Cuba’s National Museum of Fine Arts to reopen its
Universal Art Building, which was closed due to
various technical issues.
Open to the public in early February, the
collection El Aire consists of 16 engravings by
Spanish artists from the 20th century, curator
Manuel Crespo informed.
This is the first time that this collection has been
presented separately, because its pieces had already
been on display as part of other collections.
Among the Spanish artists represented at the
exhibition are Rafael Canogar, Lucio Muñoz, Juan
Genovés, Amalia Avia, Eduardo Úruculo, Carlos León
and José Luis Fajardo –the only one from the group
that has set up a personal exhibit in Cuba.
Though from different generations, their works
earned them great recognition during the second
half of the 20th century.
Crespo highlighted the different styles
represented by the works, which range from
abstractionism- a prevailing trend- to expressionism
and even representational art.
This is the reason why it is so fascinating to have
them all on display at the same time. It turns out to
be a small and heterogeneous exhibit that features
the art of engraving, which is rated within many
circles as minor art, the curator noted.
Collagraphy, the technique used by the artists,
makes these pieces exceptional, as it is one of the
oldest printmaking techniques, thus giving great
pleasure both to visitors and experts, Crespo stressed.
The pieces were made in 1993 upon a request by
Iberia Airlines to mark the anniversary of its founding.
The company took advantage of the recognition won
by the artists and the fact that the technique used
allows the pieces to be reproduced.
In May of that same year, being one of Iberia’s
destination sites, Havana welcomed the pieces
reproduced on paper as part of an exhibition entitled
¨La colección de arte más viajera¨ (The Number One
Traveling Art Exhibition), which was later on donated
to the National Museum of Fine Arts.
Committed to its responsibility as an institution
in charge of exhibiting its assets, the Cuban
museum has now chosen to have the Spanish
engravings on display.
8
ENTERTAINMENT& LISTINGS
THEATER
*Note: theater companies are in
parentheses.
Sala Teatro Hubert the
Blanck
GETTING
(THR is not responsible for any changes made by sponsoring organizations)
By MaylínZALDIVAR
thr@prensa-latina.cu
RECOMMENDS
• La Camerata
Romeu by
Zenaida Romeu
at Basílica Menor
San Francisco de
Asís.
MUSIC
MUSIC
Basílica Menor San
Francisco de Asís
Calzada e/ A y B. Vedado. Tel:
7 830-1011.Fri. Feb. 22, Sat. 23
(8:30 pm) and Sun. 24 (5 pm): El
deseo (Desire) (Cía Hubert the
Blanck).
Sala Argos Teatro
Ayestarán y 20 de Mayo. Cerro.
Tel: 7 878 5551. Fri. Feb. 19, 26,
Sat. 20, 27 (8:30 pm) and Sun. 21,
28 (5 pm): Locos de Amor (Crazy
in Love) by (Argos Teatro).
Teatro Sótano
Fábrica de Arte
Bertolt Brecht
Sala Café Teatro. Tue. 23, Wed. 24
and Thu. 25 (7 pm): Infame by
(La Bernarda).
Catedral de la Habana
Iglesia de Paula
Compostela e/ Luz y Acosta.
Habana Vieja. Tel: 7 861 7283.
Thu. 18 (11 am): The Ars
Longa Early Music Ensemble’s
sociocultural activity aimed at
children and elderly people
from the Historical Center.
Calle K e/25 y 27. Vedado. Tel: 7
8320630. Fri. Feb. 19, 26, Sat. 20,
27 (8:30 pm) and Sun. 21, 28 (5
pm): Premiere of ¨Puente de los
danzantes¨ (Bridge of Dancers)
by (Grupo Estación Habana).
Calle 120 e/ 9na y 23,
Cubanacán, Playa, Tel: 7 208
42-64. Fri. Feb. 19 (11 am):
Theoretical meeting at the
Music Faculty: presentation of
recent musicological research.
Musicologists: Giorgio Monari
and Omar Morales Abril.
Paula esq. San Ignacio, La
Habana Vieja. Tel: 7 860-4210.
Thu. Feb.18 (6 pm): Music from
Italy and South Germany.
Thu. 18 (7 pm): El amanecer
barroco (The Barroque Dawn).
Instrumental music from
the Avant-Garde of the 17th
century/ Claudia Gerauer,
Germany (recorders) and Ars
Longa Early Music Ensemble /
Directed by: Teresa Paz. Sat. 20
(6 pm): Stamps of the Cuban
Organ production in the 19th
century. Music by Salvador
Herrera Fons, Cratilio Guerra,
José Lidon, Pedro Carceller and
Francisco Villa / Martin Rost,
German organist and the Ars
Longa Early Music Ensemble/
Directed by: Teresa Paz.
The Old Belen Ensemble
Oficios e/ Amargura y Churruca,
Habana Vieja. Tel: 7 862-9683.
Fri. Feb. 19 (7 pm): A party with
Vivaldi. Emblematic concerts
from the Italian composer’s
catalog on the oboe, the flute
and the bassoon. /Italian Alfredo
Bernardini, barroque oboe;
Orquesta Barroca de la Escuela
Nacional de Música y solistas
del Conjunto de Música Antigua
Ars Longa (Barroque Orchestra
of the National School of
Music and soloists from the Ars
Longa Early Music Ensemble).
