Cuban artists paint garments, not canvases for 'Fashion Art' show
By Sarah Marsh | HAVANA
A fantastical blue bird emerges from leaves in the latest work by Manuel
Mendive, considered Cuba's top living artist. But this isn't a framed
canvas, it's a painting on a dress, for the exhibit "Fashion Art Havana"
that opened on Tuesday.
In creations by other Cuban artists, a ghostly face seems to scream out
from a dark cape, a red and blue matryoshka doll is painted onto a
dress, while a bubble-shaped frock is covered with wooden spikes.
The show is the latest in the "Fashion Art" series by Spanish designer
Manuel Fernandez, who has worked with artists all over the world to
create one-off garments at the intersection of both disciplines.
"Art doesn't have to always be hung on walls, it could also be on floor
tiles, earrings, tights or many other places," Fernandez said in an
interview.
Participating artists said at the opening they had high hopes the
exhibit would help fashion become viewed in Communist-ruled Cuba as more
than a mere consumerist indulgence.
"Fashion is also art, and this is a concept we need to start
understanding here," said Jorge Perugorría, who painted a graphic black
and white design on his dress.
Fernandez said he first designs a garment for an artist, letting their
work and personality inspire the form. He leaves the fabric blank
though, like a canvas for them to then paint.
Given that he lets the artists paint whatever they wish, he has no idea
what his shows will look like until the very last minute - a nail-biting
experience.
In the case of "Fashion Art Havana", which will run in Havana's
sumptuous, neo-baroque Gran Teatro until Feb. 11, Fernandez said he was
struck with how two painters ended up drawing on Russian themes.
This testified to the strong influence the Soviet Union had on Cuba
during their Cold War alliance, something you would not find in other
Latin American cultures.
Eduardo Abela, son of the Cuban artist of the same name, daubed a
matryoshka doll onto his dress, while Gustavo Echevarría, known as
"Cuty," stained his scarlet, then painted communist symbols like a
hammer and sickle on it.
"Cuba remains a Communist country, yet at the same there is the
sensuality of the dress and the consumerism of the designs - there is a
contradiction there that in this case coexist perfectly," Cuty said.
With this show, Fernandez said he decided to juxtapose the new Cuban
creations with works from previous collections by Puerto Rican and
Spanish artists like Antonio Martorell and Rafael Canogar.
Since embarking on his "Fashion Art" project in 1998, he has worked with
300 artists worldwide with a particular focus on Latin America although
his next exhibit will be in Zimbabwe, in May. His long-term aim is to
create a museum for his collection, currently stored between Spain and
Panama.
(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Bill Rigby)
Source: Cuban artists paint garments, not canvases for 'Fashion Art'
show | Reuters -
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-art-fashion-idUSKBN15G38M
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Seeds Are Key to Improving Bean Production in Cuba
Seeds Are Key to Improving Bean Production in Cuba
By Ivet González
HAVANA, Jan 31 2017 (IPS) - "You have to have good and varied seeds to
test which one adapts best to each kind of soil," says 71-year-old
farmer Rubén Torres, who on his farm in central Cuba harvests 1.6 tons
of organic beans every year, among other crops.
The importance that Torres places on seeds in order for the agricultural
sector to meet local demand for beans, a staple of the Cuban diet,
coincides with the assessment by researchers consulted by IPS, who
propose promoting genetic improvement and the production of other kinds
of legumes.
After two decades of selecting seeds, Torres produces and sells four
varieties of black beans, four kinds of red beans and one kind of white
bean. "And I have eight varieties for family consumption and for
scientific research," he told IPS.
Located in a livestock farming area on the outskirts of the city of
Santa Clara, 268 km east of Havana, Torres' plot of land is unusual in
the area because he devotes most of his 17 hectares to growing beans and
rice, which form the basis of the diet of the 11.2 million people in
this Caribbean island nation.
Baños de Marrero, as his family farm is called, also has avocado and
coconut trees and crops of maize and tomatoes. Other portions are
covered with seedbeds and garden beds badly in need of repair where
Torres produces 20 tons of ecological fertiliser from worm castings.
"When farmers go to plant they often don't have seeds. That's why I
always give some of mine to those who need them. Without quality seeds,
you can't succeed," said Torres, a participant in the Programme for
Local Agrarian Innovation (PIAL), which since 2000 has helped empower
farmers in 45 of the country's 168 municipalities.
"There is a public company that sells seeds," but in his opinion, "to
get really good ones farmers have to guarantee them themselves."
With the support of the Swiss development cooperation agency and the
coordination of the state National Institute of Agricultural Science,
PIAL started to teach family farmers in western Cuba how to obtain and
select their own seeds. It has expanded and now is promoting
participation by women and young people in farming.
"Without quality seeds, you really can't make progress in terms of
productivity," agronomist Tomás Shagarodsky told IPS about a key aspect
in raising yields in bean crops in Cuba, where there is potential for
growing many more beans.
As part of the government's agricultural reforms implemented since 2008,
incentives were put in place for the production of beans, with the aim
of boosting the surface area devoted to this crop in the different kinds
of agricultural production units: state-run farms, cooperatives, and
small private farms.
