Cuban artists and academics have spoken out against the Spanish Platform for democratization of Cuba, whose recent document was termed an act of interference that recalls the worst years of the Island's colonial history.

"It's a clear attempt to keep the anti-Cuban campaign spread by the most powerful media against our country from dying", a declaration by the Hermanos Saiz Association (AHS) stresses.

Over 1,240 poets from 41 countries, including 80 Cubans, will participate in the 18th International Poetry Festival scheduled for Havana from May 24 to the 30.

Cuban folk icon Silvio Rodriguez has been booked to play at Carnegie Hall during his first U.S. tour in more than 30 years, but his office said Thursday that Washington has yet to approve his visa.

The Cuban government Web site Cubadebate, where Fidel Castro posts his written essays, announced that the U.S. tour would also take Rodriguez to Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Puerto Rico.

Cuban-American singer CuCu Diamantes will finish her Cuba tour with a concert on Sunday in Havana's National Theater.

To Mezclao: Hibrid
CD on one side, DVD on the other TUMI 156, 2008
To'Mezclao means ‘all mixed up' in Spanish – an apt name for this new young Cuban pop band, who mix salsa, reggaeton (Cuban style dancehall) , Latin house plus cumbia from Colombia and merengue from Dominican Republic, with soulful singers and conservatoire musicians playing real instruments, to make great music to dance to. Put your hands in the air and move your hips: it's the sound of young Cuba right now.
The name of the album Hibrid not only refers to the mix of styles but also the fact that the CD is audio one side and has a fascinating short film of the band in Cuba on the other side, performing, rehearsing and chilling out together in the countryside. The film is made by the Cuban DJ/band musical director Lyng Chang: a lovely project by UK-based TUMI music.

Alicia Alonso was in conversation with psychoanalyst Luis Rodriguez de la Serra while Alonso was in London with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba this April.

Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta talks about mango trees, dominoes and how dance keeps homesickness at bay

Cubadisco International Fair, founded in 1997 and organized by the Cuban Music Institute, is the most important event of the Cuban Music Industry, with special performances by Cuban and foreign artists, tributes and to presentations of national and international awards to important personalities.

A group of 50 Cuban artists, known as La Brigada Marta Machado, which includes musicians, actors, painters, and comedians, arrived in Haiti in March, ADN reported. The group will put on cultural events for earthquake victims in addition to doctors and specialists helping in the recovery efforts. The group plans to remain in Haiti and "promote happiness" as long as is deemed necessary. Among those included in the delegation is well-known visual artist Alexis Leyva Kcho, who originally helped organize the brigade in 2008 in response to devastating hurricanes in Cuba, Prensa Latina reported.

To watch Havana Cultura video of Danza Contemporanea in rehearsal in Cuba plus fascinating interview with Miguel Iglesias, director of the company, click here

Cuba50 has a pair of tickets to the amazing Danza Contemporanea de Cuba show Friday 19 March at London's Sadlers Wells theatre, courtesy of Havana Cultura and Havana Club.

See here for details of the event.

Cuba50 has a special offer on tickets, courtesy of Sons of Cuba and the ICA

BBC television news broadcast a series of reports from Cuba from 22-26 February 2010. The daily reports which featured on BBC news covered issues such as the US relationship with Cuba, daily life for Cuban families, the Miami Five, culture and Cuba's medical diplomacy, including interviews with students at the Latin American Medical School in Havana.
See the BBC report on a day in the life of a Cuban family
Watch the BBC feature on strains in Cuba-US relations

Nearly 300 people visited the photography exhibition ‘Celebrating Cuba – 50 years of revolution' at Bolivar Hall, London, 2nd – 4th March.

"The International Book Fair allows for exchanges between creators and the public, and for me that is the most important aspect of the event," said renowned Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, who was invited to this year's book fair.