Sat. 20 (7 pm): Sopranos y
caballeros: Orlando, Quijote y la
Ópera barroca (Sopranos and
gentlemen: Orlando, Quijote
and the Barroque Opera). Sat.
27 (6 pm): La Camerata Romeu,
directed by Zenaida Romeu.
Universidad de las Artes
Centro HispanoAmericano de Cultura
Malecón e/ Capdevila y Paseo.
Centro Habana. Tel: 7 866-0775.
Sat. Jan. 23 (5 pm): Rubén Moro
and his Kora band (trova music).
Sat. 30 (5 pm): Wind quartet
Ébanos de La Habana in concert.
Antiguo Casino Español
(Former Spanish Casino)
Paseo del Prado esq. Ánimas.
Centro Habana. Sala Ignacio
Cervantes. Sun. Feb. 21 (6 pm):
Concert by clarinetist Alejandro
Calzadilla and guests. Sun. 28 (6
pm): The Camerarpa Project by
Mirtha Batista, soloist harpist
from the National Symphony.
Teatro Martí
Calle Empedrado. Tel: 7 8617771. Sun. Feb. 21 (7 pm):
Closing ceremony / Vísperas y
Misa de San José en la Puebla
de los Ángeles (Vespers and
Mass of San José in la Puebla
de los Ángeles). Juan Gutiérrez
de Padilla, Antonio de Salazar,
Manuel de Sumaya, Juan Pérez
Roldán, Fabián Pérez Jimeno
and Francisco de Atienza /
Meridionalis Ensemble, Directed
by: North American Sebastián
Zubieta, the Ars Longa Early
Music Ensemble and Teresa Paz.
Oratorio San Felipe Neri
Calle 26 esq. 11, Vedado, Tel:
7 838-2269. Thu. Feb. 18 (11
am): Descarga a lo Barroco (A
Barroque Release) / The Ars
Longa Early Music Ensemble
and guests from the festival /
Directed by: Teresa Paz.
Calle Aguiar esq. Obrapía.
Habana Vieja. Tel: 7 8623243. Sat. Feb.20 (4 pm): The
outstanding clarinetist Arístides
Porto will be introduced
alongside guests in a Chamber
concert.
Sat. 27 (4 pm): The concert
pianist Fidel Leal and the
soprano Bárbara Llanes will
come together.
Casa de Africa
Obra Pía e/ San Ignacio y
Mercaderes. Habana Vieja. Tel:
861-5798. Sat. Jan. 16 (3 pm):
Obiní Batá folk band performs.
Calle Dragones y Zulueta.
Centro Habana. Tel: 7 8667153. Sat. Feb. 27 (8:30pm): The
National Symphonic Orchestra,
under the direction of Enrique
Pérez Mesa, will perform
La Rapsodia Dominicana
(Dominican Rapsody) for the
first time, number one by
the composer Luis Rivera, in
a concert dedicated to the
celebration of the Dominican
Republic’s Independence Day.
ENTERTAINMENT& LISTINGS
AROUND
MUSEUMS AND
GALLERIES
Casa de la Obra Pía
Factoría Habana
MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
NIGHTCLUBS &
CABARETS
DANCE
NIGHTCLUBS & CABARETS
Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín
Teatro Nacional
9
DANCE
Meson de la Flota
Mercaderes e/ Teniente Rey y
Amargura. Habana Vieja. Sat.
Jan. 30, Sun. 31 and Mon. Feb. 1
(8:30 pm): Tablao Flamenco (The
Flamenco Venue) by (Compañía
Flamenca Ecos).
The 25th edition of the
International Book Fair of
Havana will be celebrated
from February 11-21, 2016 and
will be dedicated to Uruguay
and to the Cuban writers Lina
de Feria and Rogelio Martínez
Furé. Venue: Morro Cabaña.
Calle Obrapía e/ Oficios y
Mercaderes. La Habana Vieja.
Tel: 7 861- 3843. Fri. Feb. 19
(5 pm): f/508 Photographic
Exhibition, by the Brasilian Bete
Coutinho. She is inspired by
history and she modifies it by
creating little universes where
the concrete and the abstract,
the real and the imaginary, and
reality and fantasy live together
in harmony. The artist creates
photographic records of little
details that help her with her
designs.
Museo de la Ciudad
Obrapía e/ Mercaderes y San
Ignacio, Habana Vieja. Tel: 7 8613097. Throughout Feburary: The
exhibition Del hierro al hilo. Un
diálogo sin tensión (From Iron
to String. A dialogue without
tension) From the weavers of
the workshop of bobbin lace
making in the Espacio Barcelona
- La Habana. They recreate gates
and balconies influenced by
Catalan modernism within the
style of art nouveau.
Palacio de Lombillo
Tacón e/ Obispo y O’Reilly,
Habana Vieja. Tel: 7 8697358. Wed. Feb. 24 (10 am):
Inauguration of the collective
exhibition in homage to the
121st anniversary of the fight
against Spanish colonialism and
the start of the Cuban War of
Independence.
Calle O´ Reilly e/ Habana y
Aguiar. Habana Vieja. Tel: 7
864-9518. During the month
of February: Signs exposition.