Between 2009 and 2014, the country grew on average 126,650 hectares per
year of beans, obtaining an average of 118,830 tons. In 1996, 38,000
hectares yielded 9,000 tons of beans.
Now, the Agriculture Ministry's Agro-Industrial Grains Group seeks to
increase bean production between 15 and 20 per cent a year, in order to
meet domestic demand and lower the high cost of beans in the farmers'
markets that operate according to the law of supply and demand.
"Cuba currently has extensive bean crops, but it hasn't reached its full
yield potential," said Shagarodsky.
To achieve better harvests, he said the sector must solve "structural
problems" such as shortages of resources, labour power and equipment,
and more complex issues related to climate change and water scarcity.
In that sense, Shagarodsky, an agronomist and researcher at the state
"Alejandro de Humboldt" Tropical Agriculture Research Institute
(INIFAT), pointed out a vulnerability that is rarely discussed.
"We need young professionals devoted to improving seeds," he said at
INIFAT headquarters, located in the poor outskirts of Santiago de las
Vegas, 18 km south of Havana.
"The stock of improved seeds has shrunk because the breeders who used to
do this job have retired, have died or have left," said Shagarodsky,
surrounded by the unpainted walls and deteriorated ceilings of the
INIFAT central offices. "That has to change and more attractive salaries
have to be paid," he said.
In live collections and cold chambers, INIFAT preserves the largest
quantity of genetic resources in Cuba. In its germplasm bank it keeps
3,250 of the 18,433 samples safeguarded in the entire national network
of institutions that share this mission. Legumes constitute 46 per cent
of the resources preserved by INIFAT.
The institution safeguards 1,465 varieties of pulses, including pigeon
peas (Cajanus cajan), peanuts, chickpeas, soybeans, lentils, peas and
green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris).
In recognition of the important work it carries out, INIFAT was chosen
in December to host the activities to end the International Year of
Pulses, as 2016 was declared by the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO).
FAO representative in Cuba Theodor Friedrich pointed out at this event
that pulses contribute to food security in two senses: they have high
protein value and they naturally fertilise soil with nitrogen.
In addition, he said "growing pulses is the only way to add nitrogen to
the soil without resorting to fertilisers. And they have important
nutritional properties," such as zero cholesterol and gluten, and high
content of iron, zinc and other nutrients.
For these and other reasons, FAO promotes the cultivation of pulses in
the western provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa, in a project aimed
at strengthening local capacities to sustainably produce biofortified
basic grains adapted to climate change, including several kinds of
pulses, by 2018.
"We eat all kind of pulses, from beans to chickpeas and lentils. They
are very important for children because they fall under the category of
vegetable proteins," Misalis Cobo, who lives with her six-year-old son
in the Havana neighbourhood of Cerro, told IPS.
"We get beans from the ration card and the rest I buy in markets and
stores," said the 37-year-old self-employed worker. "I can afford these
purchases although they are expensive because they stretch a long way
for us since it's just my son and me. But large low-income families
they're expensive," she said.
Each person in Cuba receives a small monthly quota of beans at
subsidised prices through the ration card. But to feed the family for an
entire month, more beans and other pulses are needed, and must be bought
at the state and private agricultural markets, and stores that sell
imported goods.
Prices range from 0.5 cents of a dollar up to 1.2 dollars for half a
kilogram of pulses, in a country where the average income is 23 dollars
a month in the public sector, Cuba's biggest employer by far.
Source: Seeds Are Key to Improving Bean Production in Cuba | Inter Press
Service -
http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/01/seeds-are-key-to-improving-bean-production-in-cuba/
By Ivet González
HAVANA, Jan 31 2017 (IPS) - "You have to have good and varied seeds to
test which one adapts best to each kind of soil," says 71-year-old
farmer Rubén Torres, who on his farm in central Cuba harvests 1.6 tons
of organic beans every year, among other crops.
The importance that Torres places on seeds in order for the agricultural
sector to meet local demand for beans, a staple of the Cuban diet,
coincides with the assessment by researchers consulted by IPS, who
propose promoting genetic improvement and the production of other kinds
of legumes.
After two decades of selecting seeds, Torres produces and sells four
varieties of black beans, four kinds of red beans and one kind of white
bean. "And I have eight varieties for family consumption and for
scientific research," he told IPS.
Located in a livestock farming area on the outskirts of the city of
Santa Clara, 268 km east of Havana, Torres' plot of land is unusual in
the area because he devotes most of his 17 hectares to growing beans and
rice, which form the basis of the diet of the 11.2 million people in
this Caribbean island nation.
Baños de Marrero, as his family farm is called, also has avocado and
coconut trees and crops of maize and tomatoes. Other portions are
covered with seedbeds and garden beds badly in need of repair where
Torres produces 20 tons of ecological fertiliser from worm castings.
"When farmers go to plant they often don't have seeds. That's why I
always give some of mine to those who need them. Without quality seeds,
you can't succeed," said Torres, a participant in the Programme for
Local Agrarian Innovation (PIAL), which since 2000 has helped empower
farmers in 45 of the country's 168 municipalities.
"There is a public company that sells seeds," but in his opinion, "to
get really good ones farmers have to guarantee them themselves."
