The black market online, a crazy spy thriller, the us saying no internet, the Cubans responding, “stop speaking from both sides of your mouth.”
We’re friends with Yoel and Mari and couldn’t be more excited that his immigrant story is being shared nationally, and beyond.
The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Thursday to condemn the American economic embargo for the 30th year. And, crocodiles. We’ve got crocs.
Reports are claiming that as many as 77,000 homes are damaged on the island. So yeah, how can the U.S. just standby?
And, we continue to wait for news coming out of Cuba and Florida in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
Plus the Guardian calls out DeSantis, saying, “Hey, try and send Cuban migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and watch what happens, Gov.”
The former Obama White House official who negotiated the reopening of relations with Cuba is sharply criticizing President Biden’s policies toward that country.
And, Blondie, at the age of 77 brought her Heart of Glass to Cuba to travel and perform. Next time perhaps she’ll “Call Me.”
Plus on the warm, fuzzy side of things, Cuba’s national zoo welcomed a baby white rhino. He (gender reveal party = a boy) is super cute.
Plus a guy named Ernesto gassed up a jet ski and tried to make a run for it to his native Cuba, to avoid U.S. tax fraud charges.
The president of Chile had an opinion on the US decision to exclude Cuba from the Summit of the Americas while Mexico, Bolivia, Honduras and Guatemala chose not to show…
Americans who want to travel legally to Cuba will have more options after the Biden administration announced it was undoing some of the restrictions President Donald…
And, the Biden Administration loosened Cuba policy to allow for more travel and remittances to the island.
Plus crypto continues to take hold, the 45th and final body has been recovered from Hotel Saratoga, $100 cigars, and Ukraine’s continued impact on Cuba.
With over 65,000 Cuban migrants reaching the United States since November, the US hopes to ease logistical and political pressures.
“One factor is the failure of the United States to provide a viable alternative — in the form of broad political and economic engagement — to Russia’s influence in these…
Samuel Riera’s Art Brut Cuba opens channels for Outsider Artists to sell their art when they otherwise couldn’t earn a living from their work. Damián Valdés Dilla creates beautiful cityscapes for location he’s previously never been to. Photo: Samuel Riera
In Cuba, only artists with a state issued license are technically (i.e., legally) allowed to sell their work. This “card” is afforded to artists who have attended a government authorized art school. If you don’t have the card, you’re out of luck. It’s hard for artists who look to seek expression without formal training, or ties built from official Cuban schools, to market themselves.
Enter Samuel Riera and his Riera Studio in Havana. Riera’s art program and gallery focuses entirely on these outsider artists: people who fall beyond the system or are otherwise shunned by society due to emotional or mental health challenges. The artists in his gallery don’t have formal training. One of his most popular artists, Damián Valdés Dilla, suffers from schizophrenia and was overlooked until Samuel met him. Thanks to Riera, and the ability for Damián to discover his abilities and sell his art with Samuel, he went from being his family’s biggest burden to being its top provider.
A gallery room at Riera Studio in Havana. Photo: Samuel Riera
What’s ironic is that Samuel is a product of the system that makes it challenging for the artists in his program to sell their work. He’s both a graduate and… a professor. Well, he was a professor until he gave up his career to dedicate himself to supporting the outsider artists.
To check out Riera Studio’s Etsy store and support their program, go here.
Riera’s program receives no institutional funds or financing. Everything to support the gallery and the artists is paid for from Samuel’s personal income as an artist. He seeks out international art scholarships and fellowships when possible and promotes the sale of his artists’ works. Being an independent art program though, means limited funding available to him in Cuba.
Artists at work at Samuel Riera’s Art Brut Cuba program.
In light of the worsening economic crisis on the island, Riera is now engaged with a number of new initiatives to keep the program moving forward. One of these is the production and publication of the studio’s first Art Brut Project Cuba catalog book. “Art Brut” is the origin of the term Outsider Artists, created in the late 1940s by French artist Jean Dubuffet to draw attention to an art form with little or no connection to existing art styles.
