HavanaReporterYEAR VIIINº 18SEP 30, 2018HAVANA, CUBAISSN 2224-5707Price: 1.00 CUC1.00 USD1.20 CAN

Y O U R S O U R C E O F N E W S & M O R EA Bimonthly Newspaper of the Prensa Latina News Agency

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U.S. Nanette Carter Brings her Art to Cuba

Breaking the Statistic Silence against Women

El Salvador Opens Doors to China

Erick Hernández: The Ball Master

Spotlight

Latin America & the Caribbean

Politics

Sports

Cuba to US: More Science, Less Speculation

The Cuban Five to Hit the Big Screen

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P. 7

P. 9

P. 12

P. 15

P. 6

President: Luis Enrique González.Information Vice President: Hector Miranda.Editorial Vice President: Lianet AriasChief Editor: Luis MelianTranslation: Dayamí Interian/ Yanely Interián

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2 TOURISM

HAVANA.- The 19th edition of the International Wine Tasting Party at Havana’s Hotel Nacional de Cuba (National Hotel) will be held at the beginning of October to celebrate the development of gastronomy in Cuba and its connection with tourism.

This time the event will take place from October 3 to 5 and the expectations of professionals from the sector and tourism directors are just as high as in the past.

The hotel’s business manager Yanet Reyes de la Peña announced that the list of exhibitors for the upcoming event includes companies and wine cellars such as UCSA Freixenet, Bodegas Torres, Duprasa and Havana Club Internacional S.A.

The National Hotel’s Salón 1930 will be the main venue for the event, with a program listing different activities like wine-cigar pairing, tasting, presentations and exhibitions.

The list also includes a demonstrative conference on the best cigar-wine combination, taught by Cuban sommelier Fernando Fernández.

With its commitment to high-quality tourism, the Hotel Nacional de Cuba management each year organizes this event, which is very much acclaimed by a group of very demanding travelers.

Every year, many business managers and sommeliers agree to highlight the professional nature of the meeting, commenting that it meets the requirements for which it was created: to promote wine in Cuba.

The party brings more than 200 participants together, including sommeliers, businesspeople and Cuban and foreign directors and officials from this sector. They have described the event, together with the tasting, debates, presentations, negotiation rounds and talks, as fruitful.

The National Hotel is known as “The House of Wine in Cuba,” because of the many professional wine parties held there. Over the years, the hotel has welcomed hundreds of experts from the world of wines, with products mainly from Spain, Chile, Italy and France.

The Cuban sommeliers have been represented by a highly-qualified group since 1995. They see in this event an ideal space to debate ideas, exchange experiences and taste wines from new

Wine Party at Cuba’s National HotelText & Photos by FranciscoMENENDEZ

parts of the world.More than 200 sommeliers are

registered in Cuba, mainly in the leading tourist resorts and first-class restaurants. Many of them have taken courses in the United Kingdom and France, and have participated in contests, blind tastings and other international events with excellent results.

Opened in 1930, the Hotel Nacional is an iconic hotel in Cuba, with a strong history and boasting a list of famous personalities from the world of politics, art and sports as visitors.

3CUBA-U.S.

HAVANA. - A multidisciplinary team of nine Cuban specialists urged the United States to set speculations aside and stick to the scientific method with regard to the health symptoms reported by U.S. diplomats in Cuba.

In the middle of September, Cuban scientists held a number of meetings with U.S. peers in Washington DC, including one on September 13 with medical staff from the State Department.

“We found no evidence whatsoever proving there was any brain damage,” Alexis Lorenzo, regular professor at the University of Havana’s Faculty of Psychology, told The Havana Reporter.

Like the rest of the team members, the doctor stressed that they received no other information than what they already knew from the U.S. government, the press and an article published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

It was in that report -made by a team with the University of Pennsylvania- where the alleged brain damage suffered by the U.S. diplomats was mentioned.

During the conversation, the Cubans presented their analysis on the flaws of the report and questioned its main conclusions, as well as the scientific interpretation of the symptoms reported.

The Cuban team concluded that the information provided fails to corroborate

HAVANA.- Cubans continue to analyze the draft Constitution, a process that began on August 13 and will close on November 15.

