The 2011 International Book Fair in Cuba will feature a new assortment of the best history and literature of the Latin America and the Caribbean in the last 200 years, the ALBA Bicentennial Collection.

Watch this great video about the music of the Creole Choir of Cuba and the making of their recent album Tande-La.

One of the most enjoyable – and surprising- hits of the last couple of years in the UK was the success of this phenomenal choir, whose repertoire consists of traditional Haitian songs sung in a style suggesting that they hail from the island of Haiti itself. And yet they are all Cuban, from the city of Camaguey, which does not even boast a ‘tumba francesa', the old cultural centres for the Haitian descendents which still survive in Santiago and Guantanamo.
Indeed, much of the music on this recently released album does not sound ‘typically Cuban' at all- it is often intense and full of passion, with soulful solo singing set against a pulsating and rhythmic chorus and typical Haitian drums.

When Carlos Acosta and Tamara Rojo run onto the stage of the O2 arena in June next year, the Royal Ballet's greatest stars will be following in the footsteps of Gary Barlow, Roger Federer and, last week, Arcade Fire's Régine Chassagne. Dancing Romeo and Juliet, they will be greeted by more than 13,000 fans and will be playing their part in a ballet boom that looks set to sweep Britain in 2011.

Enter the Cuba50 competition now

The director of Hello Hemingway, Madagascar, Life is to Whistle and Suite Havana, among other films, won the Colon de Plata to the best art direction in the Festival Iberoamericano held in Huelva, Spain, with Jose Marti: The Canary's Eye, his most recent feature film.

Alfredo Guevara, president of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema has announced that no less than 515 full- and medium-feature films, documentaries and animations are to be screened in Havana from December 2 through 12, and "although quantity is not always synonymous with quality, it speaks volumes for the diversity that we are seeking and which is dependent on every country’s annual production, not on the Festival."

An Afternoon in Havana – Piano Music from Cuba
Eralys Fernández, 2010

This is a delightful CD of Cuban piano music played and produced at the Guildhall Music School in London by the exceptionally gifted young Cuban pianist Eralys Fernández.

AfroCubism
Womad festival legend has it that the most exiting music was always played backstage as the various musicians met over a drink and shared their ideas and styles with each other. This album takes this idea to its extreme in that World Circuit has finally united some of the greatest musicians in the world for a session exploring the best of both traditions.

Santiago Antunez, trainer of Olympic champion and world record holder in the 110 metre hurdles Dayron Robles, was selected as the world best 2010 trainer by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

This Canadian website is a favourite with salsa and timba fans – it posts clips from current Cuban TV and radio of Cuban bands and solo artists, updated regularly with new clips. Focuses on salsa, timba, casino and rueda dance music produced on the island, with English notes.

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.

The stylish full length animation feature film by two directors Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando, is due to go on national release from 19 November.

Composer, orchestra director and performer Leo Brouwer, and pianist Chucho Valdes, both from Cuba, won Latin Grammy 2010 awards in a ceremony last week in the U.S. city of Los Angeles, California.

To enter competition to win one of 2 pairs of tickets to see Chucho Valdés & The Afro-Cuban Messengers + Ibrahim Maalouf at the Barbican, London, 18 November 2010 please send an email to office@cuba50.org with your full name and telephone number, and with 'Chucho Valdes – tickets competition' in the subject line.