Related Post: Samuel Riera’s Art Brut Cuba Gives Outsider Artists a Platform
In light of US sanctions on Cuba however, Riera Studio is unable to raise money or crowdfund the production of this book. So, to fund the project a friend of Samuel’s in the United States has launched a store on Etsy. The store sells images of the studio and portraits of the artists involved with Riera Studio. Once enough money is raised through the US based Etsy store, the book will be published in the Netherlands.
If you’d like to learn more about Riera Studio, get your name on a list for the book or get in touch with Samuel, please visit the Riera Studio website. I know he’d love to hear from you and would be grateful for your support.
To check out Riera Studio’s Etsy store and support their program, go here.
Independent and unaffiliated, Startup Cuba exists to amplify the community of voices in the Latinx space throughout the US. Through a mix of video, photography and written content we tell stories that bring us closer together.
The telenovela has gained an importance in the everyday lives of Cubans in quarantine that we could have never imagined. Photo credit: Startup Cuba
A Cuban telenovela is doing it again. Just like the old days. In spring 2002, I spent a semester as a study abroad student at the University of Havana. Those were different times, with just two TV channels — Cubavisión, “el canal de la familia cubana” and Telerebelde, “el canal de los deportes en Cuba.”
Each night after the evening news there were just two viewing options for Cubans of all ages: sports or the telenovela. I lived in a house with eight other students and after dinner and the evening news I would settle down with a couple of my classmates and the night watchman to immerse ourselves in the worlds created for us by Globo (the second largest media conglomerate in the world) and the Instituto Cubano de Radio y Televisión (the Cuban publicly owned media agency). Back then, I quickly found that the best way to break the ice in a conversation with virtually any Cuban, from school kids to retirees and pretty much everyone in between, was to get them talking about the previous night´s telenovela.
Back then, I quickly found that the best way to break the ice in a conversation with virtually any Cuban… was to get them talking about the previous night’s telenovela.
Fast forward 18 years and after dinner and the evening news I find myself once again sitting down on a couch in a Havana living room, this time instead of my roommates and a night watchman I’m in the company of my wife and our baby. Throughout the years a lot has changed. Cubans on the island today have a lot more options for kicking back and disconnecting in the evenings: first VHS, then DVD players and bootleg DVDs, and more recently the arrival of the Paquete has changed the media landscape forever, along with mobile Internet and YouTube. Breaking the ice by asking a stranger to catch you up on the novela doesn´t have the charm it once did to give Cubans of all ages and walks of life something to talk about.
However, over the last couple months of quarantine, something strange has happened. The coronavirus has brought us together in unexpected ways. At 9 pm as the Cañonazo sounds over the bay, throughout the city of Havana people step onto their balconies or into their doorways and join their neighbors in applauding to show their support for the essential personnel that work hard to keep us all safe. Then, despite the varied programming on our 11 television stations and all the other options we have for entertainment, we go back into our living rooms and sit down in front of the Cuban novela on Cubavision. This novela, El rostro de los días, centers around a fictional hogar materno in Havana and the lives of the people who work there and their patients.
Fast forward 18 years… I find myself once again sitting down on a couch in a Havana living room, this time… I’m in the company of my wife and our baby.
Related Post: COVID-19 in Cuba: On Cuban Time
Within minutes of the novela ending, social media is buzzing with reactions to the latest episode. I’ve found four visible private groups in Facebook with 188,119 members, 52,067 members, another with 21,696. The fourth private group opened just a week ago with 4,367 members and by the time you read this there might very well be more! In WhatsApp and Telegram both official and unofficial groups have been formed where Cubans meet to discuss the novela — some praise it, but many come together to joke about the 80s teased layered hairdos of many characters, the main female protagonist’s undying love of the color blue, and her mother’s obsession with lounging around the house dressed to the nines as if she were just about to leave for her box seat in the ballet or the opera, and, of course, the gaping holes in the plot. This novela was never meant to be seen by millions of viewers around the world, but thanks to Covid that is just what is happening.