Different opinions have emerged from the debates, which are held in schools, factories, workplaces, civil and military centers and in the most remote Cuban communities. The Cuban people call this process heartening and democratic.

The changes proposed for the structure of the State, the creation of the position of the president, the prime minister and governors, citizens’ rights and duties, economic issues and the definition of marriage are among the most debated topics.

The participants have praised the autonomy that the constitutional reform gives local governments and have proposed that concepts such as concentration of property be clarified, so that they are not subject to personal interpretation by ministers or other officials.

As for marriage, conservative opinions are in favor of leaving it the way it is in the current Constitution –between a man and a woman. However, others support the idea of recognizing same sex marriage, because it would mean a step forward for human rights in Cuba.

It has been also suggested that labor be described as an obligation and not a duty. Another proposed paragraph reads

Cuba to US: More Science, Less Speculation

Cubans Citizens at Home & Abroad Examine New Constitution

By MarthaANDRES

By IvetteHERNANDEZ

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the hypothetical health attacks and brain damage so far presented by the State Department to explain the health issues that were said to have been first reported at the end of 2016.

According to the Cuban experts, the medical evidence has serious limitations because most of the cases described share symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and subjective dream and balance disorders.

Those symptoms, they noted, are caused by functional issues and diseases such as hypertension, stress and many others with high incidence in the United States and the world.

Mitchell Valdés-Sosa, general director of Cuba’s Neuroscience Center, said they are convinced that some diplomats got sick.

However, he noted, many of those symptoms can be caused by different disorders.

Meanwhile, Johana Tablada, the Cuban Foreign Ministry’s general deputy director for U.S. affairs, sustained that the State Department has handled the theories as though they were facts, and reiterated Cuba’s concern over the continuing use of the term “attacks” by the U.S. government to refer to the incident.

“It is false to say there were attacks in Cuba. We do not know what happened but we know for sure what did not happen,” the diplomat said.

During their stay in the U.S. capital, the multidisciplinary group also held talks at more than ten offices of congress people and senators, where they explained their opinions about the health incidents and met with members of the National Academy of Sciences.

Pedro Valdés-Sosa, vice director of Cuba’s Neuroscience Center, told The Havana Reporter that the information the U.S. congress members had about the incident was practically based on the press reports.

According to the Cuban specialist, political and State decisions are being made based on unreliable information.

One of the measures that the State Department adopted after the incident was to withdraw the majority of its diplomatic staff in Havana in the autumn of 2017, to suspend the granting of visas in this capital and to expel 17 Cuban diplomats from Washington.

Valdés-Sosa noted that while in the United States, they asked to try to make a professional study and use the scientific method to jointly come to conclusions.

“It’s a pity it’s been so long, because it is more difficult to reconstruct the events now, but scientists have the means to do it. If thousand-year-old mysteries can be solved, this can be solved as well,” he concluded.

that salaries must match the current levels of prices and consumption.

The creation and implementation of programs that increase the attention to the elderly has been suggested as well, taking into consideration that the Cuban population is aging rapidly.

In this regard, some people have referred to the importance of increasing the birthrate through programs for fertility and family planning.

Several people have advocated for the right to euthanasia to be included in the constitution, and others call for greater attention to the rights of animals and stricter laws against those who disrupt citizen’s tranquility.

Similarly, it has been stressed that the president should remain in power longer than what the constitutional documents proposes –two consecutive five-year terms- as long as that person is in full command of his/her physical and mental faculties and has had a successful performance.

It has also been suggested that the citizens vote for the president directly.

As part of an unprecedented event, over 1,400,000 Cuban residents abroad have been giving their opinions about the draft constitution since the first week of September, through a section available on the Cuban Foreign Ministry’s (MINREX) website Nación y Emigración (Nation and Emigration).

The draft document reforms the entire Constitution and ratifies the socialist

character of the State and the role of the Communist Party of Cuba as the main pillar for the country’s unity and political, economic and social order.

It grants constitutional status to several foreign policy principles defended by the Cuban Revolution for decades, calls for world peace, Latin American and Caribbean integration and environmental protection.

The doubts and opinions collected during the popular consultation will be analyzed by Parliament to draft the final version which will then be voted on by the Cuban people.

4 SOCIETY

HAVANA.- Since he took office on April 19, Miguel Díaz-Canel has excercised a working style that includes interacting with people in every place that he visits.