With the support of the Swiss development cooperation agency and the
coordination of the state National Institute of Agricultural Science,
PIAL started to teach family farmers in western Cuba how to obtain and
select their own seeds. It has expanded and now is promoting
participation by women and young people in farming.
"Without quality seeds, you really can't make progress in terms of
productivity," agronomist Tomás Shagarodsky told IPS about a key aspect
in raising yields in bean crops in Cuba, where there is potential for
growing many more beans.
As part of the government's agricultural reforms implemented since 2008,
incentives were put in place for the production of beans, with the aim
of boosting the surface area devoted to this crop in the different kinds
of agricultural production units: state-run farms, cooperatives, and
small private farms.
Between 2009 and 2014, the country grew on average 126,650 hectares per
year of beans, obtaining an average of 118,830 tons. In 1996, 38,000
hectares yielded 9,000 tons of beans.
Now, the Agriculture Ministry's Agro-Industrial Grains Group seeks to
increase bean production between 15 and 20 per cent a year, in order to
meet domestic demand and lower the high cost of beans in the farmers'
markets that operate according to the law of supply and demand.
"Cuba currently has extensive bean crops, but it hasn't reached its full
yield potential," said Shagarodsky.
To achieve better harvests, he said the sector must solve "structural
problems" such as shortages of resources, labour power and equipment,
and more complex issues related to climate change and water scarcity.
In that sense, Shagarodsky, an agronomist and researcher at the state
"Alejandro de Humboldt" Tropical Agriculture Research Institute
(INIFAT), pointed out a vulnerability that is rarely discussed.
"We need young professionals devoted to improving seeds," he said at
INIFAT headquarters, located in the poor outskirts of Santiago de las
Vegas, 18 km south of Havana.
"The stock of improved seeds has shrunk because the breeders who used to
do this job have retired, have died or have left," said Shagarodsky,
surrounded by the unpainted walls and deteriorated ceilings of the
INIFAT central offices. "That has to change and more attractive salaries
have to be paid," he said.
In live collections and cold chambers, INIFAT preserves the largest
quantity of genetic resources in Cuba. In its germplasm bank it keeps
3,250 of the 18,433 samples safeguarded in the entire national network
of institutions that share this mission. Legumes constitute 46 per cent
of the resources preserved by INIFAT.
The institution safeguards 1,465 varieties of pulses, including pigeon
peas (Cajanus cajan), peanuts, chickpeas, soybeans, lentils, peas and
green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris).
In recognition of the important work it carries out, INIFAT was chosen
in December to host the activities to end the International Year of
Pulses, as 2016 was declared by the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO).
FAO representative in Cuba Theodor Friedrich pointed out at this event
that pulses contribute to food security in two senses: they have high
protein value and they naturally fertilise soil with nitrogen.
In addition, he said "growing pulses is the only way to add nitrogen to
the soil without resorting to fertilisers. And they have important
nutritional properties," such as zero cholesterol and gluten, and high
content of iron, zinc and other nutrients.
For these and other reasons, FAO promotes the cultivation of pulses in
the western provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa, in a project aimed
at strengthening local capacities to sustainably produce biofortified
basic grains adapted to climate change, including several kinds of
pulses, by 2018.
"We eat all kind of pulses, from beans to chickpeas and lentils. They
are very important for children because they fall under the category of
vegetable proteins," Misalis Cobo, who lives with her six-year-old son
in the Havana neighbourhood of Cerro, told IPS.
"We get beans from the ration card and the rest I buy in markets and
stores," said the 37-year-old self-employed worker. "I can afford these
purchases although they are expensive because they stretch a long way
for us since it's just my son and me. But large low-income families
they're expensive," she said.
Each person in Cuba receives a small monthly quota of beans at
subsidised prices through the ration card. But to feed the family for an
entire month, more beans and other pulses are needed, and must be bought
at the state and private agricultural markets, and stores that sell
imported goods.
Prices range from 0.5 cents of a dollar up to 1.2 dollars for half a
kilogram of pulses, in a country where the average income is 23 dollars
a month in the public sector, Cuba's biggest employer by far.
Source: Seeds Are Key to Improving Bean Production in Cuba | Inter Press
Service -
http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/01/seeds-are-key-to-improving-bean-production-in-cuba/
American Airlines opens Havana ticket office
American Airlines opens Havana ticket office
American Airlines celebrated the grand opening of its Havana ticket
office on Tuesday.
The sales center is in El Centro de Negocios de Miramar, a two-block
section of office and retail buildings in the city's Miramar/Playa
section where other international airline and travel offices are located.
American began flying regularly scheduled commercial flights from Miami
to five Cuban cities in late summer and added Miami-Havana and
Charlotte-Havana service in November. As of Feb. 12, the airline will be
flying 10 daily flights from the United States to Cuba, including four
flights daily from Miami to Havana, a daily Charlotte, N.C.-Havana
route, and daily flights from Miami to Camagüey, Cienfuegos, Holguín,
Santa Clara and Varadero.
With limited internet access and credit card use in Cuba, it has been
difficult for some travelers to book airline tickets online. The new AA
ticket office will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
and on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Mimi Whitefield
Source: American Airlines open ticket office in Havana | Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/international-business/article129851714.html
American Airlines celebrated the grand opening of its Havana ticket
office on Tuesday.