The novela is also being posted on YouTube channels like Antena Cubana, Canal Cubano, Kinkalla TV and A lo Cubano, and the Facebook buzz has Cubans living outside the island tuning in to assuage their FOMO. Antena Cubana transmits the novela live with open chat as thousands tune in from around the world. Episode 75 alone had 82,323 views. Between episodes the memes begin to flow and the variety of the memes tells us something about how diverse the watchers really are.
However, over the last couple months of quarantine, something strange has happened. The coronavirus has brought us together in unexpected ways.
Today the novela has gained an importance in the everyday lives of Cubans in quarantine that we could have never imagined. One Cuban, Mary Lou, left the island a year ago and is living in Miami. For the last month she has become a novela watcher again, just like when she was back in Cuba. She started watching when a friend back in Cuba started posting satirical critiques of each episode on Facebook. The summaries were so funny that she realized that she was going to have to watch the novela to get all the inside jokes. Thanks to YouTube she was able to binge watch until she was almost caught up and now watches three days a week. “I’ve always watched the novela because at home my mom has always watched the novela, and my brother says he doesn’t, but he gets hooked, too. And I make fun of it, I really enjoy that.” Sheepishly she admits that on the off-days she started watching the rest of the episodes she had missed. “I sit down to watch it at 9pm when I get home from work and then I go to sleep — my cat and I have a new routine. It also creates a feeling of community, and it feels like home, it reminds me of home, making fun of the novela.”
One Cuban, Mary Lou, left the island a year ago and is living in Miami. For the last month she has become a novela watcher again, just like when she was back in Cuba.
Related Post: Why Does One of Old Havana’s Busiest Streets Have an Irish Name?
The novela is also a way to connect with friends around the world: “My friends who have also immigrated at the same time I did, a good friend who is in Spain, she’s also watching it. She isn’t as patient and committed as I am to watching all the episodes, but she watches, too. She started recently and I’ve caught her up on who the characters are.”
Photo: Antena Cubana
Back in Havana, Lis explains to me that “I think the novela has become so important because it’s something to think about that isn’t stress and Coronavirus. It’s a way to have catharsis and make community. I’ve made new friends on Facebook and in chats reading the comments that people make and you see people who think like you and defend the things you believe in. I have friends now in Santiago that I know that someday, when we can travel again, I could call them up and say we’re coming and they’d welcome my whole family with open arms. That’s pretty amazing. I can’t go outside, I can’t hug my friends, but we’ve found a way to be social and stay active.”
La novela is definitely the number one trending topic in Cuban meme production in recent weeks. As such I´m sure it has done its part in keeping Cubans on the island consuming megas and ETECSA in business. But it also has stimulated debate about serious stuff, like believing girls and protecting them from sexual violence. It’s easy to laugh at El rostro de los días¸ but on the Cuban redes (social networks) people are also outraged about the silences in the novela, and worried about the ways in which these silences seem to point to growing conservativism in Cuban society. The novela’s silence on important topics like abortion, rape, same sex relationships, and intimate partner violence, are a warning to not take for granted the reproductive rights that Cuban women have enjoyed for decades, the victories of CENESEX’s campaigns for LGBT inclusion, and the activism that has broken down myths about gender violence.
Within minutes of the novela ending, social media is buzzing with reactions to the latest episode. I’ve found four visible private groups in Facebook with 188,119 members, 52,067 members, another with 21,696.
What is going to happen after the novela? No one knows. But at least right now, for as long as the novela lasts, each of us in our little Covid bubbles, whether in Havana, Santiago, Miami or Madrid will sit down on the couch together after clapping for our doctors at 9 pm, and like we did back in the day, hum along to the catchy theme song.
Watch Startup Cuba’s replay videos on YouTube here.
#SOSMatanzas: Cuba’s Matanzas province is currently facing a COVID-19 crisis, with insufficient hospitals, staff and supplies to fight the virus’ spread. Matanzas City and Matanzas Bay. Photo: By Jerome Ryan – Creative Commons BY 3.0
Many of you have asked us to report on the current situation in Cuba, particularly in Matanzas. While we’re not a “news” organization per se, we recognize that our platform in the US-Cuba ecosystem provides us a window into, and a responsibility to help get the word out about what’s happening there.