Havana, the western provinces of Matanzas and Pinar del Río, the central provinces of Villa Clara and Ciego de Ávila, and the Eastern province of Holguín are some of the places where the president has spoken with ordinary Cubans, who say he follows the examples of Fidel Castro (1926-2016) and Raúl Castro, who preceded him in power.

“I think this style of listening to the people builds confidence and consolidates his leadership, which is why I consider him a continuation of the revolutionary work done by Fidel and Raúl,” retiree Orlando Martinez, a resident of Havana, told The Havana Reporter.

Meanwhile, nurse Bárbara Pérez commented: “it is very encouraging to see a president who does not shy away from contact with the people.”

In his few months as head of the Councils of State and Ministers, many Cuban citizens have had the chance to talk with Díaz-Canel, who is happy to snap photos with them.

Luis Mario Guerrero, a young resident of Holguín, posted the photos taken with the president in Rincón de Romerías on social networks.

“I was talking with my wife when I saw Díaz-Canel coming. It’s not every day you get to see the president walking out in the streets, so obviously I got nervous and excited. He then began greeting everyone and when he approached me, I wanted to take a photo with him,” he told Juventud Rebelde daily.

Guerrero said he asked him: “Mr. President, can I have a photo with you?” The head of State smiled, put his hand on Guerrero’s shoulder and told him; “I am not your president, I am your comrade.”

Contact with the people has become routine for the Cuban presidency, be it in a neighborhood, a market, a school, a hospital, a factory or in the streets, where the president normally asks the people about the everyday challenges.

When he was sworn-in on April 19 at the People’s Power National Assembly, Díaz-Canel promised he would defend “this socialist and democratic Revolution of the humble, with the humble and for the humble” until his last breath.

Díaz-Canel, a People's PresidentBy WaldoMENDILUZA

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lipodystrophy – increase of the adipose panicle’s thickness in the abdomen – in which aspiration cannulas are used to remove the adipose tissue through small incisions.

All kinds of people, from the age of 18 to 60, request this surgery, and its effectiveness mainly depends on the patients’ adherence to the plan.

Although this procedure also entails risks - such as hematomas, seromas, anesthetic toxicity complications, and even the fearful pulmonary embolism – statistics in Cuba show a low incidence of situations like this, said Heizel Escobar, plastic surgery and caumatology specialist at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital.

In the case of oncological patients who undergo a radical mastectomy, all have the right to a free breast reconstruction, which can help them overcome the psychological trauma caused by the effects of cancer.

In this case, they should only go to the institutions established in this specialty and submit the medical history written by their oncologists, in order to know the particularities of each patient.

A lot of technological progress has been made in the world, but not all the techniques can be applied in Cuba because of the high cost of implants. The current trend, for example, is to make an immediate reconstruction, for which there’s a multidisciplinary team in which both the surgeon in charge of removing the breast and the one who will do the reconstruction, work together.

A group of aesthetic and reconstructive surgery specialists is also responsible for the attention to burn victims in Cuba, although the incidence of accidents of this type has considerably

decreased, said surgeon Luz Marina Miquet.

Through active surgical techniques – such as Z-plasty, the use of flaps, skin transplant and even advanced methods such as micro flaps, which are limited in Cuba today – doctors guarantee the life of those who suffer these injuries, mostly economically-active people and kids.

All these topics were discussed among specialists from over 10 countries at the recently-concluded 2nd Cuban Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery Congress, held with the objective of fostering strategies in view of the challenges facing this medical discipline.

HAVANA.- Undergoing plastic surgery doesn’t always mean removing the wrinkles that appear as a result of aging or shaping the body to give the human figure a perfect silhouette.

Sometimes, those who request this type of operation try to correct any congenital deformity or perhaps forget the accident that left physical marks or even functional deficiencies in their bodies.

It is estimated that over 230 million plastic surgeries are annually performed all over the world. In the case of Cuba, where healthcare is totally free, these operations are also a priority.

According to Rafael Rodríguez, chairman of the Cuban Plastic Surgery and Caumatology Society, 309,469 plastic surgeries were performed in Cuba from 2001 to 2016 - most of these (200,508) were aesthetic surgeries, and the rest were reconstructive. These types of operations registered a considerable increase since 2011.