Art and industry and vice versa,
reunites objects, texts, artifacts,
photographs, ceramics, graphic
work, videos and printed
materials, with the aim to make
the creative experiences stand
out in which a balanced fusion
of art, design and industry is
created alongside the particular
elements of the arquitectural
and urbanistic scene where
such experiences by the
author’s team have been made.
Casa de la Música de
Galiano
6th Edition of the Esteben
Salas Early Music Festival
from February 12-21 in: La
Basílica Menor de San Francisco
de Asís, la Iglesia de Paula, as
well as in other venues across
the city, organized by the
Havana Historian’s and the Ars
Longa Early Music Ensemble.
Fototeca de Cuba
Galiano e/ Neptuno y Concordia.
Tel: 7 860-8297. Mon. Feb. 29
(11 pm): Manolito Simonet y su
Trabuco (his catapult).
Castillo de la Real Fuerza
Calle O’Reilly e/ Avenida del
Puerto y Tacón. Habana Vieja.
Tel: 7 864- 4490. Troughtout
February: The exhibition
Juguetes y pequeñas
fabricaciones de cerámica en
sitios arqueológicos habaneros
(toys and small ceramic
products on archaeological
sites in Havana) from the 16th
century to the 18th century
miniature crockery, whistles,
human figures and ceramic
animals would sporadically
appear on these sites.
Paseo y Calle 39, Vedado Tel: 7
879 6011. Café Cantante. Mon.
Feb. 1 (11 pm): Manana Club.
Casa de la Música de
Miramar
Calle Empedrado, esq.
Mercaderes. Habana Vieja. Tel:
7 861- 5798. On the ground
floor of the Palacio de Lombillo,
during the month of February:
the photo exhibition Habana
clásica sensual (Sensual Classical
Havana) opens, by Gabriel
Dávalos.
Calle Mercaderes e/ Brasil y
Muralla, Plaza Vieja. Sat. Jan.
23 ald Sun. Feb. 21: ¨Retrato o
Selfie” photographs by Lisette
Solórzano
Calle 20 esq. 35. Miramar. Tel:
7 202- 6147. Mon. Feb. 22 y 29
(5 pm): Maykel Blanco and his
Salsa Mayor.
Salsa Carnaval from Avenida
G to Avenida Paseo down
Primera and Malecón from
Thursday February 25 until
Sunday February 28. This event
will bring together a large
number of the most prestigious
groups in Cuba; international
artists, DJs, dancers, dance
teachers, troupes and other
artistic manifestations. The
event will also be used to
launch and promote to the
world the Salsa Timba and Son
music produced in Cuba as well
as the dancing and other artistic
performances.
10
CULTURE
Casa de las Americas 2016 Literary Prize
By DamiánESTRADA
PHOTOs: Emilio Herrera
Those in the know concur that the
high point of this year’s event was the
conference given by Uruguayan senator
and former president Jose Mujica’s which
enthralled the audience that packed
the iconic Ernesto Guevara Hall of the
institution where the Casa Prize has taken
place for nearly six decades.
Emotions evoked year after year by our
continent’s literary institution the Casa de
las Americas Literary prize can still be felt.
On January 18, the director of the Casa’s
Center for Literary Investigation presented
the 20 judges for the competition which
marked the beginning of the 57th edition of
the gathering of our most authentic literary
expressions and traditions that culminated
10 days later in the awards ceremony.
The panel, sitting in the south central
Cuban city of Cienfuegos, considered
more than 400 entries; more than 130 in
the theatrical category, 40 essays , and 221
stories, this latter category displaying the
most coveted of the awards.
Chants of “Pepe, Pepe” inundated the
crowded auditorium, referring to the fond
nickname given by admirers to one the
most humble and charismatic leaders in
the recent history of our continent.
His diverse and moving discourse
fulfilled the highest expectations,generated
since the details of his visit to Cuba were
first announced.
In addition to Mujica’s visit, the Los
Mundos de Quino (The Quino Worlds)
exhibition, in tribute to the SpanishArgentine cartoonist, Joaquín Salvador
Lavado, which opened in Havana as part
of the 57th Casa de las Americas Prize
program, also came in for high praise.
Known to all simply as Quino, the 83
year-old artist is considered to be a standard
bearer for the continent’s comic art, and
on this occasion the Casa put together a
modest representation showing a range of
enlargements and reproductions from an
almost 60 year long creative trajectory.
These activities were complimented
by passionate debates with members of
the prestigious panel formed especially for
the occasion, including one entitled “The
Expectations and Realities of Latin American
Dramatists” and another dedicated to
present day indigenous intellectualism.
Amongst the notable prizewinners, the
story „Ni una sola voz en el cielo“, (Not a
Single Voice in the Sky) by Argentine Ariel
Urquiza, the essay “De las cenizas al texto”
(From Ashes to the Text) by Ecuadorian
Diego Falconí Trávez, and the play „ Si esto
es una tragedia yo soy una bicicleta“ (If This
is a Tragedy then I am a Bicycle) by Cuban
Legna Rodríguez Iglesias, stand out.
And so, the Casa Prize 2016 had come
to an end, and those that had lived and
felt every word, phrase or letter published
during the 10 days of the event, were
certain that next year the literary feast
would return to the Cuban capital.
Cuban Theater Group Perform in U.S.
Having performed more than 100 times in Havana and
having concluded a successful tour of France, Austria,
Argentina and Uruguay, the Cuban theater group, “El
Público”, returned to the United States to present their
version of “Antignon, an Epic Contingent”.