If you haven’t been following the story, Matanzas is in the middle of a large and tragic COVID-19 outbreak. The hospital and medical infrastructure is at capacity and if it hasn’t yet, is on the verge of collapse. Supplies and medicine are short and hard to come by. The virus is racing through the population, expanding rapidly: On July 9th, Cuba confirmed 6,422 new COVID-19 cases with 3,559 of those in Matanzas alone. To give you context, a typical infection rate in Cuba over the past two weeks has been 318 per 100,000 people. Matanzas COVID rates have been 1,316 per 100,000.
We realize that it is particularly challenging getting items to Cuba from the United States… you can help by sharing this story and spreading the word so that more people know about the tragic turn of events taking place with this dangerous virus variant.
This recent exponential rise in the number of cases is thought to be the result of the highly contagious Delta variant, spreading through the province. While not certain, many believe it has entered the country through the tourist area of Varadero. Centered in Matanzas province, Varadero is the country’s popular resort destination. It is believed that tourists, with possible exposure to the Delta variant prior to arriving in Cuba, have had contact with local hospitality workers who then have contact with their families at home.
Related Post: Cuba’s Shortage of Vaccine Syringes: Here’s How You Can Help
The situation is indeed dire. Reports are that people are lined up on beds in hospital corridors, on benches in waiting rooms and out front of the hospital buildings. Medicine and supplies are typically challenging to come by in Cuba on a good day. The current environment in Matanzas makes it hard to obtain any of the necessary medicines or oxygen to effectively fight this battle.
The government is advancing final year medical students’ licenses and sending military doctors in an effort to support the medical system. They’ve also recently deployed 200 members of its Henry Reeve medical brigade to the province; its “army” of doctors typically distributed internationally.
Abdala vaccine is one of Cuba’s approved COVID-19 vaccines. Photo: Ernesto Míllan
This all comes at a time when Cuba is aggressively working to vaccinate its population. Almost three million people have been vaccinated to date. However, vaccination alone is not going to stop the spread at this point. Efforts to get the vaccine out continue despite challenges in securing petrol to distribute it. There’s also a massive shortage of syringes for vaccine injections. The campaign Syringes for Cuba (created by Global Health Partners and Saving Lives Campaign) is working to raise money to buy more syringes if you are interested in supporting that effort.
If you have supplies to donate and are in Havana, Clandestina is receiving donations at their store, at 403 Villegas in Habana Vieja…
We’ll work to keep this story updated. For more information and to find out how you can help, checkout #sosmatanzas and #soscuba on social media. There is a lot of chatter but information is bubbling up. If you have supplies to donate and are in Havana, Clandestina is receiving donations at their store, at 403 Villegas in Habana Vieja, for distribution in Matanzas; antibiotics, vitamins, canned foods and more.
Related Post: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Patria Y Vida
We realize that it is particularly challenging getting items to Cuba from the United States. If you can’t do that, you can help by sharing this story and spreading the word so that more people know about the tragic turn of events taking place with this dangerous virus variant.
Havana-based journalist Mónica Rivero talks about the new lockdown measures to contain the rise of COVID-19 cases in the city. Photo: Mónica Rivero
When I completed the first draft of this article, Havana had announced September 15th, 2020, as the date for a gradual reopening. As the day approached, we learned that this phase of the COVID01-19 Havana lockdown that we’ve been in since the beginning of the month would extend through the 30th, although there is about as much of a guarantee that it won’t be delayed again as there was that we’d return to “normality” mid-month. And we already know how that went.
These weeks have been similar to the year 2020 itself: a fluid calendar where April blended into May, then into June and suddenly, we’re in September and December doesn’t seem so far off. The virus and its upsurges have prevented us from forecasting recovery with a modicum of accuracy, even though here in the Cuban capital we had gotten down to fewer than ten new COVID-19 cases per day. Suddenly, the numbers reached the double digits.*
Leer en español
Cuban journalist Mónica Rivero talks about being in Cuba during the latest lockdown.