Based on this data, the island’s trend is in line with that of the rest of the world, where the number of people who require this procedure increases by the day.

One of the most demanded aesthetic surgeries in Cuba is liposuction, a surgical procedure used to treat abdominal

HEALTH & SCIENCE 5

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Plastic Surgery: A Procedure that Goes Beyond Aesthetics

HAVANA.- Naturopathic and traditional medicine, also known as alternative or complementary medicine, continue to develop in Cuba ever since it was first introduced by European cultures and later on enhanced with practices from Africa and Asia.

That reality was corroborated during the 6th Congress of the Cuban Society of Natural and Traditional Medicine, Bionat 2018, held at Havana’s Convention Center with the objective of analyzing the successful results and experiences of these medicinal practices.

Special priority has been given to naturopathic and traditional medicine since the beginning of the 1990s; however, it has become apparent that there are many detractors to this practice.

In 2009 the Cuban Public Health Ministry approved the 10 modalities of this complementary medicine, including helium-thalassotherapy (use of the sun and sea water as therapeutic agents), phytotherapy (medicinal plants), beetherapy (the use of honey and its

by-products), ozone therapy (ozone and ozonized substances) and plant-based nutritional counselling.

The other modalities are Asian traditional medicine (practices developed in the region), homeopathy (use of small amounts of substances), flower therapy (flower-based preparations), medical hydrology (mineral-medicinal waters and muds), as well as traditional therapeutic exercises.

The practice of this complementary medicine in Cuba has a basic knowledge, including therapeutic methods and techniques contained in health protocols and materialized in all three levels of the healthcare system, Cuba’s Deputy Health Minister Alfredo González said at the opening of the congress.

Though there is still much work to be done, the first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party’s Central Committee, Raúl Castro, is considered the protagonist of this program, for which he was given due recognition during the recently closed Bionat 2018 Congress.

“His views and appropriate criticism have allowed us to exhibit the noticeable results attained in the healthcare service

By ReinaMAGDARIAGA

Naturopathy & Traditional Medicine, Alternative Medicine in Cuba

provided to the people,” González said when addressing delegates from Mexico, Colombia, the United States, Switzerland, India, Japan, Curacao, among others.

The deputy minister praised the important contribution made by the World Health Organization (WHO)-Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)’s Traditional Medicine Strategy for 2014-2023, which aims at promoting safe and efficient use of complementary traditional medicine.

It is thanks to the political will prevailing in Cuba that the Cuban Society of Natural and Traditional Medicine currently has 1,698 active members, its president, Evelyn González, said.

They are not only health professionals but also agronomists, botanists, physicists, biochemists and many others, explained Evelyn, who chairs the organizing committee for the Bionat Congress, an event held every three years in Cuba.

6 CULTURE

HAVANA.- Filmmaking is one of the most popular artistic manifestations and, at the same time, a powerful weapon to share ideas and means of manipulation.

With its almost magical power, the cinema has been transformed into an industry dominated by countries that set the guidelines for what should or should not be seen, setting aside that other cinema that portrays the true reality of the people without “makeup.”

In line with that kind of cinema committed to the realities not shown by Hollywood, two new projects will share the stories of Gerardo Hernández, René González, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino and Fernando González (in the order they appear above). These five Cubans were victims of human irrationality for defending their fellow countrymen from terrorism.

The first film is Wasp Network, which is based on the book The Last Soldiers of the Cold War by Brazilian writer Fernando Morais. It tells the story of the five Cuban men who infiltrated anti-Cuban terror organizations based in southern Florida, their detention and the biased judicial process that ended in irrational sentences and prison mistreatment.

Wasp Network will be directed by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, starring famous film artists such as Spanish Penélope Cruz, Mexican Gael García Bernal, Venezuelan Edgar Ramírez and Brazilian Wagner Moura, among others.

The other film about the story of the Cuban anti-terror fighters is entitled The Cuban Five, a version of the book What

Lies Across the Water: The Real Story of the Cuban Five, written by Canadian Stephen Kimber. Its protagonists consider it the most comprehensive and accurate research of the events told.

The film will be coproduced by Canada’s Pictou Twist pictures and Picture Plant and Cuba’s Film Industry (ICAIC).The director will be Clement Virgo, who will begin shooting next year with Cuba as the main location. However, some scenes could be shot in Miami and Colombia as well.

