Entries by Havana Live

Dominican Pawa, new airline in the Caribbean

HAVANA, Aug 7  (PL) Dominican Republic will have from the 14th of this month the new Dominican airline Pawa, which will have direct flights to Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten, reported their managers. The company will begin operations after investing about 30 million dollars and according to Director of Corporate Affairs, Alexander Barrios, it will […]

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Historian says, Cubans anti-imperialist, not anti-American

HAVANA, August 7   Eight days before Secretary of State John Kerry is to witness the hoisting of the stars and stripes at the reopened U.S. Embassy in Havana, the city’s official historian told EFE that Cuba has never harbored “an anti-American sentiment, but rather an anti-imperialist sentiment.” “Cubans have always understood that subtle difference,” […]

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Cuba hopes for boating boom as US luxury ships head to Havana

HAVANA,August 7  (By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN AP)  A $3 million yacht left Key West this week with two barbeque grills, 250 channels of satellite TV and a just-in-case plan for rescuing stranded Cuban rafters encountered in the Florida Straits. After four hours smooth sailing, the Still Water tied up at Havana’s Hemingway Marina. The well-heeled passengers […]

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Tampa aquarium to work with Havana on coral reef conservation

HAVANA, August 6  – The Florida Aquarium has announced what it calls a historic agreement with the National Aquarium of Cuba to work together on coral reef conservation, the first official agreement between Cuba and any aquarium in the United States. Calling them the “underwater rainforests” of the ocean, the Florida Aquarium president said the […]

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McDermott set to open in Havana through accord with local firm

McDermott Will & Emery looks set to blaze a trail for the other large international firms by opening in La Havana under an agreement with local Spanish firm Olleros Abogados HAVANA, Aug. 5  The 1,100-lawyer, Chicago-based international practice expects to be working on inbound and outbound work from the island and sees Cuba as ‘a […]

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Japanese shadow theater company to perform in Havana

HAVANA, Aug. 5  – Cubans will be treated to Japan’s Kageboushi shadow theater for the first time Tuesday and Wednesday. The two free performances are part of the Kageboushi theater company’s artistic tour of seven Central American and the Caribbean countries, promoters of the event said on Tuesday. The company’s director, Yasuaki Yamasaki, told reporters […]

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Cuba taps adventure tourism potential with new attractions

HAVANA, Aug. 5   Cuba’s tourism industry is currently souring, but it is about to open a new chapter as it explores its adventure tourism potential, a tourism ministry official said on Monday. The ministry of tourism (MINTUR) is preparing a mountain climbing adventure course as well as another in the canopy of the surrounding […]

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Carlos Acosta calls auditions in Havana to create company

HAVANA, Aug. 4 (PL) The prestigious Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta, current star of the Royal Ballet of London in the UK, today confirmed the determination to found a company in his native country. To this end, the future director invites dancers from all over Cuba professionally trained and interested in integrating the project to appear at […]

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Yacht charter plans first US-Cuba trip under relaxed rules

HAVANA,  August 4  A Palm Beach County yacht broker’s charter, carrying a documentary filmmaker and a reporter, is set to be the first ship to sail into Cuba on Tuesday since the thawing of relations between the United States and Cuba. Paul Madden, a longtime luxury yacht broker with Paul Madden Associates LLC, on July […]

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Olga Tanon plan’s to return to Havana for a big concert

HAVANA, August 4  Six years ago the singer Olga Tanon made a decision that earned her admirers and detractors. The artist, who lives in Florida, boarded a plane to Havana, Cuba, to be part of the concert Paz sin Fronteras (Peace without Borders), organized by Colombian singer Juanes. The massive event, which was attended by […]

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Pope to lead Havana mass next to Che Guevara portrait

HAVANA, August 4  (AFP) – Workers in Cuba have begun building the altar where Pope Francis will deliver mass during a landmark visit next month, placing it just to the left of a giant image of Che Guevara. Francis, who hails from Argentina like the famous revolutionary, will visit Cuba September 19 to 22 as […]

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Cuba to host mountain bike cycling event

HAVANA,  August  4  One of the most famous and challenging mountain bike marathons Titan Desert, taking place in Morocco since 2006 has become a sports and tourist landmark. The renowned mountain bike marathon recently announced it would launch an epic race in Cuba. Organizers pointed out that the first edition of the event will consist […]

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Why auto collectors are holding off buying antique Cuban cars

“Because they’ve been cut off for so long, they’ve morphed into their own species. It’s not a Cadillac. It’s something else.” HAVANA, August 3  Contrary to popular belief, car collectors will not be descending on Cuba to buy up the thousands of antique American cars still on the road in the Caribbean nation. “We just don’t […]

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Antonio Banderas will film series “Havana Quartet”in Cuba

