Cuban Music History, Part 1

Cuban Music History, Part 1

The streets of Havana breathe music…drum beats and guitar strums, the very rhythm of the city – and the country’s day-to-day life. And for good reason: its cultural significance is a historical one. Cuba is often credited with having the greatest influence on the Latin Music we know and listen to today. But where did … Read more

Upcoming Cuban Oil Industry Symposium To Focus On Regional Safety

Upcoming Cuban Oil Industry Symposium To Focus On Regional Safety

Oil industry executives are well known for applying detailed analysis to the economics of oil and gas production. Today that analysis suggests Cuba’s estimated 5 to 20 billion barrels of offshore oil reserves and 8 billion cubic feet of natural gas will remain like so many other things in Cuba: forbidden fruit. After the tragic … Read more

How Wynton Marsalis Brought Lincoln Center to Cuba

How Wynton Marsalis Brought Lincoln Center to Cuba

Live in Cuba debuts By the Cuba Journal staff Nine-time Grammy Award-winner Wynton Marsalis’ newest album has a Cuban twist. Released last week, Live in Cuba features the first-ever performances by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Cuba. Recorded in front of a sold-out crowd at Havana’s Melia Theatre in October 2010, the two-disc … Read more

How You Can Cruise Around Cuba

Central Holidays’ newest itinerary at sea By the Cuba Journal staff Central Holidays has announced the launch of a new eight-night people-to-people ‘Cruise Around Cuba’ aboard the Celestyal Crystal. This announcement follows the tour operator’s recent addition of five on-the-ground Cuban programs, its first itineraries that will allow American travelers to explore the island nation. … Read more

Salsa: A Brief History

Salsa: A Brief History

by Eileen Torres Salsa is a tropical music whose roots are in Africa. The enslaved people from Africa brought their drumming traditions to their new locations. That particular tradition was prohibited, in the United States. We were afraid the drums would communicate plans to revolt, escape. Cuba however did not impose those restrictions. The African rhythms … Read more

Cuban Chrome: The Cars

Cuban Chrome: The Cars

Cuban Chrome is a new docu-series that explores the fascinating time warp that celebrates 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 Spanish on Discovery en Espanol.

After the 1959 Cuban Revolution and the subsequent United States embargo, it has been illegal to import American cars to the island nation — as a result, Cuba’s vintage American vehicles are frozen in time. For Cubans, these cars are not just a means of transportation, but a way of life. Cuban Chrome will give viewers an intimate look into this rarely seen country as they meet the men and women who put everything on the line to keep these classic cars running.

Today, thousands of classic American cars can be found in Cuba, each of them with a unique story to tell. This show takes viewers on a ride through Cuban culture and into the world of A Lo Cubano Car Club, a passionate group of car enthusiasts, restorers, mechanics and apprentices who work together to restore classic cars and maintain the ones they already own (and depend upon) though the odds are stacked against them.

Below are the cars of Cuban Chrome.  The top image is an example of the original, and the bottom image is the actual car that appeares in Cuban Chrome.

Source:  Discovery

State Department “In Contact’ With Cuba About Regularly-Scheduled Flights

Are regular flights coming? By the Cuba Journal staff Following press reports that the Obama Administration was seeking to pave the way for regularly scheduled commercial flights between the US and Cuba by the end of the year, the State Department said it was “in contact with the Cuban Government regarding the establishment of scheduled … Read more

How Airbnb Is Creating Wealth in Cuba

By the Cuba Journal staff The average state salary in Cuba is somewhere around $20 a month, although many on the island live on far less than that, according to figures from Cuba’s national statistical office. And while Cuba’s economy is slowly beginning to change, one new player in the market is having a far … Read more

American Airlines Launching Los Angeles-Cuba Charter Flights

A new way to get to Cuba By Dana Niland CJ Contributor American Airlines and Cuba Travel Services will launch the first charter flight service between Los Angeles International Airport and Jose Marti International Airport in Havana later this year, providing travelers the only nonstop service from the West Coast to Cuba since the easing … Read more

Op-Ed: How Removing the Embargo Will Impact Cuba

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