Irina Pino Archives - Havana Times

Museum of Decorative Arts, a Must-See in Havana (81 Photos)

It was a rainy afternoon, I was in Vedado, on 17th and E streets, near the Museum of Decorative Arts. A miracle! It was open again…

Havana-Miramar’s La Puntilla Neighborhood

The coastal neighborhood of La Puntilla, located in Miramar, Playa, has buildings such as the CIMEX Corportation, the old CUBALSE, the La Puntilla shopping center and the Riomar building, this last one, in an advanced state of decay. (23 photos)

La Vieja Escuela: From Doing Covers to Recording their First Album

The Cuban rock band, La Vieja Escuela (The old school), which according to Roberto, Anima Mundi’s lead guitarist, has a clean, balanced sound, like you were listening to a well-made CD.

A Conversation in Cuba with a US University Student

Henry Wesley Burt is 21 years old and studies psychology at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. He speaks to us of his experiences as a student and his recent visit to Cuba.

Interview with Cuban Rocker Eddy Escobar

With a repertoire of rock-and-roll classics that have been carefully selected so as to set the band apart from others, Eddy Escobar’s band has secured a loyal group of followers at venues around Havana, such as the Maxim Rock and Yellow Submarine. The quality of the band’s performances attests to the agelessness and boundlessness of rock and roll, a genre that will continue to carve out a space for itself in Cuba.

My Afternoons in Cuba with Paco de Lucia

When I was fourteen, I got the crazy idea I wanted to learn to play the guitar. My parents didn’t have the money to buy me the instrument, so I decided to talk with Barbara, a friend of mine who lived in the building across the street and owned a Pablo Quintana guitar.

Interracial Love in Cuba

The first words out of her mouth were: “I slept with a black man.” That direct phrase left me speechless. After all, it wasn’t like my friend to say such things. I wanted to know more, but I noticed she wasn’t comfortable talking about it.

No to Silicone Implants: The Struggle for Individuality

A friend of mine who left the country recently told me that, after he’d earned a lot of money, he would treat me to silicone breast implants. When he told me of this “great gift”, I burst out laughing. Then, I asked myself: why would I want breast implants? Don’t I have my own breasts?

Diavan: Painter, Actor, Pilot & Playwright

Diaven Molina Valera is a Cuban painter, actor, pilot, parachutist and playwright. He believes that art knows no frontiers, that everything is connected. “I’ve liked aviation since I was a kid. I always thought that, if I couldn’t study painting, that I would become a combat-plane pilot,” said Diaven in his interview with HT.

Fleeing the Cuban Hell

He doesn’t look like a former sailor. He is too big, he seems to have lost his gracefulness at sea, along with all of the hopes he had in his youth. Jose Manuel is now forty-two. He lives on Campanario (“Bellfry”) street, in Havana’s neighborhood of Centro Habana. Those bells, however, no longer toll for him. The only thing he thinks about is how to leave the city of his birth, how to escape his country, which he calls “hell”.

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