The group, created in 1992 by the dramatist and
National Theater Prize 2015 winner Carlos Díaz and
considered to be one of Cuba’s most important
theater groups, performed in the Miami Dade County
Auditorium on January 29, 30 and 31.
The play, written by Rogelio Orizondo was very
well received by the U.S. public, who were given the
opportunity to experience from a contemporary
perspective the nuances of Antígona, the mythical
Greek daughter of king Edipa of Tebas.
Set in the present day, the ancient myths reappear
in modern contexts, creating a show that through more
than one linear storyline reflects the Cuban lifestyle and
their way of being.
The work interprets the poems El Padre Suizo (The
Swiss Father) and Sueño con claustros de mármol (The
Dream of Marble Cloisters) by Jose Marti, Cuba’s National
Hero and includes the words of local dramatists Virgilio
Piñera y Joel Cano.
This is not El Publico’s first visit to the U.S., they
previously performed “Las amargas lágrimas de Petra
Von Kant” (The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant)with the
support of the North American non-profit organization
dedicated to the promotion of music, cinema, theater,
dance and visual arts, FUNDarte.
Following on from their performance of this
written piece for the German film and theater director
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, they brought “Calígula” by
Frenchman Albert Camus and Cuban Nilo Cruz’s, “Ana el
trópico” to the U.S stage.
Renowned for their outspoken authenticism,
El Público also maintain deep theatrical traditions
because therein lie the roots of what today are classified
as contemporary performance arts.
According to the company’s director, they have
worked extensively in Cuba, where there are a range
of theatrical voices, and where space is made for every
creator.
Examples of this are the Teatro de La Luna, Argos
Teatro, El ciervo encantado and the Teatro de Dos
groups, all of whom are presently wowing the audience
PHOTO: Manuel Muñoa
By CossetLAZO
with performances that differ but reflect one voice; that
of national theater.
Recognized as one of Cuba’s most notable and
controversial theater directors, Díaz’s work with his
group relies on the sensuality of the staged image and
a fusion of contemporary languages.
Intent on protecting the original integrity of each
theatrical piece, Carlos Díaz foresees a healthy future
for Cuban theater because in his view an effort is made
every day to develop the theatrical arts.
PHOTO FEATURE
Cienfuegos:
the City that I
Like the Most
By Roberto F. CAMPOS
Known as La Perla del Sur ( The Pearl of the
South), Cienfuegos is a city located in centralsouthern Cuba and is the capital of the province
with the same name. It is connected to the
Caribbean Sea through a narrow waterway that
provides access to the city founded on April 22,
1819 by French settlers led by Luis De Clouet.
Referred to by famous Cuban singer Benny
Moré as “the city that I like the most,” Cienfuegos
is located about 245 kilometers from Havana, in
the Majagua Peninsula, on the shores of the Bay
of Jagua.
With its aboriginal name meaning origin,
source, spring, wealth, the Bay of Jagua is open
to the Caribbean Sea by a narrow channel that
provides access to ships using the port.
After the city was founded, French immigrants
settled in the Majagua Peninsula and named
present-day Cienfuegos Villa Fernandina de
Jagua, a name that honored both King Ferdinand
VII and the indigenous-born people.
In addition to its many natural attractions
including Swamp Zapata, the city captivates
visitors with its clean streets, well-preserved
buildings, and the Hotel Jagua, an imposing
building back in the 1950s that is now recovering
its charm and is visited by people from around
the world.
11
12
POLITICS
A Sign of Regional Integration
By NéstorMARÍN
The Summit of the Community of
Latin American and Caribbean States
(CELAC) held in late January in Ecuador
demonstrated that the pro-integration
bloc is the right mechanism for coping
with the challenges and conflicts that
might appear in the region.
This assertion can be made following
the results of the open dialogue and
concrete proposals made by the
presidents related to the economic
crisis hanging over CELAC and the world
as well, the zika epidemic currently
spreading in the region and the election
panorama in Haiti.
As for the economy, the summit
highlighted
Venezuelan
President
Nicolás Maduro’s proposal to create
an anti-crisis tactical plan to look for
solutions that help solve the difficult
situation caused by the drop in oil prices
and other external factors.
It´s time to develop a complementary
solidarity plan for shared development
in Latin America and the Caribbean. The
time has come for us to try ourselves, like
we have done in politics, Maduro said
during the plenary session.
The lack of equality prevailing
in Latin America was another topic
addressed by the 33 presidents or their
representatives during the meeting
held at the headquarters of the Union
of South American Nations in Mitad del
Mundo (Middle of the World) region,
north of Quito.
In this regard, Ecuadorian President
Rafael Correa reiterated that the greatest
challenge for CELAC would be to
eradicate poverty, which is the result of
the unequal distribution of income and
wealth, he added.
As host of the 4th Summit, Correa
handed over the CELAC pro tempore
presidency to his Dominican counterpart
Danilo Medina, who noted that the
meeting held in private by the heads
of State also agreed to adopt concrete
measures to fight the zika outbreak in
the region.
In this sense, Brazilian President Dilma
Rousseff announced that the health
ministers of the Common Market of
the South plan to meet soon to define
actions to fight the disease transmitted
by the aedes aegypti mosquito.
