"Culture is a priority in Cuba and is considered a fundamental pillar for social transformation", said the Cuban Minister for Culture, Abel Prieto, on a visit to Belgium this week.

Cuba's National Day of Cuban Culture, 20 October, with activities starting from 10 October, will involve all art forms to celebrate the identity and sovereignty of the nation, several organizers have announced.

A brief interview by La Jiribilla in Cuba with Fátima Patterson, National Award for Theatre 2017 and director of theatre group Estudio Macuba in Santiago de Cuba, prior to the Havana Theatre Festival .

In October the United Nations General Assembly is due to vote once again on whether the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the US Government against Cuba should be ended, unilaterally and unconditionally. The blockade has existed for almost 60 years and continues to cause suffering to the Cuban people and obstructs the economic development of the country.

October 20 was established in Cuba as the ‘'Day of Cuban Culture'', honouring October 20, 1868, when the mambí troops under the leadership of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes set free Bayamo city (in Eastern Cuba) and people sang for the first time the National Hymn, La Bayamesa. This came 10 days after the declaration of the beginning of the war for independence from Spain.

Some recommended books on Cuban black history – history, politics, poetry, fiction, testimonial

We have a hot pair of tickets to see Cuban timba stars Alexander Abreu y Havana D'Primera in London on Saturday 21 October to give away, courtesy of Marco and HavanatoLondres!

We have a hot pair of tickets to see Cuban salsa star Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor in London on Friday 20 October to give away, courtesy of Marco and HavanatoLondres!

This year's edition of the Havana Glasgow Film Festival, one of Scotland's youngest and most innovative film festivals, returns for its third edition this winter, running from November 9th – 12th.

Enmanuel Blanco, director of the National Laboratory of Electroacoustic Music (LNME), tells us more about Eyeife, an event that takes place in Havana from September 26 to October 1.

John Akomfrah presents: Memories of Underdevelopment (15)

In 1987, computer technology did not touch every aspect of daily life as it does today, and Cuba was no exception. Nevertheless, an ambitious social project that aimed to teach computers to the greatest number of children and young people possible was launched. On September 8 that year, the Computers & Electronics Youth Club (Joven Club de Computacion y electronica) was established, an idea that has reached its 30th birthday, and is being renovated in tune with the times.

Hurricane Irma damaged 211 cultural facilities across the country and several heritage centres, including the Lezama Lima house museum in Havana, where sea flooding reached documents by the Cuban author of 'Paradiso'.

20 October 2017 – 22 October 2017