Culture

Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez backed the release of the political prisoners on the island and also demanded that the Cuban Five, imprisoned in the United States charged with espionage, be set free, reported IPS. He spoke at a press conference in New York, one of the stopovers of his tour of the United States. According to Rodríguez, the Washington-Havana conflict should end because it has caused “too much distress, too many absences, too much missing, too much sorrow.”

The director of the National Ballet of Cuba, Alicia Alonso, will travel today to the United States to receive a tribute by the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) for her 90th birthday, reported the Cuban ballet company’s press office. Alicia danced with the ABT between 1941 and 1948, at the beginning of her career, when she interpreted Giselle, considered by specialists as the pinnacle of her artistic life.

The painting “Sur les traces,” by Cuban artist Wilfredo Lam (1902-1982), was sold for 1.42 million US dollars by New York’s Sotheby’s auction house, a record figure for the work of this artist, considered one of the geniuses of 20th century Cuban painting.

The 15th International Poetry Festival of Havana will take place next Sunday in six Cuban cities, with the participation of around 100 representatives from 40 countries, reported the local press. The event is dedicated to the poetry of Latin American countries which are commemorating the bicentennial of the beginning of the wars of independence, and to the centennials of Cuban writer José Lezama Lima and Spaniard Miguel Hernández.

Latin rhythms percussionist Francisco Aguabella died Friday at the age of 84 in Los Angeles, California after battling cancer.

Top Cuban singer/songwriters are performing these days in the United States with Silvio Rodriguez set to bring his music to Carnegie Hall, NY on June 4th and Carlos Varela is on the venue this weekend in Oakland and Sonoma California.

The popular Cuban folk-rock singer Carlos Varela said he opposes the “actos de repudio” (hate rallies) against the Ladies in White, wives and relatives of Cuban political prisoners.