Cuba Journal Will the long thaw yield a new movement? By David P. Rowe Op-Ed Contributor John Kerry, the American Secretary of State visited Cuba on Friday, with the main objective to officially reopen the United States Embassy in Havana. The Kerry trip is the most significant trip to Cuba from a senior American official in a half … Read more
By John Kerry In 1961, three U.S. Marines lowered the American flag at the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Today, they’ve returned to Cuba to raise the flag once more. Fifty-four years ago, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Cuba, and three young Marine guards volunteered for one final act of duty: lowering their country’s … Read more
Castro celebrates 89th birthday By the Cuba Journal staff Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro marked his 89th birthday with Cuba’s two closest allies in the hemisphere, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and Bolivia President Evo Morales. Morales arrived in Cuba on Wednesday to celebrate Castro’s birthday. “We come to celebrate our older brother’s birthday,” Morales said. … Read more
Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Cuba to raise the American flag in Havana amid what will be a historic ceremony for the isolated island nation. The event will occur just weeks after the U.S. reopened its embassy in Havana after more than 50 years of estrangement. The flag raising ceremony will occur … Read more
A conversation with Melia Hotels on Cuba By Alexander Britell How will the recent US-Cuba rapprochement change tourism in Cuba? And what does it mean for the hotel companies that are already operating in Cuba? To answer these questions, Cuba Journal caught up with Francisco Camps, the subdirector general of Spain’s Melia Hotels International, which … Read more
The fifth episode of Cuban Chrome airs tonight, August 10th, at 10/9c. Cuban Chrome is a groundbreaking new docu-series that explores the time warp that characterizes Cuban car culture. This is the first American television series to be produced entirely on location in Cuba and will be simulcast in English on Discovery Channel and in … Read more
Big jump in German, French, British tourism By the Cuba Journal staff While Canada has long been Cuba’s primary tourism source market, the island is now seeing a big boost from Western Europe. Germany sent 86,638 tourists to Cuba in the first six months of 2015, up 21.7 percent from the same period in 2014, … Read more
The British captured Cuba in 1762 but a year later gave it back to Spain in exchange for Florida. The CIA World Factbook says 99.8% of Cuba’s population over age of 15 can read and write. Some 30 million Americans (14% percent of the population) fall below basic literacy skills, according to recent National Center … Read more
Major growth in arrivals By the Caribbean Journal staff Cuba’s tourism surge in 2015 continues. The country is reporting a 15.9 percent increase in tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2015, compared to the same period in 2014, according to the country’s National Statistical Office. That’s being driven by a 21.7 percent jump … Read more
Image by: Jeff Johnstone The Cuba Journal recently caught up will Don Barr to discuss his sailing business that is based in Canada but mostly centered around Cuba. Together with his daughter, Cheryl Barr, Don has built a vibrant business around what most people would consider an ideal lifestyle for a retired millionaire. Their website, … Read more