The summit also agreed to send a
commission of foreign ministers to Haiti
to collect information about the country’s
political situation after the opposition
refused to take part in the runoff.
The presidents of the member
countries of CELAC, a bloc that comprises
all the countries on the American
continent apart from the United States
and Canada, praised the talks that the
Colombian guerrilla and government
have been holding in Havana since 2012
to put an end to the over 50-year-long
armed conflict in the country.
Regarding this, they sustained that
the bloc is willing to join the UN mission
that will supervise the possible ceasefire
and the laying down of arms by the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaPeople’s Army.
The Summit closed with the approval
of some 20 special declarations that
included a call upon the United States
to lift the economic, commercial and
financial blockade on Cuba and to
return the territory occupied by the
Guantánamo naval base.
Another declaration ratified the
solidarity with the Argentinean claim
over the Falkland Islands, and rejected
the U.S. decree calling Venezuela a threat
to the U.S. national security.
Meanwhile, Correa made the most of
the occasion to reiterate his call for CELAC
to replace the Organization of American
States (OAS) as a mechanism allowing for
consensus and dialogue among the Latin
American and Caribbean countries.
According to the Ecuadorian
president, the OAS should serve as a
space providing dialogue between the
regional bloc and the United States
and Canada.
Evo Morales Praises Revolution’s Achievements in Ten Years
LA PAZ._ President Evo Morales highlighted the
transformations made by the Bolivian government
throughout his ten years in power, having turned one
of the poorest South American countries into the
one with the highest growth rate in the region, for
the benefit of the people and with the consequent
reduction of poverty.
During the opening ceremony of the 2016-2017
legislative assembly on January 22, Evo Morales referred
to the government performance during the 2006-2015
period, stressing that the country now registers one of
the most stable growth rates, despite the reduction in
oil prices.
He recalled his expulsion from Congress when
serving as parliamentary deputy for having defended
the people’s rights. He was then accused by politicians
of being a terrorist and a drug dealer. “Now this man
once expelled (from Congress) is speaking here as the
president of a multinational State,” he noted.
Regarding this, Morales specially thanked all
social and indigenous movements who joined efforts
and defeated those forces that were attempting to
disqualify him from becoming president.
As opposed to 30 years of neoliberal governments,
“we now have the duty of reporting on the government
PHOTO: Vladimir Molina
By PedroRIOSECO
performance over the past ten years, with a productive
social model aiming to provide the people with a
better life”.
“Upon assuming power in 2005 the gap between
the rich and the poor was 128 times bigger but in
2014 it was cut to only 39 times; while the poverty rate
decreased from 38 to 17 percent,” Evo stressed.
From 1996 to 2005, the Real Gross Domestic Product
grew by 3.2 percent, accounting for an average five
percent growth over the past ten years.
Between 1986 and 2005, the Nominal Gross
Domestic Product rose from $6,754 million to some
$22,806 million, equivalent to a 193 percent growth,
Morales said.
“In 2005, Bolivia’s GDP recorded $9 billion and even
though we did not grow much in 2015, that indicator
is averaging around $33.79 billion,” the president
sustained. In 20 years of neoliberal governments, the
average GDP per capita was at some $ 872, a figure that
rose to $2,226 over the past ten years.
The DGP per capita increased from $1,000 in 2005
to $3,119 in 2015.
In regards to the inflation rate, the indicator was
registered at 11.5 percent before Morales assumed
office, and has now been brought down to 6.3 percent.
The president also referred to the increase in state
funds for provincial and municipal governments and
public universities, which grew 460 percent throughout
the past ten years of the Bolivian revolution.
ECONOMY
13
Technological Innovation, a Challenge for Latin America
PHOTO: jorge perez
By María JuliaMAYORAL
The biggest challenge for Latin America
today is to return to the path of economic
development, underpinning productive
diversification
and
technological
innovation, said the executive secretary
of the Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (CEPAL),
Alicia Bárcena.
The current decline in the prices
of oil and other basic products on the
international market sheds light on an old
and widely-known problem: the region
largely depends on market fluctuations,
making it highly vulnerable.
Amid these circumstances, it is
imperative to protect the achievements
attained over the past ten years; namely,
the reduction of poverty, the distribution
of income and social inclusion, according
to CEPAL.
The institution, which is a regional
commission of the United Nations, is also
“particularly worried” about the slowdown
in gross fixed capital formation, because
its contribution to the region’s Gross
Domestic Product decreased from 21.5
percent in 2013 to 20 percent in 2015.
“The reduction of investments is
worrying not only because it aggravates
the effects of the economic crisis but also
because it limits future growth prospects
and the possibilities for countries to move
toward productive diversification and
growth,” said Bárcenas.
The end of the rise in raw material
prices and the consequent disagreements
over trade terms have had a diverse
impact among importing and exporting
countries, Bárcenas explained at the World
Economic Forum held in late January in
Davos, Switzerland.
However, the drop in non-tax revenue
was compensated with an increase in tax
collection, which resulted from the recent
progressive tax reforms implemented in
more than 15 countries, she noted.
As Compared to previous slowdowns,
the region is now in better economic
conditions to carry out these kinds
of policies, especially in areas that
could reactivate the economy such
as
infrastructure, innovation
and
development, the CEPAL executive
secretary explained.