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, a curfew was instituted — though authorities were careful not to use the term “curfew,” preferring instead to “prohibit circulation.”
Related Post: Soberana: The Latest With Cuba’s COVID-19 Vaccine
On September 1st, a set of measures came into force to contain the rise. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, a curfew was instituted — though authorities were careful not to use the term “curfew,” preferring instead to “prohibit circulation.” Between 7 pm and 5 am, no one is allowed to go out, neither on foot nor by car, although the streets seem more crowded than months ago.
The Council of Ministers approved Decree 14 of 2020 to grant powers to the Governor of Havana to impose fines of 2,000 and 3,000 pesos (roughly USD$80-120, or more than twice the average monthly salary in Cuba) to anyone in violation of the measures. In the first week alone, more than 1,700 fines had been handed out.
Public transportation within the city was halted, and travel was suspended between provinces throughout the country because coronavirus cases have also increased outside of Havana.
These days people share a joke alluding to anyone who might be taken by surprise, finding themselves outside too close to the forbidden hour: “Hurry up, the carriage is about to become a pumpkin!” Citizen-Cinderellas with a daily deadline. When the clock strikes seven, the ball/street ends. In the evenings when I take my dog out to pee, I feel like a rebel.
Photo: Mónica Rivero
For three weeks, the stores have closed at 4 pm, although you can arrive at 3:30 pm and not get in because it’s near closing time and this is reason enough for some doorman or manager to decide that 3:30 is the same as 4. It’s also possible that the queue doesn’t move quickly enough to reach the store entrance on time, no matter how many hours you’ve waited, and we all know it can be many. The popular recommendation is to secure an early morning shift, although it’s no longer permitted to get up as early as before, now that we’re under lockdown. People who used to spend the night near a store entrance in order to get in early to purchase whatever was on offer are now prohibited from being out before 5 am.
The fact that the not-so-called curfew lasts until 5 am was another blow against the “coleros” (people who are paid by others to wait in the colas, or lines), who used to camp at a safe distance from the markets, strategically positioned to pounce at their turn. These coleros are grouped with “resellers” who purchase goods and sell them to others, “hoarders” who stock up on available goods in case they become scarce, and others deemed “irresponsible” — together they constitute the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Government officials attack them in their daily meetings, snippets of which are broadcast on national television where their fury can be viewed by all.
Watch our replays here on YouTube.
Covid in Havana has halted all public transportation within the city was halted, and travel was suspended between provinces throughout the country because coronavirus cases have also increased outside of Havana. Anyone who had reservations to go on vacation in other provinces received refunds. Some hope to take their holidays in October.
In the first days of September, provisions of fruits, grains and vegetables disappeared in the capital, which usually are sourced in Artemisa, Matanzas, Mayabeque and other provinces. The government of Havana has insisted that this was due to “a misunderstanding with the suppliers” and that the producers could continue to bring their goods. More than clarifying, the officials seemed to be imploring. And not without reason — not even the markets in the city that are known for higher prices and better selection have escaped the phantasmagorical cast of empty shelves. Peanuts and condiments were all I could find in one of them earlier in the month.
Related Post: Every Day Is Sunday: Coronavirus in Trinidad
That the food delivery trucks were not allowed to supply the city’s markets was not the only “misunderstanding.” A week after the measures were announced, the authorities had to clarify that there was also “no prohibition for people with physical disabilities, those over 65, and pregnant women to access the stores and circulate on the streets from 5 am to 7 pm,” as was erroneously suggested by the Governor.
On September 1st, while children all over Cuba put on their school uniforms for the first time after six months, those in Havana remained at home. There were memes where we habaneros consoled ourselves with being able to sleep in late. It would be comforting if mornings were still mornings; but the days also seem like the 2020 calendar, and it hardly matters anymore if it’s morning, noon, or night, Monday, Saturday or November. In more than one school or municipality outside the capital, unfortunately face-to-face activities had to be suspended due to an outbreak of the virus.
