Interviews Archives - Page 136 of 146

Interview with Cuban Actor Carlos Perez Peña

Actor Carlos Perez Peña, the founder of the famous Teatro Escambray and winner of the 2009 National Theater Award, spoke with HT about his life on stage and the motivations behind his career.

To Express My Ideas and Have Them Heard (Part II)

I think the first thing we have to change is our mentality. It’s been a long period of crisis and limitations that have transformed Cubans into individualistic, laconic beings who externalize violence, anger and arrogance.

To Express My Ideas and Have Them Heard (Part I)

Decadencia was the first song I ever heard by Escuadron Patriota. This was at the end of 2009. What caught my attention was his courage and especially the absence obscene or violent language. But that hasn’t prevented him from being strictly censored.

Art Can Transform Small Aspects of Society

The generation of creative artists that arose in the 1980s “believed strongly in the role of art as an engine and a tool for transforming life. I experienced this very intensely,” says Rene Francisco Rodriguez in an interview with IPS.

Maylu Hernandez: A Lover of Musicals

“Being part of the Television Ballet I went on many international tours, some for only a few weeks and others — like with the Tihany Circus — for a year and a half.”

Singing with Moncada and Pavarotti

Augusto Enriquez, the former lead singer with the popular Cuban group Moncada, was the sole Cuban artist invited to sing with the great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti in his memorable benefit concerts.

Painful Reasons for Leaving Cuba

Rafael knew what awaited him if he returned to the island branded a counter-revolutionary: public ridicule, his children shamed, psychological abuse of his wife, evil stares, telephone calls…

She Works at the Havana Garbage Dump

I discovered her during a recent visit to the 100th Street dump here in Havana. Silent, concentrating on her work, she walks atop the garbage with confidence, like someone who knows the terrain well and therefore where to step. Is she accustomed or just resigned to so much filth? Is she irresponsible or intrepid?

Cuba’s Ballet in a Book

Currently Cuban ballerinas are like their Russian counterparts of the 1970s and ‘80s, and for very similar reasons. They have that type of strong but subtle influence; they can be found all over the world, and they’re always in first ranks.

Interview with Cuban actress Ana de Armas

Well, when I was in Cuba and I made the decision to leave for Spain to look for work, I was in my fourth year of acting school. When I left I was only a few months short of graduating, but I knew that immediately after finishing I wouldn’t be allowed to leave Cuba for a few years [to perform National Social Service work required of all graduates]. So, I had to weigh the value of having a degree in my hands or leaving at that moment in search of my future; I always pay attention to my intuition – so I left.