Doctor Félix Julio Alfonso López, rector of the University School of San Gerónimo of Havana, described architect Daniel Taboada Espiniella, a pupil of Joaquín Weiss, as a prophet of restoration and an apostle of heritage. This description embraces Taboada for being a brilliant professional of architecture, professor of several generations, a man dedicated to the conservation and restoration of the Cuban capital's heritage and other cities such as Matanzas and Cienfuegos.
Renowned Cuban filmmaker Julio Garcia Espinosa sadly died in May. As a filmmaker he was famous for his theory of 'incomplete cinema'. He was the 2004 National Film Award winner, and was the only founder of the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC) -which he directed from 1983 to 1991- that was still alive.
The Scottish Saltire and Union Jack flags flutter in the breeze. They fly directly above a line of contemporary banners fixed between the columns of the Royal Scottish Academy, a neo-classical William Henry Playfair-designed building at The Mound in central Edinburgh. These banners are part of Michael Barr's ‘FREE CULTURE!' project and echo the colours of the Cuban flag. Indeed, the star from the Cuban flag is used in the central banner, which proclaims ‘Here Today'. The linking banner message – ‘Grand Art Sale – Here Today', renders the star reminiscent of a neon price tag from a market stall. Barr's artwork is to be found at the rear of the building, above the workers' entrance. A tartan-trewed attendant is stationed inside, directing traffic to lower galleries but also there to answer the back door to the many people knocking to ask where the art sale is.
Dr Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt examines how, from the early days of the Revolution, culture and participation in the arts was prioritised for all
For Pavel Giroud, boredom doesn't work. Nor does he like radicalism. For that reason he doesn't understand the fact that certain film directors, with the goal of opposing the commercial cannons of Hollywood, make films incapable of being enjoyed by the public. "Always stick to entertainment. Making a serious film does not mean making a boring one."
His drama ‘The Companion' which was shown in the 37th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana in December 2015, has humour and action.
Trip Builds on President Obama's Recent Visit – "Todos Somos Americanos"
Announced yesterday by both Cuban and US governments that on 18 April a delegation from the United States President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities will visit Cuba, including representatives of U.S. institutions, and a group of artists and intellectuals.
The Committee is a White House advisory body whose main areas of focus are arts and humanities education, cultural exchange and cultural industries.
The visit is welcomed by Cuba's Ministry of Culture in the spirit of improving relations.
"Stop eating sh*t and go and make films about Batista!" Cuban filmmaker Espinosa was told in 1956 before the revolution in response to his neo-realist El Megano film , according to this brilliant homage to him here after he died this week. Inventor of the Imperfect Cinema theory and former head of Cuba's National Film Institute ICAIC.
Renowned Cuban dancer, Carlos Acosta, is presenting his newly set up company Acosta Danza at Havana's Grand Theater from May 8 through 13 with a contemporary program.
New talents, new perspectives…
In March 2016 Cuban artist Kcho started live streaming to YouTube from his studio and groundbreaking community arts centre the Romerillo Organic Museum in Havana. Read more about it here
If a virtual information cloud can be useful to Cuba, (the Cuban artist) Kcho looks for it and finds it. At least he tries. For that reason he has created a classroom for live technological transfer at the epicentre of his latest work – the Romerillo Organic Museum (in Playa, Havana).
In February 2016, a delegation of approximately 40 American publishing industry representatives met with their publishing counterparts in Havana, Cuba. The two days of meetings, held with the support of the Cuban government, represented a historic milestone. Their purpose was to build bridges of understanding and explore opportunities for greater cultural and economic collaboration.
The first edition of the Musicabana Festival, to be held next May, will bring to the Cuban capital city a handful of well-known artists throughout the world, like Jamaican Sean Paul, Brazilian Carlinhos Brown and the Cubans IBEYI. As a prelude to the event, US DJ and producer Diplo, who started from the underground and became a star of the electronic royalty, performed at the Tribuna Antimperialista with his project Major Lazer, which has toured the world with his powerful hybrid sound-famous thanks to the hit Lean On.
The University of Notre Dame conferred Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler the 2016 Henry Hope Reed Award for his capacity "to transform the Office of the Historian from a conventional cultural agency to a financially autonomous model of management that not only generates the funds needed to undertake complex restoration projects but also provides support for the local community".
Cuba 50 
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