Mariela Castro Espin, Director, National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX), began the IV Cuban Day Against Homophobia with a press conference. There will be educational and cultural activities until 17 May, to celebrate the World Day Against Homophobia.

Cuban cyclists Lisandra Guerra, Yoanka Gonzalez and Marlies Mejias won gold medals on the third and fourth days of the Pan-American Cycling Championship in Medellin.

Guerra was determined to win her second gold of this tournament, and defeated Canadian Monique Sullivan, a Pan-American record-holder, in the women's speed final, the Cuban News Agency reported.

This marvellous music was created during rehearsals for a Havana Cultura tour, at the legendary Egrem studios in Havana which have seen some of the greatest sessions ever recorded by Cuban musicians. Given this daunting task, Danay Suarez rises to the challenge and this album reveals her to be one of the most talented singers to come out of Cuba in the last 10 years. When paired with the brilliant pianist Roberto Fonseca the results are stunning.
Each of these 4 extended tracks (almost an hour of music) give the artists room to spread their musical wings and soar. The songs range from complex Latin jazz to delicate lament, from cool classic son to energetic rumba, each piece played with a sense of adventure and exploration.
The opening – and key – track ‘Ser o no ser' is a deep and funky improvisation over a classic Fonseca hypnotic baseline. Danay's singing is by turns soulful, jazzy and vulnerable as she wrings out every emotion possible from the song, even laughing out loud at one point. ‘Hay un lugar' is full of delicate regret with both Danay and Fonseca at their most romantic. ‘Guajira' is a quite brilliant take on the old classic, a dark and almost nightmarish journey through lost love, haunted by the ghosts of old soneros. The final track is a stunning Afro-jazz piece where Danay takes on the power of goddess Yemaya, almost drowning in the music created by this exceptional four piece band.
This is, to my ears, by far the best music to come out of the Havana Cultura sessions and amongst the most vital to emerge from Cuba during the last decade. It is to Gilles Peterson's credit that these quite phenomenal artists were given the time and space to reveal their talents fully and revel in the sheer joy of music making.
Almost defying categorization, this album is an essential purchase for all music lovers and sits comfortably alongside the other greats of Cuban music.

Review of exhibition: Cuban Gold: Viva la Reproduccion – contemporary prints by over 20 artists in Cuba

A sculpture of revolutionary legend Che Guevara – made by an Edgeley artist – is being sent to the Cuban hero's daughter.

And the life-size solid bronze bust, made by John Blakeley at the request of Cuban officials, is destined to go on display at the nation's museum to their hero.

The Eastern city of Santiago de Cuba will host the 15th Cubadisco Music Awards Festival May 14-22
Festival president Ciro Benemelis said that this is the first time the music event is held out of the capital Havana, as it will pay tribute to the valuable and unquestionable contribution to Cuban music made by the birthplace of the famous Matamoros trio.

Benemelis told reporters that the Festival-related activities will kick off May 1st, in western Pinar del Rio province, with the third edition of what is known as the playing of longest Son tune in the world, an initiative that will wind up in Santiago and its municipalities May 13 and 14.

Three years after the death of renowned Cuban filmmaker Tomas Gutierrez Alea, at a time when new technologies enable unlimited access to audiovisual materials, and some philosophers and theorists postulate the end of culture and arts, the end of history and authors, his movies continue to be a paradigm thanks to their intellectual content.

It is not well known that in 1961 Tomas Gutierrez Alea participated in the defense against the Playa Giron invasion as a war correspondent, producing the documentary Muerte al invasor, which was part of the Noticiero ICAIC Latinoamericano, led by Santiago Alvarez.

Cuban film "Boleto al paraiso" (Ticket to Paradise) by Gerardo Chijona took home best picture at the Havana Film Festival in New York.

With the Songlines Music Awards now in their third year, Songlines magazine has announced this year's winners, which include the album AfroCubism on WorldCircuit for 'Cross Cultural Collaboration'.

The awards recognise outstanding talent in world music and are voted by Songlines readers and the general public.

April 2011 has been the most historic of months in the baseball-loving nation of Cuba. An upset-filled post-season tournament has added a final exclamation point to a thrill-packed and record-filled Golden Anniversary edition of the island's National Series championships.

Thanks to ComoNo, Cuba50 have a pair of tickets to give away to see the amazing AfroCubism in concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 27th June 2011.

More than one hundred records by Cuban musicians were nominated in 30 categories to the 2011 Cubadisco Awards as announced in a ceremony at the Salon Rosado de la Tropical, in Havana on Friday.

There are exactly 116 candidates to the most important record award in Cuba making up the best of records produced in the island during 2010. The winners will be announced during the 15th International Cubadisco Fair to be hosted by Santiago de Cuba, in the eastern part of the island from May 14-22.
President of the event Ciro Benemelis Duran said there are several renowned artists opting for the award but noted the large number of young talents who were nominated even in more than one category.

The International Year of Afrodescendants People, announced by the United Nations, for the year 2011 finds us immersed in resolving the weaknesses that still survive in our social system, such as some traits of racial discrimination; declared the vice-minister for Culture, Fernando Rojas, in the press conference that took place recently at the Dulce María Loynaz Cultural Center (CCDML in Spanish), to promote the group of actions that are taking place all over the country according to such an important celebration.

Calling all fans of Cuban culture: From salsa to hip hop, son to reggaeton, charanga to Afro-Cuban jazz, rumba to country music, check out www.cubaconnect.co.uk for the biggest range of Cuban music CDs and DVDs, old and new. Tender boleros, hot dance tracks and the latest funky and experimental sounds. Plus books – fiction & poetry, films – classic Cuban cinema and recent documentaries, coffee straight from the mountains of Cuba and many other Cuba-related products.

Boleto al Paraiso, a Daring Film in Cuban cinemas