A peek of life in Cuba
To provide fresh information about the activities, and life of Cuba. With post featuring arts, culture, personalities, interesting places, tourist...
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Thursday, 26 August 2021 15:07
Biden administration doesn’t seem to have a plan to secure a free Cuba. But we do
By Marcell Felipe, Yahoo News! “End the Regime!” This demand was heard during the anti-communist rebellion in Cuba, proving the people want to eradicate the regime, instead of reform. It also revealed that the United States did not have a plan to deal with that reality, just as it did not have a plan to deal with Afghanistan. This may be contributing to President Biden’s reluctance to support regime change, fearing the island could erupt into chaos as Libya did in 2011 and Afghanistan has now. Although the United States does not have a transition plan, the Initiative for Democratic and Economic Alternatives (IDEAs) for Cuba has one in development. It’s a project designed by academic experts and those from the public- and private sectors. Unlike Afghanistan, this plan does not require the United States to invest and hope for certain results. Instead, it provides for U.S. support after steps are undertaken in Cuba. One objective is to assure U.S. policymakers that Cuba’s freedom is not to be feared as a failed state, but instead embraced as an opportunity to realign the region and stave off Russian and Chinese attempts to gain global momentum. A second objective is to assure…
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Thursday, 22 April 2021 08:31
The Internet, The Stone In The Cuban Government’s Shoe
One of the least connected countries in the world took a turn in November 2018 with the arrival of the mobile Internet Q REPORTS (Havana) “Lies”, “manipulation”, “subversion”: Raúl Castro, who handed over the reins of the Communist Party of Cuba this Monday, does not mince words to talk about the Internet, which has become the opposition’s favorite weapon. People walk near a mural with a Cuban flag in Havana on April 16, 2021. Photo: AFP The country of 11.2 million people was long one of the least connected in the world. Everything changed with the arrival of the mobile Internet. At the end of 2018 people adopted it in a dizzying way, despite its high price, with 4.2 million people connected. By the end of 2019, that number had reached 7.1 million (63% of the population). According to the Ministerio de Comunicaciones (Mincom), as of November 2020, 4.2 million users accessed the internet via a mobile device, of which 1.3 million had access to 4G LTE technology. President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, successor to Raúl Castro as the head of the communist party, boasted encouraging “the computerization of society,” but was quickly disillusioned by an unprecedented social concern, now visible from…
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Thursday, 22 April 2021 07:46
A Cuba Without A Castro? A Country Steps Into The Unknown
Raúl Castro has stepped down as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, leaving Cubans without a Castro to lead them for the first time in over 60 years. Q REPORTS (NY Times) When Raúl Castro retired as Cuba’s top leader Monday, he left a warning for a nation increasingly divided over the legacy of its Communist revolution: The choice at hand is continuity of the revolution’s ideals, or defeat. Since 1959, when Raúl and his older brother, Fidel, led an insurgency against an American-backed dictator to victory, Cuba has been led by a Castro. Now, as Raúl — who is 89 and succeeded his older brother — steps down from the helm of the Communist Party, he leaves a country that is torn by the most brutal economic crisis in decades. There is also a deep generational rift. Fidel Castro, then president of Cuba, and his brother Raúl, then vice president, in Havana in 1978.Credit…OFF/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Many older Cubans remember the poverty and inequality they faced before the Castros, and remain loyal to the revolution despite decades of hardship. But younger generations, who grew up with the achievements of socialism, including access to education and health care, chafe…
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Monday, 08 February 2021 11:33
Cuba to offer vaccine to arriving tourists
Tourists will be given the option, if they want, to be vaccinated in Cuba as well TODAY CUBA – Cuban doctors have been hailed across Africa and Latin America for providing the “backbone” of numerous nations’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the US government has attacked the medical brigades, claiming they are engaging in human trafficking and has encouraged nations such as Brazil and Bolivia to expel them. Tourists arriving in Cuba will be offered the chance to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they so choose, a leading Cuban doctor recently said. The country is developing four vaccines for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and has plans to rapidly vaccinate the entire population. “Would you travel to Cuba to get vaccinated?” asks a recent video produced by TeleSUR. In the video, Vicente Vérez, the director of Havana’s Finlay Institute medical research center, says the country intends to produce 100 million doses of the Soberana 02 vaccine this year and to vaccinate the entire Cuban population of 11.3 million people. The country will also offer the vaccine to Iran, Venezuela, Vietnam, and India. “Tourists will be given the option, if they want, to be vaccinated in Cuba as well,”…
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Travel to Cuba
Monday, 06 August 2018 15:56
Seven Weird Ultimate Tricks to Really Rock in Cuba
In this article you will find useful tips not only to spend less money in your next trip to Cuba, but also to do things more intelligently and, sure, to make many things easier. The final goal of this writing is to help you to make your life in Cuba more handy. These tips are not suitable for a completely inexperienced traveler. If you will visit Cuba for the first time, this article is probably not for you, even if you can still apply some tips. But in this case, you should better first familiarize yourself with the country and the place, then begin consider to make things better. But let's go to the tips!
