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

Diplomats and personalities from the fields of culture and social research met in Havana over the weekend as part of activities to celebrate the United Nations International Year of Afro-Descendants.

Cuba Solidarity Campaign are offering a pair of tickets to each of 2 lucky winners of this competition for the Mujeres gala night of live Cuban music, dance and poetry on saturday 19th March 2011.

Thanks in part to the community of young Cubans in London, the capital city is currently a very exciting place to be for anyone making or searching for new music. The London based group Wara is one such example, a project created- and directed -by the talented and adventurous Cuban vocalist and keyboard player Eliane Correa. The band has recently produced this CD whose playful and positive titlerepresents well their eclectic musical landscape.

UK based Cuban musician Eliane Correa kicks off her new column on the current Cuban music scene with a review of Cuban fusión exponents Interactivo at the Bertolt Brecht theatre in Havana

The emblematic image used for this exhibition is the boxing prize belt by Alejandro Lopez.

It sports a portrait of Jose Marti to the right of a central collage of fragmented and faded images of faces and interiors encircled by the words Oro De Cuba (Cuban Gold).

Watch these two videos of the making of Chucho Valdes's latest album 'Chucho's Steps' which has just won a Grammy. They include interview with Chucho and other musicians plus performances.

Cuban pianist and composer Chucho Valdes won his fourth Grammy award to the Best Latin Jazz Album on the 53 annual awards ceremony of the American Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Valdes won the award for his album Chucho's steps recorded with his new band Mensajeros Afrocubanos. The band is made up of his former quartet plus wind instruments and folkloric percussion.

The importance of the African legacy for Latin American and Caribbean cultures was acknowledged during a panel held at the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress, as part of the agenda of the 20th edition of Havana's International Book Fair.