The sales center is in El Centro de Negocios de Miramar, a two-block
section of office and retail buildings in the city's Miramar/Playa
section where other international airline and travel offices are located.
American began flying regularly scheduled commercial flights from Miami
to five Cuban cities in late summer and added Miami-Havana and
Charlotte-Havana service in November. As of Feb. 12, the airline will be
flying 10 daily flights from the United States to Cuba, including four
flights daily from Miami to Havana, a daily Charlotte, N.C.-Havana
route, and daily flights from Miami to Camagüey, Cienfuegos, Holguín,
Santa Clara and Varadero.
With limited internet access and credit card use in Cuba, it has been
difficult for some travelers to book airline tickets online. The new AA
ticket office will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
and on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Mimi Whitefield
Source: American Airlines open ticket office in Havana | Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/international-business/article129851714.html
Gov. Scott puts provision in proposed budget to block trade with Cuba
Gov. Scott puts provision in proposed budget to block trade with Cuba
BY MIMI WHITEFIELD
mwhitefield@miamiherald.com
Following on the heels of last's week threatened retaliation against
Florida ports that sign agreements with Cuba, Gov. Rick Scott has tucked
another anti-Cuba provision into his proposed state budget that is even
more far-reaching.
Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach backed off plans to sign
what's known as a memorandum of understanding with the National Port
Administration of Cuba last week after Scott tweeted that he would ask
state legislators to cut off funding for any Florida ports that "enter
into any agreement with [the] Cuban dictatorship."
In a Twitter post, the governor said he had "Serious security/human
rights concerns" about Cuba.
The two ports received visits from a high-level maritime and business
delegation from Cuba last week, but both port directors put plans to
sign any MOU with Cuba on hold.
However, that didn't prevent Scott from putting wording in his new
budget, released Tuesday, that says no money can be "allocated to
infrastructure projects that result in the expansion of trade with the
Cuban dictatorship because of their continued human rights abuses." The
reference can be found on page 221 of Scott's 362-page 2017-2018 budget
recommendations.
It's up to Florida legislators if they want to include the governor's
recommendations in the budget they will craft during the legislative
session, which begins in March.
At stake is $176.56 million for port improvements that Scott has
stipulated shouldn't be funded if they lead to expanded trade with Cuba.
It's unclear if the budget reference also includes trade in services and
would impact Florida ports that have cruise service to Cuba or
potentially ferry service to the island. Several ferry ventures have
proposals before the Cuban government to offer ferry service from
Florida to Cuba.
Carnival's Fathom Line currently offers cruises from PortMiami to Cuba
and Pearl Seas Cruises has scheduled 11 Cuba cruises through April from
Port Everglades. Royal Caribbean International plans to offer a sailing
to Cuba from PortMiami on April 19 aboard the Empress of the Seas and
then switch the ship to Tampa where it will offer two more cruises to
Cuba in April and May.
The proposed state budget was released the same day as a shipment of
Cuban charcoal arrived at the Hialeah warehouse of Fogo Charcoal. Two
containers of the hardwood charcoal, which is made by private worker
cooperatives in Cuba, arrived at Port Everglades aboard a Crowley
Maritime ship last Tuesday. It was the first legal maritime shipment
from Cuba to the U.S. in more than 50 years.
Port Everglades Director Steven Cernak said last week that the port
leases space to its tenants and does not get involved in decisions about
their trading partners or how they operate. Crowley is Port Everglades'
largest customer.
Potentially, Port Everglades could lose as much as $125 million in state
funding over the next five years if the state imposes the governor's
recommendation.
"The bottom line is that [trade with Cuba] is really
private-sector-driven. Crowley has been doing business here with Cuba
for the past 15 years," said Ellen Kennedy, a Port Everglades spokeswoman.
"It's a question for the ports in this case," said a Crowley spokesman.
"The infrastructure projects planned at the port are mostly to better
handle the big ships that are coming from South America and Europe,"
Kennedy said. "The expansion is not specific to trade with Cuba."
FOLLOW MIMI WHITEFIELD ON TWITTER: @HERALDMIMI
Source: Gov. Scott uses budget to try to stop expansion of trade with
Cuba | Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article129874089.html
BY MIMI WHITEFIELD
mwhitefield@miamiherald.com
Following on the heels of last's week threatened retaliation against
Florida ports that sign agreements with Cuba, Gov. Rick Scott has tucked
another anti-Cuba provision into his proposed state budget that is even
more far-reaching.
Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach backed off plans to sign
what's known as a memorandum of understanding with the National Port
Administration of Cuba last week after Scott tweeted that he would ask
state legislators to cut off funding for any Florida ports that "enter
into any agreement with [the] Cuban dictatorship."
In a Twitter post, the governor said he had "Serious security/human
rights concerns" about Cuba.
The two ports received visits from a high-level maritime and business
delegation from Cuba last week, but both port directors put plans to
sign any MOU with Cuba on hold.
However, that didn't prevent Scott from putting wording in his new
budget, released Tuesday, that says no money can be "allocated to
infrastructure projects that result in the expansion of trade with the
Cuban dictatorship because of their continued human rights abuses." The
reference can be found on page 221 of Scott's 362-page 2017-2018 budget
recommendations.