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Thursday, 08 March 2018 12:31
The Wonders Of Cuba’s Horse-Powered Ambulances
It is an insult to human dignity and intelligence to listen to Cuban dictators preach loudly and without hesitation that Cuba is a healthcare power when cases like these take place. Anyone with a single shred of dignity would find it very difficult to live in Cuba. It is certainly revolting to hear Cuban leaders speak of the virtues of their healthcare system, and to know they sell this idea with great success. These immoral rulers take advantage of the media to scrupulously wash their disgusting image that they then sell and export so successfully. I’ve been told many others want to emulate them in their countries, although I find that hard to believe. Yet I will not talk today about the poor hygiene and lack of food in hospitals. Nor will I discuss the great shortage of medicines, the unreliability of medical equipment, or the discontent of professionals and workers in healthcare (due low wages and terrible working conditions.) I won’t talk about the deficit of doctors due to the excessive exports of healthcare professionals— whose true purpose is to paint the dictators in a false image of philanthropy abroad. The tyrant’s mayor export is socialism, and up to…
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Thursday, 19 October 2017 09:28
Next Cuban Leader Rejects US ‘Imperialism’
Cuba will not make concessions to its sovereignty and independence, nor negotiate its principles or accept the imposition of conditions Havana’s anticipated next leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, has refuted calls by Washington to change the island nation’s ways, declaring that “changes needed in Cuba will solely be carried out by the Cuban people,” in a stark rebuttal to US political and economic demands.After stating his intention to step down in 2018, current Cuban President Raul Castro is expected to be replaced by the Caribbean island nation’s First Vice-President Miguel Diaz-Canel.Speaking on Sunday, Diaz-Canel unambiguously castigated the US for its heavy-handed economic, military and diplomatic tactics. At a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, who participated in a Bolivian revolt that echoed the 1959 Cuban overthrow, Diaz-Canel reminded his listeners that “imperialism can never be trusted, not even a tiny bit, never.”In an apparent response to US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the US embargo on Cuba would not be fully lifted until Havana adopts Washington’s version of Western democracy and capitalism, Diaz-Canel said, “Cuba will not make concessions to its sovereignty and independence, nor negotiate its principles or accept the imposition of conditions,”“The…
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Tuesday, 10 January 2017 14:34
Rum wars: Havana Club vs. Havana Club
Rum lovers and history buffs should visit Havana’s Museo de Ron while in Havana, Cuba. There are guided tours where one can learn all about the history of rum and the process of how it is made from start to finish. The tour is extremely worth while, but the guide we had spoke very poor English. My son and I are bilingual and would have been better off taking the tour with a Spanish-speaking guide. The tour showcases Havana Club rum, Cuba’s stellar brand and whose circular red logo is omnipresent on the island. Unfortunately, this Cuban version of Havana Club rum is not sold in the U.S. due to the embargo. However, this has not deterred visitors from the States who have been returning with their suitcases replete with bottles of Havana Club and cigars due to the somewhat loosening of restrictions for travelers. On Sunday January 2 2017, the program 60 Minutes aired a piece on the controversy around the Havana Club trademark and its distribution rights. Simply put, there is a turf war between Havana Club rum produced in Cuba and it’s counterpart that is made in Puerto Rico by Bacardi. The controversy has arisen with Pernod…
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Thursday, 29 December 2016 20:22
No Monuments for Fidel Castro in the wake of his death
