Being an independent producer in Cuba means having to negotiate at least three main obstacles: the State’s monopoly over institutional spaces, the ever-present and surreptitious threat of censorship and the general lack of faith in the viability of self-management.
Read MoreI believe rap is sincere and real, I think it’s a poetic way to write down and express the truth, of telling the truth about the reality we live in. It is a means of getting ideas out there without intermediaries, of speaking directly to people. This is why we chose it, or, better, why it chose us.
Read MoreDe lo sublime a lo erotico (“From the Sublime to the Erotic”) featuring self-taught artist Rody Enriquez Alonso, opened last weekend at Havana’s Fayad Jamis gallery – in spite of the bad weather. The pieces of two guest artists, Mileidy Moran and Raimundo Lopez Silva, are also on display at the gallery. (7 photos)
Read MoreA folk-music auteur, Rafa Bocero has made his work known to Cubans through numerous concerts on the island. “The genre is very strong at the moment,” he said during his interview with Havana Times.
Read MoreThe circumstances in which creation happens in the photographic milieu on the island and artistic interests based on the search for another Havana, these are the revelations of Cuban photographer Yunior Yanes. “I try to pay homage to daily life, to all common things.”
Read MoreOf all the problems Cuba has, the one that strikes me most when I go out on the street is the number of animals that are abandoned. Behind the impotence we feel at their suffering is an alarming lack of social consciousness and the absence of an Animal Protection Act to call a halt to all the sadism and irresponsibility.
Read MoreRecently, I had the pleasure of interviewing some of the members of one of the latest Cuban rock bands: Bassist, song-writer and director Alex Lofler, cellist Yanet Moreira and song-writer and vocalist Franklin Rodriguez. The group was formed at the end of last year but has already enjoyed some success.
Read MoreRecently, I had the privilege of interviewing Karla Martinez, one of the most outstanding young concert pianists in Cuba today. “Cuba has a great piano-playing tradition. Being an heir of that tradition implies a commitment to doing a good job, always,” she told me during our conversation.
Read MoreAnolan Gonzalez is a Cuban concert performer who has had the kind of rewarding experiences outside of Cuba that are a privilege for most instrumentalists on the island. “Cuban artists lead an endless battle against noise,” Gonzalez said during her interview for Havana Times.
Read MoreYoung violinist, Camila Martel, can already look back on an impressive career as a devoted concert music performer. “The important thing is learning to appreciate different kinds of beauty,” the artist said during her interview for Havana Times.
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