It's up to Florida legislators if they want to include the governor's
recommendations in the budget they will craft during the legislative
session, which begins in March.
At stake is $176.56 million for port improvements that Scott has
stipulated shouldn't be funded if they lead to expanded trade with Cuba.
It's unclear if the budget reference also includes trade in services and
would impact Florida ports that have cruise service to Cuba or
potentially ferry service to the island. Several ferry ventures have
proposals before the Cuban government to offer ferry service from
Florida to Cuba.
Carnival's Fathom Line currently offers cruises from PortMiami to Cuba
and Pearl Seas Cruises has scheduled 11 Cuba cruises through April from
Port Everglades. Royal Caribbean International plans to offer a sailing
to Cuba from PortMiami on April 19 aboard the Empress of the Seas and
then switch the ship to Tampa where it will offer two more cruises to
Cuba in April and May.
The proposed state budget was released the same day as a shipment of
Cuban charcoal arrived at the Hialeah warehouse of Fogo Charcoal. Two
containers of the hardwood charcoal, which is made by private worker
cooperatives in Cuba, arrived at Port Everglades aboard a Crowley
Maritime ship last Tuesday. It was the first legal maritime shipment
from Cuba to the U.S. in more than 50 years.
Port Everglades Director Steven Cernak said last week that the port
leases space to its tenants and does not get involved in decisions about
their trading partners or how they operate. Crowley is Port Everglades'
largest customer.
Potentially, Port Everglades could lose as much as $125 million in state
funding over the next five years if the state imposes the governor's
recommendation.
"The bottom line is that [trade with Cuba] is really
private-sector-driven. Crowley has been doing business here with Cuba
for the past 15 years," said Ellen Kennedy, a Port Everglades spokeswoman.
"It's a question for the ports in this case," said a Crowley spokesman.
"The infrastructure projects planned at the port are mostly to better
handle the big ships that are coming from South America and Europe,"
Kennedy said. "The expansion is not specific to trade with Cuba."
FOLLOW MIMI WHITEFIELD ON TWITTER: @HERALDMIMI
Source: Gov. Scott uses budget to try to stop expansion of trade with
Cuba | Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article129874089.html
Women demand Cuba support 1st female boxing team
Women demand Cuba support 1st female boxing team
BY ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
HAVANA (AP) – Cuban men have won more Olympic boxing medals than
fighters from any other country. Now a group of up-and-coming female
boxers on the island have their eyes on the gold.
They want government support to form Cuba's first female boxing team and
help dispel a decades-old belief once summed up by a former top coach:
"Cuban women are meant to show the beauty of their face, not receive
punches."
Idamelys Moreno smirks at that idea as she and half a dozen other women
step up their training in hopes of changing the mind of Cuban officials.
"I see myself at the Olympics in Japan 2020," she said. "That's my dream."
Women were first allowed to box at the Olympics during the 2012 Summer
Olympics, and Moreno wants a shot at a medal, too. The 24-year-old
trains at least two hours a day after she gets off work, completing a
routine that includes running several miles (kilometers), lifting
weights, hitting a punching bag and sparring with both women and men.
Moreno and other women once were thrown out of a local gym when sports
officials got wind of them training there.
"One day without further ado they said, 'Listen, sir, women cannot be
here because female boxing is not allowed,' " Moreno recalled. "There
were around 12 of us, a lot of women from other provinces, and they had
to leave."
Olympic silver medalist Emilio Correa Jr. stepped in to help some of the
women find another gym while they push top Cuban officials to support
female boxing.
"They can bring more glory to the Cuban sport," Correa said. "They are
diamonds in the rough. … The motor skills, the explosive nature and the
energy of Cuban boxers are also present in these women."
THEY CAN BRING MORE GLORY TO THE CUBAN SPORT. THEY ARE DIAMONDS IN THE
ROUGH…
Emilio Correa Jr., Olympic silver medalist
But the government so far appears unconvinced. Officials have said
they're analyzing the proposal and carrying out medical studies to
understand the impact of blows to a woman's body and whether such action
is "appropriate."
A message left with the Cuban Federation of Boxing was not returned.
Female athletes in Cuba have made strides in many other sports,
including wrestling, judo and, most recently, weightlifting. In 2006,
Cuba allowed the creation of the island's first female weightlifting
team for an international competition.
"If they're allowed in wrestling or in weightlifting, which are pretty
strenuous sports, I don't understand why not boxing," said sports
commentator Ismael Sene.
Boxing has long been an athletic engine for Cuba, which has won 72
Olympic medals in that category and produced stars including Felix
Savon, Teofilo Stevenson, Emilio Correa Sr., Julio Cesar La Cruz, Arlen
Lopez and Robeisy Ramirez.
The lack of women on that roster disappoints many, including Namibia
Flores, who has trained in the U.S. and starred in a 2014 U.S.
documentary called "Boxeadora."
Flores has accused the Federation of Cuban Women of not supporting their
cause, even though the group helped women enter professional fields that
were dominated by men prior to the revolution. Female boxers inspired by
Flores say they hope to get the same opportunity.