Cuba will respect Fidel Castro's dying wish that no statues be erected in his honor and no streets be named after him. Despite his omnipresence that endured for decades, the late communist leader always said he did not want any monuments in his honor on the island."There is no cult of personality around any living revolutionary," Castro stated in 2003. "The leaders of this country are human beings, not gods." Consequently, Cuba’s National Assembly approved the law, which “bans commemorative statues of Fidel Castro and naming monuments and public places after the former leader. Despite Fidel’s sentiments, Raul told the Assembly that “His fighting spirit will remain in the conscience of all Cuban revolutionaries, today, tomorrow and always,” Some have predicted that Fidel’s legend will grow even more despite his death, much like Che Guevara. There a couple exceptions to the law banning the use Castro’s name in public places. The term Fidel Castro may used as a name for any institution created to study his role in Cuban history. The law also does not ban using his image, photo or likeness for public acts, Cuban military institutions, and educational or cultural entities.
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Monday, 26 December 2016 11:49
Cuba For Sale - People & Power
Half a century ago, when Fidel Castro's revolutionary forces entered the Cuban capital Havana, the new leader pledged to improve the lives of the poor by putting an end to capitalist excess. One of the revolutionary government's key measures was the elimination of the property market as a lucrative business. Housing was declared a human right, private rental was abolished and most Cubans were given free properties to live in. But with a US embargo declared on the revolutionary island and its finances dependent on an inefficient state-driven economy, the government ran out of money and vast parts of Havana fell into decline. In a radical move, Raul Castro opened up the economy in 2011. Property laws were reversed and Cubans were allowed to buy and sell their homes once more. The government says its revolutionary vision hasn't changed and that the reforms are aimed at safeguarding rather than dismantling socialism. But will the re-introduction of private property make Havana's urban poor worse off? And how will the government deal with the growing, wealthy new class that the regime once fought so hard to defeat? In Cuba for Sale, reporter Juliana Ruhfus and filmmaker Seamus Mirodan investigate the impact of…
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Monday, 26 December 2016 11:08
El Viejo y el Mal
The title of this article is word play on the title of Hemingway’s prize winning novel, "El Viejo y El Mar." In this case the translation of the title is “The Old Man and Evil,” referring to the legacy of the late Fidel Castro. As a result of Castro’s dictatorship Cuba is truly an impoverished country locked in a time warp, where the average monthly salary hovers around $25 dollars and where there is no real freedom of expression, opportunities, dissent or human rights. Many of those who clamor for change are imprisoned. Because of this situation fifteen percent of the islands citizens are in exile in an effort to make a better life for themselves. The revolution was really about Fidel and his socialistic vision and not the Cuban people. He created a system of educated people who had little hope of getting ahead in life. I must admit that the man was a political genius to be able to stay in power for almost 50 years. The government that Fidel left to his brother does have its supporters among some of those who have lived under the system all of their lives and who do not know nothing…
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Most Read Content
Latest Articles
- Biden administration doesn’t seem to have a plan to secure a free Cuba. But we do
- The Internet, The Stone In The Cuban Government’s Shoe
- A Cuba Without A Castro? A Country Steps Into The Unknown
- Cuba to offer vaccine to arriving tourists
- Seven Weird Ultimate Tricks to Really Rock in Cuba
- The Wonders Of Cuba’s Horse-Powered Ambulances
- Next Cuban Leader Rejects US ‘Imperialism’