These are not the first films to portray attempts to destabilize the country through acts of sabotage and other terrorist actions plotted in southern Florida, with the consent of U.S. authorities.

The Cuban Film Institute has many films on this topic including Guardafronteras (Border Guards), El brigadista (The Brigade Member) and El hombre de Maisinicú (The Man from Maisinicú). The Cuban television has also broadcast a number of series such as Julito el pescador (Julito the Fisherman), La frontera del deber (The Border of Duty) and En silencio ha tenido que ser (Top Secret).

The story of the five Cuban anti-terror fighters is one of those cases where reality beats fiction, and where the main value of the film narration is to tell the truth about five men whose actions were distorted and silenced by the big mass media.

Hence, the films will immortalize a real story that led to an international battle which, although it is over now, still awakens empathy and curiosity around the world.

By YanisbelPEÑA

For 4 News Headlines per day for just $1CUC / month, send a SMS with the letters PL to 8100.

The Cuban Five to Hit the Big Screen

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HAVANA.- When a foreign artist gets to Havana, it’s impossible for him or her not to feel captivated by the city and the good vibes of its people, and not to bring a piece of his or her art.

This is the case for Nanette Carter (Columbus, Ohio, 1954), a professor at the New York Pratt Institute who is worldwide renowned for the peculiar way she shows abstraction and collage in her pictorial work.

The U.S. artist first visited Cuba in 2014 on an invitation to take part in the collective exhibit ‘African American Artists and Abstraction’, displayed at the National Fine Arts Museum’s (MNBA) Universal Art building.

The exhibit shown on that occasion also included Willie Cole, Jayne Cortez, Melvin Edwards, Bill Hutson and Howardena Pindell, exponents of that pictorial expression who were interested in fostering cultural exchange between both nations.

Four years later, Nanette came again to Havana, this time accompanied by ‘Hope in Harmony,’ a personal exhibit that will also be on display at MNBA through November 19. It opened on September 22.

According to the coordinator of the exhibit, Carlos Vicente, the collection includes 14 works made on oil base and oil pencil on Mylar, a technique created in the 1950s that’s frequently used by Carter.

The pieces are divided into three groups: Afro-Sentinel, The Weight, and Cantilevered – the latter, a term that refers to a series of works made with a rigid structural element generally used in the construction field.

According to Nanette, this work calls for the survival of art, for maintaining balance as a metaphor to living in a world consumed by technology, which forces us to look at our environment from a different perspective.

With this present, Cuba will be included in the list of countries that have had the privilege to be fascinated by her art, which specialized critics describe as a reflection of conceptual, subtle and elegant expressionism, and an art that covers several styles.

Nanette’s personal exhibits have been on display in prestigious U.S. galleries, such as Ericson Gallery, in New York; Monclair Art Museum, in New Jersey; Kebede Fine Arts, in Los Angeles, and Sande Webster Gallery, in Philadelphia.

Her work has also been exhibited internationally.

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U.S. Nanette Carter Brings her Art to Cuba

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT(THR is not responsible for any changes made by sponsoring organizations)thr@prensa-latina.cu

8 CULTURE

UPCOMING EVENTS

Havana International Film Festival(Dec. 6-16)Havana

Mozart Festival (Oct. 25-28)

Havana´s International

Ballet Festival (Oct. 28-Nov. 6)

BRASILIA.- Not yet considered legal subjects by the government, Brazilian children and adolescents are exposed to risks that range from abject poverty to child exploitation and the increasing threat of early death.

“There are not enough public policies to guarantee the rights foreseen in the Children and Adolescents Bylaws (ECA),” lamented representative of the National Committee to Fight Sexual Violence against Children Glícia Salmerón at the Chamber of Representatives during a recent public hearing.

Set up on July 1990, ECA establishes that the family, the society and the State have the duty to give children “absolute priority,” and to guarantee that they enjoy the right to life, health and food, education, sport and culture, dignity, respect, freedom, family and community coexistence.

However, although the Bylaws have been in effect for 28 years, children “are not yet considered legal subjects by the public power,” said Salmerón, who was quoted by the Cámara de Noticias News Agency.