"My mom says it's a violent sport," 25-year-old Legnis Cala said as her
colorful extensions flew back and forth while she sparred with Moreno.
"But there are women in other countries who also box … And if they give
us permission, I think we'll also make it."
Source: Cuban female boxers want government support for 1st female team
| Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article130041039.html
BY ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
HAVANA (AP) – Cuban men have won more Olympic boxing medals than
fighters from any other country. Now a group of up-and-coming female
boxers on the island have their eyes on the gold.
They want government support to form Cuba's first female boxing team and
help dispel a decades-old belief once summed up by a former top coach:
"Cuban women are meant to show the beauty of their face, not receive
punches."
Idamelys Moreno smirks at that idea as she and half a dozen other women
step up their training in hopes of changing the mind of Cuban officials.
"I see myself at the Olympics in Japan 2020," she said. "That's my dream."
Women were first allowed to box at the Olympics during the 2012 Summer
Olympics, and Moreno wants a shot at a medal, too. The 24-year-old
trains at least two hours a day after she gets off work, completing a
routine that includes running several miles (kilometers), lifting
weights, hitting a punching bag and sparring with both women and men.
Moreno and other women once were thrown out of a local gym when sports
officials got wind of them training there.
"One day without further ado they said, 'Listen, sir, women cannot be
here because female boxing is not allowed,' " Moreno recalled. "There
were around 12 of us, a lot of women from other provinces, and they had
to leave."
Olympic silver medalist Emilio Correa Jr. stepped in to help some of the
women find another gym while they push top Cuban officials to support
female boxing.
"They can bring more glory to the Cuban sport," Correa said. "They are
diamonds in the rough. … The motor skills, the explosive nature and the
energy of Cuban boxers are also present in these women."
THEY CAN BRING MORE GLORY TO THE CUBAN SPORT. THEY ARE DIAMONDS IN THE
ROUGH…
Emilio Correa Jr., Olympic silver medalist
But the government so far appears unconvinced. Officials have said
they're analyzing the proposal and carrying out medical studies to
understand the impact of blows to a woman's body and whether such action
is "appropriate."
A message left with the Cuban Federation of Boxing was not returned.
Female athletes in Cuba have made strides in many other sports,
including wrestling, judo and, most recently, weightlifting. In 2006,
Cuba allowed the creation of the island's first female weightlifting
team for an international competition.
"If they're allowed in wrestling or in weightlifting, which are pretty
strenuous sports, I don't understand why not boxing," said sports
commentator Ismael Sene.
Boxing has long been an athletic engine for Cuba, which has won 72
Olympic medals in that category and produced stars including Felix
Savon, Teofilo Stevenson, Emilio Correa Sr., Julio Cesar La Cruz, Arlen
Lopez and Robeisy Ramirez.
The lack of women on that roster disappoints many, including Namibia
Flores, who has trained in the U.S. and starred in a 2014 U.S.
documentary called "Boxeadora."
Flores has accused the Federation of Cuban Women of not supporting their
cause, even though the group helped women enter professional fields that
were dominated by men prior to the revolution. Female boxers inspired by
Flores say they hope to get the same opportunity.
"My mom says it's a violent sport," 25-year-old Legnis Cala said as her
colorful extensions flew back and forth while she sparred with Moreno.
"But there are women in other countries who also box … And if they give
us permission, I think we'll also make it."
Source: Cuban female boxers want government support for 1st female team
| Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article130041039.html
DEMAND RELEASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER EDUARDO CARDET - AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
URGENT ACTION
DEMAND RELEASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Five days after Fidel Castro's death, human rights defender Eduardo
Cardet was detained and has since been held in provisional detention in
Holguín, south-east Cuba.
He is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately and
unconditionally.
Dr. Eduardo Cardet Concepción, leader of the Christian Liberation
Movement (Movimiento Cristiano Liberación,
MCL) since 2014 was arrested in Holguín on 30 November 2016, five days
after the death of the former leader of
Cuba, Fidel Castro. Eduardo Cardet has spent two months in the
provisional prison (prisión provisional) of Holguín.
He has been refused bail on three occasions, according to his wife.
According to five witnesses who spoke to Amnesty International by
telephone on the condition of anonymity,
Eduardo Cardet was pushed off his bicycle and violently detained in the
early evening of 30 November by at least
four plain clothed and one uniformed police officer as he returned home
after visiting his mother. It is not clear on
what grounds Eduardo Cardet was initially detained. According to his
wife, who witnessed her husband's detention
with their two children, Eduardo Cardet is charged with attacking an
official of the state (atentado). This offence is
covered under Article 142.1 of the Criminal Code. One officer is
alleging that Eduardo Cardet pushed him during
his arrest. All witnesses who spoke with Amnesty International counter
this allegation, and state that Eduardo
Cardet was quickly and violently restrained by plain clothed officials,
placed in handcuffs, and beaten, and had no
opportunity for self-defence. The witnesses believe that Eduardo Cardet
was arrested for his beliefs and ideas.