Thousands of children now take their classes through television, and communicate with their teachers by phone or through social networks and other digital platforms if they have access to the internet, which the majority don’t.
As a result of Covid in Havana, thousands of children now take their classes through television, and communicate with their teachers by phone or through social networks and other digital platforms if they have access to the internet, which the majority don’t. The government is also advising the “strengthening of teleworking and remote work,” although with the limited Internet penetration in Cuba, it’s unclear what the real capacity for efficient telework is. Parents must work while attending to their children’s education and taking care of them seven days a week. One friend of mine doesn’t know how to teach his son to read.
Photo: Mónica Rivero
In areas where cases are detected, neighborhoods have been isolating, and recently this struck me close to home. When they closed a block around the corner from me, neighborhood speculation ran rampant: The legend went that a foreigner who was renting and was supposedly the original carrier of the virus had fled the scene; that there were three confirmed cases, one of them a minor; that the lady who sells bleach had died. The urban lore spilled out under the yellow tape closing off the block and crossed the street to continue its journey. In the end, the bleach lady is still alive and in stable condition. Hopefully she can continue to sell, especially now that she must have more demand than ever.
* As of Tuesday, April 9th, 2021, Cuba has reported 83,515 cases of COVID-19, and 443 deaths from the disease.
Independent and unaffiliated, Startup Cuba exists to amplify the community of voices in the Latinx space throughout the US. Through a mix of video, photography and written content we tell stories that bring us closer together.
Marissa Daniela talks to Startup Cuba about the protests, why they’re so significant and where to go from here. Marissa Daniela (@mimaincuba) and Yoel Díaz Cuní at Versailles in Miami. Photo: Marissa Daniela
#SOSCUBA: I took a nap on Sunday, July 11th and woke up two hours later to unprecedented events in Cuba; across the entire country. Not since the 1994 Maleconazo protests, which were pre-Internet and isolated to Havana, have we seen such large-scale, open protests on the island. And, in reality, not since 1959. But, you probably know that. What we really need to know, for those who aren’t up to speed, is what is happening and why. I interviewed Cuba’s most prolific Instagram influencer, Marissa Daniela, to get her take on that.
The full video interview is below; it summarizes her key takeaways about the weekend’s protests. And as I’ve stated before with our recent piece about #sosmatanzas, while we’re not a news organization, we do want to use our platform to keep you informed about what’s happening in Cuba and in the Cuban-American community during this historic, precarious time.
Cuba, as you know (right?), has had the same government for 62 years. It is a one-party (communist) government that has not been elected by the people. Its current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, was put in place by the Communist Party and the outgoing Raul Castro. He is tasked with carrying the Revolutionary government and ideology into the next generation.
Related Post: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Patria Y Vida
The island nation’s government does not tolerate dissent. Again, this is probably not news to you. What is news though is that on July 11th, 2021, thousands upon thousands of Cuban citizens took to the streets in cities throughout the country to call out #SOSCUBA and… dissent. For the first time in decades, they’re publicly making it known that they disagree with the government and their handling of the economy and the pandemic. And, they’re not afraid. They’re literally not afraid.
Related Post: Here’s What’s Happening With COVID-19 in Matanzas
Cuba’s economy shrunk by 11% in 2020 – the result of the government’s management, US sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic. The country’s leading economic driver – tourism – came to a complete halt. Lines for food, a lack of basic supplies, a recently exploding number of COVID-19 cases and an alleged turning away of assistance of outside help by the Cuban government, have increased pressure to the point of exploding. In a sense, the Cuban people feel that they have nothing left to lose and are crying out for help.
The Cuban government has since cut off the Internet and limited access to social media outlets. The word and photos coming out of Cuba now is that police and special forces units are on the streets in jeeps with guns. This is quite a statement to make in the normally non-violent island nation given that citizens don’t have guns and have no way to defend themselves.
The Cuban people are a sovereign people. If Cuba is to change and get through this successfully, they need to do it on their terms.
