Mariela Castro, daughter of President Raul Castro, has achieved important advances in making homophobia socially visible, authorizing free sex-change operations and bringing the LGBT community out of its marginalization by organizing its members in the defense of their rights.
Read MoreYenisey now has a two-year-old boy and has also stopped working for the government. She showed me the table where she displays crafts that she makes and sells, now as a self-employed worker.
Read More“Many people sometimes don’t have the courage to face change; but believe me, after that change starts you may begin from zero but it’s worth thousands,” said LIndiana Murphy, vocalist of the Cuban band Mantra in an interview with HT.
Read MoreExtraño Corazon began playing pop-rock, heavy metal, progressive rock & the blues, which is to say we weren’t a group defined by any particular musical style. But when we started getting some of our country-sounding songs played on the radio, the public began identifying us as that Cuban pop-rock-country band.
Read MoreWhen I came off the stage the rappers told me: “You really did that ‘Spoken Word’ great.” I still didn’t know what it was. When investigating into it I realized that it was about doing your poetry or that of someone else’s on a rhythmic base of sound, and live.
Read MoreOjam Linchff is a Nicaraguan countertenor who completed his formal training in Cuba, where he has also performed in numerous concerts. He told HT: “For some people the countertenor voice belongs to women, but they speak from their ignorance and limited aesthetic sensitivity.”
Read MoreMany Cubans would like a foreigner to send them a letter inviting them abroad, since this is one of the few paths islanders have to leave the country, whether temporarily or permanently. Bernardo not only had friends willing to send him such a letter, they were also prepared to pay for his trip and help him to get established in Spain.
Read MoreThe alternative world in Cuba has been dealt another blow over the last few weeks with what can be called the seizure, theft or hijacking of the Rotilla Festival. This most recent occurrence is not an isolated event if we keep in mind the history of alternative initiatives on the island.
Read MoreI generally have a lot of work. This isn’t new for me; I began in 1993 and it has always worked out well for me. You just got to understand that this type of business has its rules…and it’s important to know them and how they’re applied.
Read MoreYasmin defines herself as a feminist and a Marxist, she signs her e-mails with a phrase by Carlo Frabetti: “Engels couldn’t have said it clearer: the first form of exploitation, the basis of all others, was the exploitation of woman by man; but not even Marx listened to him.”
Read More