Startup Cuba Weekly News Roundup: September 9th, 2022
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.” 
El Bocadito: Do you remember Blondie? She sang a lot of great songs one of which was “Call Me.” The song was released in 1980 and it still rocks. And, ironically Blondie, now 77 years old, also rocks. And the Miami native released a twenty minute documentary chronicling her dream of traveling and playing in Havana with local musicians. I’ve always loved Blondie. Love her more now.
After taking two months off from this Weekly Cuba News Roundup, we’re back this week. And, the news headlines haven’t changed a bit. For starters the Cuban government is calling the US government immoral for keeping the country on the terrorism list (I agree incidentally – there are a lot of things the US government can say about Cuba but terrorism is not one of them, but who’s asking). Lots of Cubans have migrated recently but they’re having trouble obtaining legal status. Cubans are saving a rare croc. Blackouts continue. A Cuban woman woke up from a Coma in Miami. The Cuban peso hits a 30 year low. And, a mother in Miami pleads for her daughter’s release. All this and a shit ton more, below, in this week’s Roundup.
By the way, none of the opinions in any of the stories shared on this page represent ours; we’re just sharing them with you. If you are a journalist or you have seen a story that you’d like us to consider for future weekly news roundups, please send us a note and a link to the story here.
Screenshot: BBC
A colourful and exciting chronicle of the time when Blondie iconic lead singer Debbie Harry, at 77, fulfilled her dream of travelling to Cuba and playing in Havana with local musicians. In this kaleidoscopic and sensorial journey, we explore the elements of fire and water, and the energy of two cities, New York and Havana. We embark on an adventure with one the greatest rock stars of all times. Read more at bbc.com.
Havana’s modern “international” architecture has Cuba’s urban planners worried.
Cuba’s deputy foreign minister accused the Biden administration of acting immorally, illegitimately and unfairly by keeping Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, claiming it has been a victim of state-sponsored terrorism by the United States for more than 60 years. Read more at nbcnews.com.
February 10, 2023
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.
A Cuban citizen walks down a road after crossing the Mexico-Texas border at the Rio Grande River on Sept. 23, 2021. JULIO CORTEZ AP
Thousands of Cubans are arriving in the United States every month in one of the largest migrations from the island in decades, but a sometimes overlooked policy change during the Obama era is making it harder and more expensive for many of them to obtain legal immigration status. Read more at miamiherald.com.
Screenshot: Reuters
Shirtless and waist-deep in the dark waters of Cuba’s palm-speckled Zapata Swamp, researcher Etiam Perez releases a baby crocodile confiscated from illegal hunters back into the wild. Read more at reuters.com
Chief Patrol Agent of the Miami Sector Walter Slosar posted this photo of a boat carrying 15 Cuban migrants on Haulover Beach, Florida, on Monday. Photo: CNN
US Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 100 Cuban migrants after multiple vessels reached land in South Florida over Labor Day weekend, as Cuba grapples with its worst shortage of food and medicine in decades and runaway inflation. Read more at cnn.com.
Bárbara Viltres, a Cuban woman who was rescued at sea, recounts the boat trip leaving Cuba to the U.S. that claimed the lives of several migrants. Photo: Yahoo! News
When Bárbara Viltres regained consciousness, she was told that she was in Miami, that she had achieved her goal of escaping from Cuba and that she could consider herself lucky. Read more at news.yahoo.com.
The Cuban government seeks to reduce blackouts by the end of the year through repairs and new investments. Sept. 04, 2022. | Photo: Cubadebate /ACN
The state-owned company Unión Eléctrica (UNE) of Cuba announced for this Sunday new blackouts due to a generation capacity deficit of 23.5% during peak demand hours. Read more at telesurenglish.net.
A former Miami teacher who was jailed in Cuba on espionage charges for five years has not been allowed to return to the United States even though she was released in July. Read more at nbcnews.com.
A woman shows Euros after leaving an exchange office in Havana, Cuba, September 7, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
Rider Gonzalez helps run a small cafe in touristy downtown Havana, a challenge in a country where coffee-shop staples like milk and flour are scarce, sometimes even impossible to find. Read more at usnews.com.