Prior to his arrest, Eduardo Cardet had given interviews published in
international media in which he had been
critical of the Cuban government. In an interview with Madrid-based
radio station esRadio, aired two days before
his arrest, he described the mourning in Cuba following the death of
Fidel Castro as imposed, and said: "Castro
was a very controversial man, very much hated and rejected by our
people". According to the MCL's website,
Eduardo Cardet's lawyer informed the family on 27 January that the
Public Prosecutor is seeking three years of
prison.
Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:
- Calling on the authorities to release Dr. Eduardo Cardet immediately
and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of
conscience, imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to
freedom of expression;
- Calling on them to guarantee the peaceful right to freedom of
expression, assembly and association including
for dissident, opponent or activist voices and to repeal all legislation
which unduly limits these rights;
- Urging them to ensure that, pending his release, he is provided with
any medical care he may require; that he is
not tortured or otherwise ill-treated; and that he is granted regular
access to family and lawyers of his choosing.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14 MARCH 2017 TO:
President of the Republic
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana, Cuba
Fax: +41 22 758 9431 (Cuba Office in
Geneva); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)
Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission
to UN)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Attorney General
Dr. Darío Delgado Cura
Fiscal General de la República
Fiscalía General de la República
Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella
Centro Habana, La Habana, Cuba
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/
Señor Fiscal General
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr25/5601/2017/en/
DEMAND RELEASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Five days after Fidel Castro's death, human rights defender Eduardo
Cardet was detained and has since been held in provisional detention in
Holguín, south-east Cuba.
He is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately and
unconditionally.
Dr. Eduardo Cardet Concepción, leader of the Christian Liberation
Movement (Movimiento Cristiano Liberación,
MCL) since 2014 was arrested in Holguín on 30 November 2016, five days
after the death of the former leader of
Cuba, Fidel Castro. Eduardo Cardet has spent two months in the
provisional prison (prisión provisional) of Holguín.
He has been refused bail on three occasions, according to his wife.
According to five witnesses who spoke to Amnesty International by
telephone on the condition of anonymity,
Eduardo Cardet was pushed off his bicycle and violently detained in the
early evening of 30 November by at least
four plain clothed and one uniformed police officer as he returned home
after visiting his mother. It is not clear on
what grounds Eduardo Cardet was initially detained. According to his
wife, who witnessed her husband's detention
with their two children, Eduardo Cardet is charged with attacking an
official of the state (atentado). This offence is
covered under Article 142.1 of the Criminal Code. One officer is
alleging that Eduardo Cardet pushed him during
his arrest. All witnesses who spoke with Amnesty International counter
this allegation, and state that Eduardo
Cardet was quickly and violently restrained by plain clothed officials,
placed in handcuffs, and beaten, and had no
opportunity for self-defence. The witnesses believe that Eduardo Cardet
was arrested for his beliefs and ideas.
Prior to his arrest, Eduardo Cardet had given interviews published in
international media in which he had been
critical of the Cuban government. In an interview with Madrid-based
radio station esRadio, aired two days before
his arrest, he described the mourning in Cuba following the death of
Fidel Castro as imposed, and said: "Castro
was a very controversial man, very much hated and rejected by our
people". According to the MCL's website,
Eduardo Cardet's lawyer informed the family on 27 January that the
Public Prosecutor is seeking three years of
prison.
Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:
- Calling on the authorities to release Dr. Eduardo Cardet immediately
and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of
conscience, imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to
freedom of expression;
- Calling on them to guarantee the peaceful right to freedom of
expression, assembly and association including
for dissident, opponent or activist voices and to repeal all legislation
which unduly limits these rights;
- Urging them to ensure that, pending his release, he is provided with
any medical care he may require; that he is
not tortured or otherwise ill-treated; and that he is granted regular
access to family and lawyers of his choosing.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14 MARCH 2017 TO:
President of the Republic
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana, Cuba
Fax: +41 22 758 9431 (Cuba Office in
Geneva); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)
Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission
to UN)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Attorney General
Dr. Darío Delgado Cura
Fiscal General de la República
Fiscalía General de la República
Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella
Centro Habana, La Habana, Cuba
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/
Señor Fiscal General
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr25/5601/2017/en/
Striving to convince young people of the 'blessings' of Castroism
Striving to convince young people of the 'blessings' of Castroism
ORLANDO FREIRE SANTANA | La Habana | 1 de Febrero de 2017 - 10:26 CET.
We have recently borne witness to a kind of government offensive seeing
to convince young people of the blessings of the political system
prevailing on the Island. The regime is apparently in a hurry to ensure
successors to the historic generation.
The crux of this offensive hinges on the efforts of Popular Power bodies
- particularly its National Assembly- which are presented by the
official propaganda as guarantors of socialist democracy.
In this context a group of deputies from the National Assembly met with
students from the Law Department at the University of Havana, and also
with students from the Vladimir Ilich Lenin Vocational Preuniversity
Exact Sciences Institute.
The representatives, among other points, insisted that the young people
appreciate the difference between Cuban deputies and those from other
nations; stressed the foundations of the single party system; explained
the negative effects that a return to the capitalist political system
and its model of democracy would have in Cuba; and endorsed study of the
Cuban Constitution as part of the curriculum.
