CULTURE | Cuba Journal

Cuban Chrome: Here’s A Summary of Episodes To Date

October 10, 2015August 10, 2015 by Cuba Journal

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

11 Little-Known Facts About Cuba

March 10, 2016August 8, 2015 by Cuba Journal

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

Ken Rosen’s Cuban Documentary Addresses Cultural Riff

January 6, 2016August 4, 2015 by Simons Chase

When Ken Rosen first traveled to Cuba in 1998, he saw the island nation through the lens of an American expat living and working in Quito. This reference point no doubt translated into a unique perspective of Cuban life and a passion to bring sunlight and water to a relationship that has atrophied for a … Read more

Antonio Banderas to Star in New Cuban Series, ‘Havana Quartet’

October 12, 2015August 3, 2015 by Cuba Journal

Starz is developing “Cuban Quartet,” a series starring Antonio Banderas, who will also be an executive producer. Starz CEO Chris Albrecht made the announcement last week at a panel for television critics in Beverly Hills, California. The series is based on a popular book series by Leonardo Padura. “Starz continues to see great opportunity in … Read more

Historic Key West-Havana Powerboat Race

October 10, 2015July 31, 2015 by Cuba Journal

by Cuba Journal staff For the first time since 1963, a powerboat will be making an authorized race to Cuba from the United States. In the process, Mark McManus and Roger Kluh will also be attempting to set a world record for the fastest run from Key West to Havana, Cuba. The record attempt will … Read more

5 Rural Images From Cuba

October 21, 2015July 29, 2015 by Simons Chase

Rural images have a special quality of reminding us that truth is more closely associated with simplicity than with complexity. This is most appropriate at the moment in Cuba. Epic changes between the US and Cuba have created a storm of activity – and also important questions of identity – for Cubans in Havana. Here are some images of the Cuban countryside and the people who know little about the complexity of events happening in their capital.

July Ends With Cubans At A Crossroads

October 10, 2015July 28, 2015 by Simons Chase

For Cubans, July 26th (Movimiento 26 de Julio) commemorates the day in 1953 some now famous young Cubans stormed the Moncada Barracks in the city of Santiago de Cuba to dislodge the Batista dictatorship. Though that uprising failed, it was the beginning of a movement that changed the world by putting in motion Castro’s leftist … Read more

“Cuban Chrome” TV Series Offers Glimpse of New TV Genre

October 10, 2015July 24, 2015 by Cuba Journal

by Cuba Journal staff In the first episode of Discovery Channel’s five episode series Cuban Chrome, a Havana mechanic restores a 1958 Chevy Bel-Air and a taxi driver desperately searches the city for parts for his 1953 Oldsmobile. The series, which first aired July 13th, aptly portrays what could become a new TV genre, Cuban … Read more

How JFK Acquired Cuban Cigars After Bay of Pigs Disaster

September 18, 2016July 22, 2015 by Cuba Journal

by Cuba Journal staff In early 1962, President John F. Kennedy called his press secretary, Pierre Salinger, into his office to discuss an urgent matter. “I really need some help,” said Kennedy. “What do you want, Mr. President?” Salinger replied. “I need some cigars,” JFK replied. “Fine,” Salinger answered. “How many do you need?” “A … Read more

Here’s What The Sons Of Cuba’s Revolutionary Icons Are Doing Today

January 15, 2016July 22, 2015 by Cuba Journal

Argentine-born Che Guevera and Cuba’s Fidel Castro, the two heroes of Cuba’s Revolution, together symbolized a revolutionary movement that impacted the lives and dreams of millions hoping for a socialist-communist utopia. Today, the romance of the anti-imperialist fervor is gone, the counter-revolutionaries were vanquished, and the gaze of the next generation is firmly on a … Read more