Features Archives - Page 397 of 552

The New Cuba Fever on US Television

On July 13, the Discovery Channel premiered the first US television series filmed entirely on location in Cuba: Cuban Chrome. The show centers on A lo cubano (“Cuban Style”), a group of mechanics who refurbish vintage American cars, popularly known as “almendrones” in Cuba. The series is to be part of a brief Cuban immersion by the channel, which, to date, has produced two additional programs: one about sharks and a more recent one about Fidel Castro.

John Kerry and a Bottle of Bucanero Rum Sitting on a Havana Bar Shelf

“Maybe I’ll be able to sell this bottle of Bucanero rum now that the Americans are coming,” says the bartender. The bottle costs what many Cuban worker’s make in two weeks. If Kerry comes meaning business, we could perhaps all enjoy the aged elixir.

Cuba’s Water Healers: The End of a Legend

The man in front of me doesn’t legally exist. You wouldn’t be able to find any record of his birth or any other episode in his life at the civil registry. But Emerito Rodriguez Mosegui is as real as the mountains where we are now conversing.

Toxic Algae in the Bay of Cienfuegos, Cuba

A rare dermatitis caused by contact with microorganisms found in the sea has prompted fears in Cuba’s habitually quiet city of Cienfuegos. Several people – mostly children – have arrived in hospitals with rashes and skin lesions over the past two weeks.

Housing in Cuba, An Impossible Problem?

For some time now, Cuba has been living at a fevered pace. After years of maintaining a rigidly bureaucratic system that held up even the simplest construction job, in early 2012 the government eased the grip that for decades it had held on practically all aspects related to housing construction.

The Crime of Carpentry in Cuba

A government-run store called La casa del carpintero (“The Carpenter’s House”) has opened on Belascoain Street, in Havana. The store sells all kinds of carpentry tools, including very good brands. However, there is nowhere in all of Cuba to buy wood legally.

IMO in Cuba: Shortening Distances Between Relatives

It broadens Internet access on the island, even though the cost is still too high: two CUC ($2.25 USD) for an hour. It also introduces new means for people to interact, through cell phone applications, tablets and laptops which are still novelties in most Cuban homes.

Cuban Sports Pride Wounded in Toronto

Cuba’s fourth place at the recently concluded Pan-American Games was as unexpected as it was painful. With 36 gold medals, 20 less than planned, Cuba walked away with the slimmest gold harvest since 1971, when the incredible story of how the island became the United States’ runner-up at these tournaments began to be written in Cali, Colombia.

Coppelia Ice Cream Parlor in the Eye of Cuban Consumer Protection Group (Part II)

It is common citizens, through pressure, activism and demands – and by overcoming fear and self-censorship – who will solve the country’s problems, even if they only start out by addressing those of an ice-cream parlor.

No Exit: Cuban Doctors Trapped in Colombia

When the bus finally reached Bogota, Iraida, a 25-year-old Cuban dentist, felt that she had finally shaken off the terrible heavy weight that she had been dragging for more than a thousand never ending kilometers. Here’s her story and that of other Cuban health professionals stuck in Colombia.