A key player in the global renaissance of Cuban music, the pianist Roberto Fonseca is now world famous for his exciting fusions of Cuban jazz with urban grooves, Brazilian styles and African rhythms. Born in Havana in 1975, he graduated as a master of composition and immediately set about making some great music.
You are a prestigious and well known figure in the panorama of Cuban music. You began to study music at 7 years old and had your professional debut at 14. With this in mind, why did you take the decision to get involved in the Havana World Music festival and what does this festival mean to you?
The multinational company Google, specialist in communications technology and the internet, presented in Havana the 3D film Nuestro Marti (Our Marti), which presents episodes in the life of National Cuban Hero Jose Marti.
In January, Cuban theatre actor, writer, director Fatima Patterson was awarded the prestigious Cuban National Award for Theatre (one award a year). This is an extract from an interview with Fatima by Cuban arts magazine La Jirilbilla just after the announcement of the award.
'Nuestro Marti Hoy' (Our Marti Today) is a film inspired by the life of Jose Marti in a virtual reality format, and the result of the first audiovisual production of the technology giant Google in Cuba.
A groundbreaking Retrospective of the late Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón is currently on show in the US.
"It's just like, no, ballet is being done everywhere in the world. And it's been done for a long time."American Ballet Theatre's principal dancer and bona fide queen Misty Copeland visited Havana, Cuba, recently to dance with professional dancers from the Ballet Nacional de Cuba.
The 26th International Book Fair 2017 will open its doors on February 9th with some 700 new titles. This year's fair is dedicated to Dr. Armando Hart and Canada as guest nation.
In Cuba there are rock bands in all genres: from heavy metal to hardcore (1), to death metal, alternative rock or punk (2). Local and international groups participate in 13 festivals (3) as the Cayman Rock (4), the Brutal Fest (5) or the Festival Metal HG (6). As unique experience in the world, there is a Cuban Agency of Rock (7), a state company, which orgnaises distribution and hiring bands (8).
The UK premiere of Acosta Danza, the new dance company founded by Cuban dancer and ballet star Carlos Acosta, was announced last month by Sadler's Wells. It is a Sadler's Wells International Associate Company, joining fellow International Associate Companies Rosas and Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, which were appointed last year. The company will consequently perform at Sadler's Wells in late September 2017 before a UK tour, with Acosta making a guest appearance as part of the programme.
For one night only Dance Consortium and Como No present
Danza Contemporánea de Cuba at Barbican Hall during the company's UK Tour 2017
Google signed an agreement with the Cuban government on Monday granting internet users on the island quicker access to its branded content.
At Havana's La Tropical, the historic, famously funky outdoor beer garden that is the high temple of dance music in Havana, several thousand Cubans and foreigners were dancing away to Revé y Su Charangón, the headline attraction of the final night of the 2016 Baile en Cuba festival.
You can hear Harold Lopez-Nussa's training when he plays. The 33-year-old pianist is reluctant to admit the classical influence on his jazz playing, but he's quick to acknowledge that he, like many other great Cuban pianists, was classically trained. "This is the school that we have to learn music in Cuba; it's classical," he says. "I did all my stuff there from 8 years old to 25."
Pedro Perez Sarduy is a poet, writer, journalist and broadcaster who worked for Cuban radio 1965-79 and with the BBC Latin-American Service 1981-94. He's now based in London. He spoke to BBC World News Anchor Lebo Diseko about Cuba's Latin-African identity, AfroCuban culture and racism, slavery and Cuba's close ties with African countries.

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