(Freddy Llanga, right, displaced in Cuba 40 Years) Normally, we always hear of the exile that is of Cuban descent — living abroad in America or Europe. This particular case study is of a Congolese man exiled in Cuba. Assigned to be a translator and teacher for Che Guevara during the Congo mission in 1965,… Read more

London’s “Spanish in Motion” invites you to the last screening of this academic year: East of Havana by the Cuban-American film makers Jauretsi Saizarbitoria and Emilia Menocal (82”, 2006, in Spanish with English subtitles) After the film, there will be a Q/A session with Dr. Elvira Anton-Carrillo, Senior Lecturer at Roehampton University and Co-directora of… Read more

As you know this blog is all about “the new Cuba” – not the “Disney-fied” version that keeps eluding its growth. I just got tipped off by a friend in Havana about this band called Nacional Electronica. The root of their sound is pure Cuban. Tight percussion, and layered drumming over a bed of electronic… Read more

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Tuesday his government was ready for a “respectful” dialogue with the United States, noting that since President Barack Obama took power there is “less tension” and “less rhetoric against Cuba” — but no change in US policy. “We acknowledge President Obama’s good intentions and honesty and we treat him… Read more

In October, I was invited to go screen East of Havana at Yale University located just outside of New York (in Connecticut). The screening was held by a young Cuban organization called CAUSA. It’s funny because after speaking to this crew of Cuban-American students, I noticed none of the students had ever been to Cuba.… Read more

Recently I went to go hear Ann Louise Bardach speak in New York about her new book Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana, and Washington. If you are a Cuban-phile, you should go back and read her first book Cuba Confidential (where she covers the firebombing of Centro Vasco restaurant in Miami). She… Read more