It is time now for the region to stimulate
these sectors that could give a major
boost to economic growth and exports, as
is the case for environmentally sustainable
sectors like renewable sources of energy
and services, with views to attaining clean
and intelligent urban development, the
official suggested.
According to CEPAL, public and private
investment must join efforts to promote
innovation and social inclusion: huge
prospects exist for creating a single digital
market that allows increasing connectivity
throughout the region, CEPAL noted.
Bárcena praised the likelihood of
combining investments in energy and
digital infrastructure with the objective
of encouraging technological and
environmental innovation. To attain
this goal, the governments have to
create alliances with the private sector,
teaching centers and the civilian society,
she recommended.
The high percentage of the young
population features as one of Latin
America’s greatest assets. Hence, it
is crucial to invest in education and
technical training to further improve
those sectors and to be able to play
an active role in the digital and
technological revolution, and in the
knowledge-oriented economy as well.
The Latin American and Caribbean
countries “need a new form of sustainable
development,” Bárcenas said in Davos
when addressing the debate on the Fourth
Industrial Revolution.
In the face of development, it is
essential for the region to grow together.
This enables the people to make better
use of the historical opportunities
provided by the digital revolution,
financial management and the need to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions linked to
production and consumption, according
to CEPAL.
Dutch Support for Aquaculture Development in Cuba
PHOTOs: Miguel Guzmán Ruiz.
By RobertoSALOMÓN
The Water Education Istitution of Holland
and UNESCO (Unesco – IHE in Spanish) are
cooperating with the Cuban aquaculture
industry, in the execution of a claria (catfish)
raising project, using a locally produced
feed, which has just been satisfactorily
evaluated on the basis of fish sizes in excess
of 500 grams.
Tests undertaken at the start of
2016 in the “El Dique” research training
and production center, belonging to
the Havana Aquaculture Technology
Development Company, indicate that it is
possible to replace traditionally used and
highly expensive imported ground-fish
feed, paid for in hard currency.
When consulted by the Havana
Reporter, Héctor García and Damir
Brdjanovic of Unesco-IHE and responsible
for the Dutch side’s participation in the
project, both agreed that in addition to
the replacement of bought imports, there
were the added advantages of the saving
of water and other resources, cleaner
production processes and staff training
levels.
The program, which includes new
equipment and involves the transfer of
technology,is financed by 2,000,000 dollars,
25% of which is contributed by the Dutch
institute, with the remainder coming from
the European Union.
According to Nelson Pérez,the National
Director of Aquaculture, the project’s
feasibility was established on the basis of
just three claria fattening trials.
This plan is as much a response to the
need to improve fish feed from locally
sourced nutrients than it is to extend the
scope of the program to the processed
feed industry.
In the opinion of Theodor Friedrich,
the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture
Organization’s
representative
(FAO)
in Cuba, who witnessed the trials, the
program is of great importance to the
country, because it favors a protein source
that can be sustainably developed.
He added that it also contributes to
the population’s food security and reduces
imports of feed produced abroad, which
bear a significant financial burden.
Following these successful trials, the
next step in the joint program is to expand
the project and to evaluate the Cuban
aquaculture system on an industrial scale.
Cuba produces, by intensive methods,
more than 6,000 tons of claria annually.This
volume of the species – worth in excess of
5,000 dollars per ton on the international
market – is sold to the public industry and
to the tourism industry.
In 2015, fresh water fish production in
Cuba surpassed 27,000 tons – the highest
yield by this industry since the early 1980’s
– and the bulk of this amount, some 20,000
tons, consisted of silver carp and tench.
Both fresh and salt water (mariculture)
Cuban aquaculture are included on the
list of activities designated for foreign
investment, given that the nation does
not have the vast capital required for its
development.
14
ECONOMY
Odebrecht to Participate in Cuban
Economic Development
PHOTO: Jorge Pérez
By CiraRODRÍGUEZ
The presence of the Odebrecht company in more than
21 countries and across a broad range of business sectors
that offer integrated, innovative and practical solutions, is
an indication of why the Brazilian group have an interest
in contributing to the development of their host nations.
Oderbrecht has, on the basis of such ideas and actions,
been working with Cuba since the construction of the
Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM in Spanish)
container terminal began in 2010 and was inaugurated in
January 2014.
The company’s representative in Cuba, Mauro
Augusto Hueb, told The Havana Reporter that its first
project outlined the possibilities of a future in Cuba and
the Caribbean island’s readiness for development led to
the decision to contribute more to that process.
He added that “We saw great potential in
establishing a presence in Cuba on the basis of the
possible requirements of an internal market of 11
million people in this country in addition to the
Caribbean region as a whole”.
For Hueb, this was a decision to come to stay and
‘accompany’ the island, something that goes beyond
economic interests, stemming from the long-standing
relations between Cuba and Brazil.
He said that it was not a question of lightning-like
acts to finish a project and then move on, but rather
a policy of coming on board to contribute to the
development of the country and to the construction of
trust-based relationships.
The 70 year-old Brazilian group has led infrastructural
and strategic construction operations overseas for the
development of productive sectors for 40 years.
Odebrecht is the largest Latin American construction
company to have worked in Cuba, which is why, having
concluded the first phase of the ZEDM container
terminal; it has been authorized to use the enclave and
has been given two further contracts in the sugar and
civil aviation sectors.
