Chucho Valdés, has decided to record an album of emblematic Irakere tracks, offering up an explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical and a wide range of traditional Cuban music.

With the participation of almost half a million people the Ministry of Culture (MINCULT) celebrated last weekend with an evening dedlicated especially especially to the visual artists, curators, promoters and organisers of the 12th Havana Biennial, an event which for the last month occupied various parts of the Cuban capital with a wide display of artworks and artistic projects.
Julián González, head of MINCULT, expressed his gratitude and thanks to the artists and volunteers in the Biennial for their commitment and dedication to an event which surpassed all expectations.
"It has achieved in converting an artistic expression that elsewhere in the world is limited to a minority here has become a popular event with notable quality, where people have asked about and discussed the works presented."
The young artist Rachel Valdés participated for the second time with three works "As in the last Biennial I have had the chance to put work in public spaces, that has been for me one of the best achievements. Both have been enriching, they have offered me the opportunity to interact with the public in a direct manner in unique spaces like the Malecon for example.
"Cubans walking by interpret the artwork in a special way, they offer you visions of your creation which you had not thought of when you made it because they encounter it in a different way to the author."
For the Camagueyan artist Joel Jover, whose work was shown in the Zona Franca, in the San Carlos de la Cabana fortress, this Biennial is distuinguished by its popularity. In past years he had not seen so much attendance by the general public in an event of this type, the visual arts are not known for having massive audiences, while at the same time they were quality art works, well developed, with a rigorous selection on the part of the organising committee.
Manuel López Oliva, well known artist and visual arts critic, considered the Biennial an event in transit with many possibilities from which emerge other phenomena. "Logically it must vary because the circumstances are different to those of the early years. This one has been a Biennial fiesta, hybrid, poclicentric and plural. If one studies it carefully, from this can be derived new projects, including a Cuban art fair. I think that it must be a creative laboratory integrating other experts from the sciences and culture to produce this effect."

A new space for electronic music will open 3 and 4 July in the university beach area (Balneario Universitario) ‘El Coral' in Havana, with the objective of promoting national knowledge and skills in this artistic form.

Expecting to be declared National Cultural Heritage, Santiago de Cuba's carnival this year will celebrate the 500 years since the founding of the city and will be confirmed as the most popular one in Cuba.

The history, culture and traditions of San Juan de los Remedios, the eighth city founded by the Spaniards in Cuba, was recreated at an artistic gala on Tuesday night to celebrate the city´s 500th anniversary.

Tastemaker and legend of the world music and club culture scenes Gilles Peterson was recently in Havana to shoot a new documentary on Afro-Cuban Rumba. The film is a collaboration between his London-based record label Brownswood Recordings and Havana Cultura; a Havana Club International project that celebrates Cuba's contemporary artistic culture. Peterson has been visiting Cuba for the last six years and produced a series of albums including Havana Cultura: New Cuba Sound; The Search Continues; The Soundclash; and Mala in Cuba, which bring together the modern sounds and voices of the island. Now Gilles is back, "To get to the bottom of what Rumba is all about."

Cuba es Moda was recently held in Havana with the aim of diversifying the presence of textiles, footwear, cosmetics and various other products on the national market.

Over the coming months Havana will be able to appreciate versions of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare; A doll's house, by Henrik Ibsen; and Virgilio Piñera's Dos viejos pánicos.

Since last December, interest in visiting Cuba has increased markedly, as airlines announce more frequent flights.

In a society increasingly influenced by screens, young Cuban creators must exercise a decisive role in the audiovisual literacy of the population, claimed members of the ‘Hermanos Saiz Association' (AHS) in Camaguey.
Socialisation of projects, where appreciation and teaching of art and design techniques go hand in hand, constitute a vital need for expansion of knowledge in this area, one of the areas having the greatest impact on cultural consumption, and where products with alienating content proliferate.
Current challenges like the demise of reading or the appreciation of other art forms as ways to enjoy free time before the attractions of the famous package of the week, the growth of video games, and other themes, were analysed at the meeting of the audio visual section of AHS in Camaguey province.
In the process leading to the Provincial Assembly which was developed in September in Camaguey, young people such as edro Martin Navarro, expressed ideas and practical solutions to contribute to a cultural growth which also curbs attitudes which are violent, criminal and socially indisciplined.
Member of the Audiovisual Movement in Nuevitas, Martin Navarro, expressed how that project had contributed in the northern town to integrate all those interested in audiovisual creation, amateurs or professionals, to make films, show them and extend their knowledge to the community.
Also what was stressed was the impact of the project ‘Cine en los Barrios' (Cinema in the neighbourhoods), which takes filmmaking to remote parts of the city, to rural places and diverse institutions, in this way the variety of spaces which with that end were finally shown in the Casa del Joven Creador (Home of the Young Creator), headquarters of the AHS.
For his part, Eduardo Lopez Leyva, member of the local bureau of the Communist Party in Camaguey, praised the work of young people in the arts organization in the region, champions of revolutionary art, as essential today.
In the meeting and in the presence of national vice presidents of AHS, local members chose their representatives for the next period of work.

Salsa!! Mayito Rivera, former singer from Santiago de Cuba with Cuban supergroup Los Van Van, will be performing in London with two other singers from Los Van Van, Angel Bonne and Pedrito Calvo, and a timba orchestra on 1 August. Tickets on sale soon from http://www.havanatolondres.com/

I couldn't make it to the opening day; so I saw much of what happened that day on the television. However, I experienced that feedback, that sensation of enjoying what lives on in the place, in the imagination of locals, because this town by the sea has a special meaning for me. I spent my first years of life crossing the Bay of Havana, and the story of my life connects me with the towns of Regla and Casablanca. So, in spite of the passing of time and my few visits – when I felt disheartened seeing places that mean a lot to me becoming deteriorated- it has been very gratifying to see a community now invaded by good art, with a positive change of its environment.

Cuban writer Leonardo Padura won the Princess of Asturias Prize for Letters in Spain last Wednesday.

Barack Obama has made no secret of his desire to visit Cuba. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters: I know there's one person in particular who hopes President Obama will be in Havana at some point in the relatively near future, and thats President Obama himself.

Docklands Sinfonia will once again break new ground with its exciting July 10 concert, "Cuba Fantastique", featuring a programme of exuberant music that beautifully captures the spirit of Cuba. The concert at St Anne's Limehouse begins with George Gershwin's colourful "Cuban Overture", which sets the scene for the World Premiere of Eduardo Martín's "Concierto Mestizo".