Sex-change surgery, also known as SRS or sex reassignment surgery, is a procedure that changes a person’s genital organs from one gender to another.
In 1979, Cuba identified 122 people who wanted to have sex changes, with the first operation performed nine years later. But because of a negative reaction from society at large, subsequent sex-change procedures were prohibited so as to focus on public education.
Read MoreManuel Galbán is a Grammy-winning Cuban guitarist, pianist and arranger, notable for his work with the legendary doo-wop vocal quartet Los Zafiros, which he founded, and the world famous Buena Vista Social Club with its repertoire of son, bolero, danzón and guajiro. In 2001 he recorded Mambo Sinuendo with Ry Cooder, winning the 2003 Grammy for Best Post Instrumental Album.
Read MoreA neighbor started calling Andrea del Sol “Persistent,” and the nickname stuck. Since 1998, she and her small team of women in Alamar (a large housing district on the outskirts of the Cuban capital) have put their energy behind a common purpose: “To change the order of things.”
Read MoreU.S. aid programs to finance the opposition in Cuba don’t have sufficient funds due to bureaucracy and political obstacles, reported IPS citing the Miami-based El Nuevo Herald on Tuesday. According to the source, the U.S. Agency for International Aid US-AID, which is responsible for the largest part of the financing, has not been asking for new initiatives to assign resources since March 2009.
Read MoreU.S. art gallery owner Gilbert Brownstone donated to Cuba works by important artists from the 20th century visual arts vanguard, such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Andy Warhol.
Read MoreIt was as if she had only closed her eyes for a moment. When Wendy Iriepa came round after surgery over a year ago, she tried to get up as if nothing had happened, but a nurse gently pushed her back into bed. “All done?” she asked, and the nurse replied, “Yes.”
Read MoreOver the weekend, Cuban President Fidel Castro published his third commentary since the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. The senior advisor to the government of his brother Raul Castro writes on the work of the Cuban medical brigades including the participation of doctors from Haiti and other countries.
Read MoreThe popular Cuban salsa group Los Van Van were schedule to arrive Monday in Miami, where they will begin on January 28 the prelude to their tour of the United Status, which will begin in May, announced the bands director, Juan Formell. The musician said he saw little possibility that the concert will be boycotted by anti-Castro groups in Florida and thanked Washington for the speed with which they were given the visas.
Read MoreThe Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) asked the UN to assume the coordination of the international aid for the recovery of Haiti, devastated by last January 12 earthquake. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other ALBA leaders have criticized the motives of the United States military in the post-earthquake relief effort in Haiti.
Read MoreRussia’s state-run United Grains Company will send 100,000 tons of wheat as humanitarian aid to Cuba starting next February, announced Sergei Levin, the company’s executive president. Tropical Cuba is not a wheat producing nation but bread is a staple in the islanders’ diet.
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