Hueb has not ruled out the possibility of an approach
to Cuban authorities regarding participation in the
second phase of the container terminal project, given that
the master plan is far greater and designed to advance in
accordance with demand.
The group’s “Companhia de Obras e Infraestructura”
(COI) company received official notification on January
23 that it could establish itself as an approved ZEDM user,
in order to offer engineering and construction services to
potential investors in the zone.
Fully funded by its own capital resources, COI has
been granted a 15 year operational license which may
be renewed, something Hueb pointed out as being their
intention, for the Zone, situated to the west of Havana.
He stated in this regard that the perspectives are
even broader still, because the group is hoping to attain
a second Mariel license as an investor in the construction
and operation of a plastic package and container plant.
He said that Odebrecht is very experienced in this field,
having plastic resin factories in both Brazil and Mexico,
which would facilitate their proposal.
The giant Brazilian corporation has also signed a
technical support contract for the soon to commence
upgrading and extension of the Jose Marti International
Airport, which will double the present 3 million passenger
capacity in two years.
The project seeks to increase service efficiency in
response to the growing demands of international
tourism and envisions the importation of the requisite
goods and services for its completion.
Due to its experience of sugar, ethanol and bioenergy production in Brazil and Angola, Odebrecht has
a 13 year administration contract with the Azcuba group
for the “5 de Septiembre” refinery in the central province
of Cienfuegos.
The administration seeks to use modern technology
to recover production levels at the plant and to maximize
electricity generation from sugar cane pulp, which
requires a structure of credits and improvements in
agriculture through plantation increases and efficient
yields per hectare as well as the administration of the
industrial plant.
Hueb explained that the purpose of all these projects
was not to try to force the pace, but rather to utilize
existing Cuban human capital and thus be of benefit to it,
through the creation of more jobs and the contribution of
advanced technology.
He added that “Cubans are extraordinarily skilled and
quick to learn all they are taught, permitting fast progress
in project development. The construction work we
undertook in Mariel was an example of this, where 6,000
workers passed through our training programs”.
Odebrecht has a diverse list of activities in infrastructure,
real estate, industrial plants, agro-industry, chemicals,
gas, petro-chemicals, environmental engineering and
renewable energy, fields supported by interests in
transport, roadways, railways ports and airports.
U.S. Vintners Offer a Taste of Their own Wines
PHOTO: Jorge Pérez
By FranciscoMENÉNDEZ
In what experts consider to be an
indication of how attractive the
potential of the tourist market in Cuba
is; between February 1-3 this year,
one hundred U.S. business people
representing 50 wine cellars, offered a
first-ever seminar on Californian wines
in Cuba’s Palace of Conventions.
A list of 150 different products was
compiled for the event which included
a tasting session in which 25 local
sommeliers and experts participated
such as Luis Ortega Mateo from Spain,
who has represented the Freixenet wine
label here for 27 years.
Linsey Gallagher, president of the
California Wine Institute, told The Havana
Reporter that she was excited about
her visit and about participating in the
seminar in the Cuban capital.
She explained that the USCava Exports
organized group comprised 100 vintners
who, given that wines from countries
around the world such as Spain, Chile
and Italy had such a presence in Cuba,
were enthusiastic about the opportunity
to have their labels represented on the
Caribbean island.
Of nearly 4,000 cellars in California
where 6,000 workers tend the vines, 1,000
were affiliated to her institute (10% of
whom came with the group to Cuba).
She continued by explaining that
the institution was represented in 30
markets and that she hoped, once
Washington lifted prohibitions imposed
on trade with Cuba, to be able to sell
wines here, particularly with the tourist
market in mind.
She insisted that by working with the
US authorities and seminar organizers US
Cava Exports- supported by 25 Cuban
sommeliers- they would at some point be
able to sell their products in Cuba.
Also, two years ago a group of these
sommeliers, who now collaborate with
efforts to make these wines available in
Cuba, had visited California.
Participants at the seminar expressed
that the growth in Cuban tourism was
relevant to the future entry of North
American businesses on the market.
SPORTS
15
Cuba Claims Caribbean Indoor Football Crown
Cuba’s victory in the indoor- football (futsal in Spanish)
Caribbean Tournament held in Havana, has consolidated
its position as a regional force with a real possibility of
making a mark at the Pre-World championships in Costa
Rica next May.
Three qualifying places for September’s world
championships in Cali, Colombia, will be on offer at
the contest.
Cuba is back on track for a fifth participation in the
world championships of a sport that has produced
interesting international results and in which interest
grows on the island every year.
The Cuban team, under the management of Clemente
Reynoso, came to the central Caribbean event, held in the
capital’s “Kid Chocolate” hall, intent on earning a ticket
to Costa Rica, which they did convincingly as unbeaten
winners of Group B.
With victories over San Martin (5-0), Guadalupe (40) and Jamaica (5-1), Cuba reached the final against
the also unbeaten Group A winners, Curacao, who had
beaten Guyana (5-2), Antigua and Barbudas (5-0) and
Trinidad and Tobago (3-2).
The two finalists had the best goal averages of the
PHOTO: Courtesy of trabajadores.cu
By CotoWONG
group stage, Cuba with 14 goals in their favor and only
one against them and Curacao with 13 in their favor and
four against them.
Both sides guaranteed their places at the
Confederation of Caribbean and Central American
Football (Concacaf ) championship, where the region’s
best will compete for three tickets to the Cali world finals.
