Circles Robinson, Author at Havana Times

Havana Calendar for May 2011

Here is the cultural calendar for May 2011 put out by the Cuba Absolutely website. It includes happenings in music, dance, and theater and the visual arts, etc. in the Cuban capital.

They Didn’t Like the Cuba Granny Story

What really bothered a friend who is a government official, the same as some other mid-level political cadre, was my story about a grandmother forced to collect tin cans to survive. It was as if they believed it’s enough to kill the messenger for bad news to go away. I’m sorry if I offended anybody, but my job is to write about Cuba, and that includes the poor and the excluded because they too are the children of this nation.

Cuba’s Big Players: God and the Party

The government’s alliance with the church is, according to Raul Castro, a guarantee of “the unity of the nation” in the face of the “mercenaries” (those who subvert the law and are at the service of “a foreign power”).

Havana Weather for May 5-11

We will be under the influence of a high pressure zone that will gather in intensity and move toward the east in the middle of the upcoming period. This will give way to a week of high temperatures and good weather, but with lots of heat. The maximum temperatures will fluctuate between 32°C (90°F) and 33°C (91°F). The minimum temperatures will be around the 23°C (73°F).

Cuba’s Leonys Martin Signs for 8-Figures with Texas

Last year’s American League Champs, The Texas Rangers, have just signed Cuban outfielder Leony’s Martin to a $15.5 million contract. Martin, 23, who played for Villa Clara in the Cuban League, is at the Rangers Surpirse, Arizona camp.

David of OMNI: I’m for International Patriotism

“In a performance in Santiago de Cuba, we covered our entire bodies up with newspaper because we were prisoners of information. We had a pipe to breathe through, but that pipe was connected to a suitcase that was also wrapped in paper; that is, we breathed information. Later we got to a park and there we ripped off all those newspapers and then walked naked among the people….”

Cuba’s New Offensive vs. Homophobia

LGBT social networks and experts with Cuba’s National Sex Education Centre (CENESEX) announced Tuesday that events surrounding the Day Against Homophobia will last a month this year in this Caribbean island nation.

Africa Coalition Against the High Cost of Living

In Burkina Faso, Niger, Kenya, Uganda: governments are worried by soaring prices – and by newly confident and enraged civil society. Governments are being challenged to take decisive action, despite lacking the tools to address rising global oil prices. Their responses could have important consequences for their legitimacy and survival.

Professionals Awaiting their Chance

Cuba’s opening to private enterprise still leaves out many professionals who have yet to find a way to use their skills and potential in non-state industries, although they have not lost hope that the rules of the game will change.

Gay Pride in Cuba (A Constant Battle)

The issue of homosexuality in Cuba was and continues to be complicated. New times have brought with them an entire outpouring of good will in relation to the question. The history of Cuban society versus LGBTs (Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people) has had some dismal chapters.