The next question is, “what happens now?”. Cuba has so much potential. It’s long past the time that everyone lets the country bloom. This includes the Cuban government respecting the basic needs of its citizens and the United States taking its foot off the gas of the embargo that does nothing but amplify the pain and suffering. The Cuban people are crying out #SOSCUBA and it’s because of governmental policy.
Thousands protest in the streets of Havana, Cuba.
Here in the States, many conservatives are calling for US intervention. Marissa doesn’t believe that is the way to go. I agree with her. The Cuban people are a sovereign people. If Cuba is to change and get through this successfully, they need to do it on their terms. Forcing change from an outside military presence will rip off a bandaid only to plant the seed for more problems down the road. Let’s help Cuba but let’s do it so that the long term end result is positive. And, if the US were to go into Cuba and force its will upon the nation, many questions would go unanswered. First and foremost, what now? Who leads from here? Bad choice.
Democrat or Republican, it’s time for us to hear the sounds of Cuba. The Cuban people have a voice. Let’s listen to it, amplify it and use ours to support their #SOSCUBA calls.
Samuel Riera’s Art Brut Cuba opens channels for Outsider Artists to sell their art when they otherwise couldn’t earn a living from their work.
Mall Santa, all I want for Xmas is to interview Ana de Armas. That’s all I need to believe in the miracle of the 1995 shopping mall Santa.
Our holiday store is online and LOADED with stocking stuffers for the calvo y guapos in your life this season!
Thanks to everyone for your support crowdsourcing this list of resources to support the Cuban people. If you know of additional resources, please add them so we can…
John McAuliff, the Executive Director of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, is calling on the Biden administration to support NGOs and businesses to assist…
If you eat one of his guava y queso pastelitos and aren’t hugging him – like in the video below – please DM us. Yes, they’re that good (or better).
Even in New York City just ten years ago it was hard to find real Cuban food so are cities like St. Louis or Pittsburgh ready? I really, really hope so.
Seoul, Korea’s Habana Indie Club brings Cuban culture and a love story to the other side of the world.
We’re adding writers in the US-Cuba, Puerto Rican and broader Latinx spaces to our equipo.
We asked you what you thought of the recent Roe v. Wade decision. Here’s what you told us.
Amigo Skate’s Rene Lecour has been bringing skateboards into Cuba for a decade. Next up: he’s planning the first ever cross island trek.
Carmen Pelaez’s new romantic political comedy, The Cuban Vote, is partly personal and partly an investigation into the insane world of Miami politics.
For both Latinos and non-Latinos, it’s a place to connect with others and feel at home surround by traditional food, music and culture.
Startup Cuba’s Jami Erriquez talks about volunteering for World Central Kitchen in Poland to provide food relief for Ukrainian refugees.
Things heat up as Russia suggests that it could send a military deployment to Cuba, the island’s vaccine is inspiration to low-income countries and more in this week’s…
Startup Cuba talks with Cid Fernandez, the Co-Founder of La Espumita about their “espumita in a jar.” Is it the perfect gift for your cafecito lover?
Guerra, the 3rd generation behind the family business welcomed us behind the scenes of the Cuban-American icon.
Damián Valdés Dilla creates beautiful cityscapes for location he’s previously never been to. Photo: Samuel Riera
A gallery room at Riera Studio in Havana. Photo: Samuel Riera
Artists at work at Samuel Riera’s Art Brut Cuba program.
Photo credit: Startup Cuba
Photo: Antena Cubana
Watch Startup Cuba’s replay videos on YouTube here.
Matanzas City and Matanzas Bay. Photo: By Jerome Ryan – Creative Commons BY 3.0
Abdala vaccine is one of Cuba’s approved COVID-19 vaccines. Photo: Ernesto Míllan
Photo: Mónica Rivero
Photo: Mónica Rivero
Photo: Mónica Rivero
Marissa Daniela (@mimaincuba) and Yoel Díaz Cuní at Versailles in Miami. Photo: Marissa Daniela
Thousands protest in the streets of Havana, Cuba.