Group stage top scorers, with five goals each,
were Ricardo Castillo from Cuba and the Trinidadian
Jerwyn Baltasar.
In the final, the home five beat their counterparts from
Curacao by five goals to zero, displaying ruthlessness in
attack and a robust defense, during a game in which
goalie Brenieht Suárez’s performance in stopping the
rival’s attackers was outstanding.
Fernando Chapman, nominated, the Most Valuable
Player, opened the scoring with a blistering shot in the
14th minute, and in the 29th Stalin Martinez scored the
second from a converted free kick.
Cuba kept the pressure on in the second half and
after 20 minutes Chapman scored their third. Karen
Mariño brought their total to 5 with two goals in only
two minutes, the 26th and 28th.
In the bronze medal match Guadalupe were beaten
4-5 by Trinidad and Tobago, who earned the right to a
play-off against the third placed Central American side,
prior to the contest in Costa Rica.
Cuba has participated in four indoor football world
championships: Spain 1996, Guatemala 2000, Taipei,
China 2004 and Brazil 2008, but failed to qualify for the
last championships in Thailand in 2012.
Havana Awakens the Olympic Dream for Latin American Judo
Judokas from four Latin American
countries made firm steps towards
qualifying for the upcoming Rio de
Janeiro-2016 Olympic Games, having
ranked among the best athletes during
the Second Grand Prix of Judo held
recently in Havana.
Cuba and Brazil, the region’s best
ranked teams, earned the highest
recognition mainly due to the excellent
performance of Idalis Ortiz and Asley
González (Cuba) and Sarah Menezes and
Eric Takabatake (Brazil).
Ortiz,
Olympic
champion
in
London-2012, and world champion in Rio
de Janeiro-2013 and Cheliabinsk-2014 in
the 78 kg+ division, became the winner in
her category by defeating her four rivals
for ippon. She has thus improved her
position in the world ranking by adding
300 points.
Meanwhile, González, runner-up in
London-2012 and in Rio de Janeiro-2013,
also enhanced his ranking with 300 new
points by leading the 90kg division.
This Cuban male judoka now aims to
win one of the 22 direct quotas granted
by the International Judo Federation for
PHOTOs: JOSE TITO MERINO
By AdriánMENGANA
the upcoming Olympics.
In the meantime, Menezes, women’s
48kg division winner and current
Olympic champion, is now far ahead in
the individual ranking table after she
became the winner in her category.
In the semi-finals, Menezes defeated
Dayaris Mestre, Cuba’s Pan-American
champion in Toronto-2015 for ippon.
With the bronze she won in her division,
Mestre added 120 points to her ranking.
The world’s current gold medallist in
this division, Argentinean Paula Pareto,
won the other bronze and is likely to get
a place for the Olympics.
Cuba also won a silver medal in the
68kg division with the performance
of Maricet Espinosa, and a bronze in
the 100kg+ division in the hands of
Alex García. They both now have more
chances to earn quotas for the Olympics
during the Pan-American Championship
scheduled for April 28-30 in Havana, as
the winners from all divisions alike will
get 400 points.
Takabatake afforded Brazil an even
greater joy when he became the winner
for the men’s 90kg division. He had
previously come second during the first
Grand Prix in Havana.
The South American women’s team
also won two bronze medals: Rafaela
Silva (57kg) -world champion in Rio de
Janeiro-2013- and María Portela (70kg).
Also noteworthy was the bronze
medal won by Mexican veteran Vanessa
Zambotti (78kg+). The Pan-American
champion of Rio de Janeiro-2007 thus
earned more points in the qualifying
phase for Rio-2016.
Russia topped the medal table with
three gold and one bronze, followed by
Cuba (2-1-2), Israel (2-1-0), Brazil (2-0-2),
Hungary (1-4-2), Germany (1-2-2), the
United States (1-1-1), Azerbaijan (1-0-2)
and Ukraine (1-0-1).
16
Caracol S.A.
Supplies
the World’s
Best Cuban
Cigars
The Casas del Habano cigar shops run
by the Caracol S.A chain store have
three of Cuba’s most distinguished
products for sale: the most
internationally renowned cigar brands,
excellent Cuban rum and exquisite
coffee.
With branches in six Cuban
provinces, the Caracol S.A. shops
sell a variety of the Romeo y Julieta,
Montecristo and Cohiba cigar brands,
which are among the best brands in the
world, with the latter marking its 50th
anniversary this year.
Most of these specialized centers have
experienced cigar rollers working there,
because many customers are interested
in watching cigars being rolled by hand
on those premises, and buying them once
they are ready for sale.
With more than fifty years experience,
the men and women who roll these
famous cigars are able to provide the
equilibrium needed between the layers of
tobacco leaves for the cigars to burn evenly.
The Caracol S.A. shops not only
provide this specialized service but also
have excellent Cuban rum and coffee for
sale, thus making these establishments
remarkably special.
As a way of ratifying its position in
the world of cigars, Caracol S.A. actively
participates in the International Cigar
Festival held every year in Havana by
organizing cocktail nights, where the
participants can enjoy smoking premium
Cuban cigars while tasting delicious
Cuban rum.
The cocktail areas attract participants
to the festival with the perfect combination
between a variety of drinks and Cuba’s
Habanos.