It is difficult to imagine anyone acting honestly and defending these
positions, and even more difficult to conceive of someone else accepting
them. Because to understand the difference, perhaps the fundamental one,
between the types of parliamentary deputies, all one must do is watch
some footage of them on TV. In it the votes are unanimous, as nobody
dares to defy the decisions, which have been previously made by the
regime's higher-ups, who are on hand in the assembly. In other nations,
in contrast, deputies legislate freely, and votes are close, after
heated debates.
With respect to the "refusal" to return to the capitalist model of
democracy, Castroism continues to confuse country and party, as
indicated by Archbishop Pedro Meurice in 1998, upon John Paul II's
visit. Of course, it is not in the interest of the Communist Party to
compete with other political forces, nor is the alternation in power
brought about by true democracy.
With regards to the principles that allegedly sustain the single party
system, not much is necessary to demonstrate their hollowness. If they
invoke Martí's creation of the Cuban Revolutionary Party - as they are
prone to doing - a simple reading of the group's charter reveals that
the Apostle conceived of the organization only as an instrument to wage
war against the Spanish colonialism, not as a party to perpetually
tyrannize society.
The aforementioned governmental offensive is being combined with the
creation of a Parliamentary Classroom in the Capitol, to be the next
site of the National Assembly of Popular Power.
This forum will feature three modalities: circles of interest for fifth
and sixth grade students, classes for schools located in the community -
initially encompassing the municipalities of Central and Old Havana –
and talks directed at college students and workers from institutions
near the Capitol.
Those targeted by this Parliamentary Classroom will be the deputies of
the National Assembly and other intellectuals identified with the
Government. And, of course, the content and tone will be very similar to
that characterizing the events in which these Parliamentary deputies met
with university students from the Law Department, and the students at
the Lenin School.
Nevertheless, the evident reality is that, in the end, none of these
attempts at indoctrination are succeeding. They would have to lock all
those young people in empty, windowless towers to keep them from finding
out what is going on beyond our borders. And, much to the chagrin of the
leaders on the Island, this kind if isolation is virtually impossible in
these revolutionary times of easy access to information via computer.
Source: Striving to convince young people of the 'blessings' of
Castroism | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1485941204_28581.html
ORLANDO FREIRE SANTANA | La Habana | 1 de Febrero de 2017 - 10:26 CET.
We have recently borne witness to a kind of government offensive seeing
to convince young people of the blessings of the political system
prevailing on the Island. The regime is apparently in a hurry to ensure
successors to the historic generation.
The crux of this offensive hinges on the efforts of Popular Power bodies
- particularly its National Assembly- which are presented by the
official propaganda as guarantors of socialist democracy.
In this context a group of deputies from the National Assembly met with
students from the Law Department at the University of Havana, and also
with students from the Vladimir Ilich Lenin Vocational Preuniversity
Exact Sciences Institute.
The representatives, among other points, insisted that the young people
appreciate the difference between Cuban deputies and those from other
nations; stressed the foundations of the single party system; explained
the negative effects that a return to the capitalist political system
and its model of democracy would have in Cuba; and endorsed study of the
Cuban Constitution as part of the curriculum.
It is difficult to imagine anyone acting honestly and defending these
positions, and even more difficult to conceive of someone else accepting
them. Because to understand the difference, perhaps the fundamental one,
between the types of parliamentary deputies, all one must do is watch
some footage of them on TV. In it the votes are unanimous, as nobody
dares to defy the decisions, which have been previously made by the
regime's higher-ups, who are on hand in the assembly. In other nations,
in contrast, deputies legislate freely, and votes are close, after
heated debates.
With respect to the "refusal" to return to the capitalist model of
democracy, Castroism continues to confuse country and party, as
indicated by Archbishop Pedro Meurice in 1998, upon John Paul II's
visit. Of course, it is not in the interest of the Communist Party to
compete with other political forces, nor is the alternation in power
brought about by true democracy.
With regards to the principles that allegedly sustain the single party
system, not much is necessary to demonstrate their hollowness. If they
invoke Martí's creation of the Cuban Revolutionary Party - as they are
prone to doing - a simple reading of the group's charter reveals that
the Apostle conceived of the organization only as an instrument to wage
war against the Spanish colonialism, not as a party to perpetually
tyrannize society.
The aforementioned governmental offensive is being combined with the
creation of a Parliamentary Classroom in the Capitol, to be the next
site of the National Assembly of Popular Power.
This forum will feature three modalities: circles of interest for fifth
and sixth grade students, classes for schools located in the community -
initially encompassing the municipalities of Central and Old Havana –
and talks directed at college students and workers from institutions
near the Capitol.
Those targeted by this Parliamentary Classroom will be the deputies of
the National Assembly and other intellectuals identified with the
Government. And, of course, the content and tone will be very similar to
that characterizing the events in which these Parliamentary deputies met
with university students from the Law Department, and the students at
the Lenin School.
Nevertheless, the evident reality is that, in the end, none of these
attempts at indoctrination are succeeding. They would have to lock all
those young people in empty, windowless towers to keep them from finding
out what is going on beyond our borders. And, much to the chagrin of the
leaders on the Island, this kind if isolation is virtually impossible in
these revolutionary times of easy access to information via computer.
Source: Striving to convince young people of the 'blessings' of
Castroism | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1485941204_28581.html
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