HAVANA, August 2  The Spanish actor Antonio Banderas will star in the Starz series based on the detective novels of Cuban Leonardo Padura “Havana Quartet”. Starz CEO Chris Albrecht made the announcement on Friday in a panel to TV critics in Beverly Hills, California. The series is based on the series “The Four Seasons” by […]

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German sets Florida-to-Havana speedboat record

HAVANA, August  1 (AFP)   A German businessman and power boating fanatic on Saturday broke a 57-year-old record for the fastest boat crossing between the United States and Cuba. Roger Klueh, 50, powered his “Apache Star” powerboat the 160 kilometers (90 miles) separating Key West and Havana, shattering a record that had stood since 1958. […]

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Cuban exiles hope they regain confiscated property

After the 1959 revolution, the state seized buildings now estimated to be worth $100bn and rented to, among others, Lloyd’s of London and the British embassy HAVANA August 1 With an elegant marble staircase leading up to a small modern art gallery, and large crescent windows overlooking perfectly manicured lawns, the newly refurbished office building […]

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Cuba emerges as paradise for gay tourism

HAVANA, August 1  – As tourism flourishes in Cuba the island is emerging as a destination for the LGBT community and a travel agency specializing in packages for those customers is already in operation. Pioneering the business are the owners of Mi Cayito Cuba, a Web-based intermediary between “gay-friendly Cuban private initiative and clients around […]

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Revealing new documentary on Cuba Airs August 9th

HAVANA, July 31  , 2015 /PRNewswire/ — As the United States and Cuba move toward normal relations for the first time in more than 54 years, a remarkable documentary film profiles a unique collection of people who are pushing the boundaries and “Reinventing Cuba.” The one hour documentary film, “Reinventing Cuba,” goes beyond the stereotypes […]

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Is Cuban music about to blow up in the US ?

As the U.S. and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations, Latin music execs are scouting the island for crossover hits. HAVANA, August 1 (By APRIL CLARE WELSH)  Musically, Cuba is like a paellera—the pan in which locals cook up their take on the Spanish paella—filled with flamenco licks, Jamaican dancehall riddims, West African drum beats, and club-ready blends […]

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Cuba,US researchers collaborate on ghost orchid study

HAVANA, July 30   (AP) – The diplomatic thaw with Cuba has led to a new collaboration with scientists in that country to study the ghost orchid, one of the world’s rarest flowers, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Ernesto Mujica of Cuba’s Ministry of Science ECOVIDA Research Center has joined researchers from Illinois College and the […]

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Hillary Clinton to call for lifting Cuba embargo

HAVANA,  July 30  Hillary Clinton will declare her support on Friday for lifting the U.S. embargo on Cuba, her campaign said, allying herself with President Obama’s open stance toward the long-isolated island nation. Speaking at Florida International University Friday morning, Clinton will also criticize Republicans’ opposition to normalizing relations with the country, saying that the […]

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Cuba Trade Act of 2015 to end U.S. embargo on Cuba

HAVANA,  July 29   A Republican U.S. congressman filed a bill Tuesday to eliminate the decades-long U.S. embargo on Cuba. U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, who won a seat in the House of Representatives in 2014, filed the Cuba Trade Act of 2015, which would remove restrictions on American businesses from trading with Cuba and allow […]

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Speedboat to attempt Key West-Havana trip record

HAVANA, July 28   A Fort Myers speedboat company is gearing up for a record-breaking journey to Cuba. It wants to break a 50-year-old world record for the fastest boat crossing between Key West and Havana, wanting to reach Cuba in just an hour Saturday. The 50-foot Apache Star can reach speeds up to 115 […]

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Pearl Seas Announces Cuba Cruises

HAVANA,  July 28  While still awaiting governmental approval, Pearl Seas Cruises announced plans to launch cruises to Cuba in the spring. The seven- to 10-night cruises would offer the People-to-People educational and cultural programming that legalizes travel to the island long off-limits to Americans. The cruises would be operated by the Pearl Mist, a new […]

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Cuba upgradet in its human trafficking report

HAVANA, July  27  The United States recognized Cuba’s efforts to combat forced sexual servitude, giving it better marks Monday on its annual report on human trafficking. Cuba, which restored full diplomatic relations with Washington last week, was removed from the US blacklist because of improvements in Havana’s response to and investigations of sex trafficking, said […]

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Cuban cancer drug start-up plans to IPO in London

HAVANA, JULY  27   Bioven, the Malaysian Biotech Company is looking to accelerate and expand its clinical trials of a promising non-small cell lung cancer drug developed in Cuba. Statistics from the American Cancer Society indicate that non-small cell cancer makes up approximately 85-90% of all lung cancers, so it’s easy to see why drugs […]

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