There is no doubt that the specialist’s opinion is related to the alarming panorama this population group faces, as stated by a report submitted this year by the Abring Foundation – a non-profitable organization whose mission is to promote the defense of children and adolescents’ rights and citizenship.

About 40 percent of the children and adolescents up to the age of 14 live in poor homes, which represent about 17,300,000 people. Of these, 5,800,000 (13.5 percent) live in abject poverty, according to the document.

The reality is even more shocking if we consider that according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), one percent of the country’s population makes 36.26 times more income than half of the 208 million Brazilians living in the country.

On the other hand, the commitment made to the United Nations Organization (UN) to eradicate slave and child labor is far from being met.

According to IBGE, about 2.7 million minors are early exploited in the country, and about 7 of them suffer serious accidents every day.

According to the statistics provided by the Public Ministry of Labor, over 15,600 children and adolescents were the victims of dangerous mishaps from 2012 to 2017 – which caused 187 deaths and over 500 amputations.

This statistic, however, could be a lot higher because, according to the aforementioned Ministry, the statistics don’t include the victims of drug trafficking and other illicit and unhealthy activities.

In addition to that, child labor is socially tolerated within Brazilian society. As it goes, it is better for a child to work than to get involved in robbery or drugs, attorney Patricia Sanfelici explained.

To round off this dramatic picture, the infant mortality rate and the number of deaths among kids from one month old to four years old increased again in 2017 after 13 years of constant reduction as a result of the decrease of investments in social programs by the government of Michel Temer.

In addition to cutting down resources for plans such as the Stork Network – aimed at qualifying prenatal and labor assistance – the More Doctors program has been reduced, especially in the most critical area: the Brazilian northeast semi-arid region, former Health Minister Alexandre Padilha stated.

Another important factor that has an influence on the increase of child mortality rates is malnutrition, which, according to the Food and Nutritional Surveillance System, grew from 12.6 to 13.1 percent from 2016 to 2017 among children under five.

It´s important to note that as federal representative of the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), Glauber Braga stated in reference to the report submitted by the Abring Foundation, Brazil ‘is returning by leaps and bounds’ to the World Hunger Map, from which it was removed in 2014 after reducing by three percent the population that ate less calories than the quantity recommended by FAO – five percent.

Brazil: At-Risk Youth; Threatened Future

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN 9

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HAVANA.- Women in Latin America and the Caribbean face barriers accessing financial systems and lack some of the benefits and rights that men enjoy. However, official statistics usually conceal this inequity, warned the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

In order to advance toward inclusive financial systems that help eliminate gender inequalities, it is necessary to have data broken down into gender specific statistics, to then “break the statistic silence,” said ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena.

It is essential to “transform data into information, information into knowledge and knowledge into political will,” the UN official commented.

The ECLAC proposals were made known during the recent presentation in Chile of a study on gender conducted by the Superintendency of Banks and Institutions (SBIF).

Bárcena recalled that achieving gender equality is part of the commitment contracted by the regional countries in the framework of the sustainable development agenda by 2030.

The macroeconomic policies, she noted, should be sensitive to gender inequalities, because women end up mitigating the economic shocks in periods of crisis, instability or recession, especially through the burden of unpaid work.

In spite of recent achievements, women’s employment rate in Latin America remains unchanged, at some 52 percent. The unemployment rate, however, reveals a gender difference. Women’s unemployment rate is at 10.7 percent, while the male statistic is at 7.6 percent, the ECLAC highlighted.

Half of the working women (51.4 percent) work in low productive sectors such as the domestic service and the nonqualified self-employment sector,

in precarious conditions and with low salaries and long working days.

It’s also worth mentioning that Latin American and Caribbean women still earn 16.1 percent less than men in the same job, the organization stressed.

According to ECLAC, they dedicate between one fifth and one third of their daily or weekly time to do the housework and unpaid care services; while men dedicate only some ten percent of their time to the same activities.

“Gender inequality continues to be a structural feature in the entire region, thus limiting women’s autonomy, both physical, political and especially economic,” Bárcena stressed.

Meanwhile, Chilean Isabel Plá said that women in her country are victims

of “unequal treatment.” There are gaps in wages, access to jobs, pensions and education, together with higher vulnerability to violence.

At the same time, “differences and difficulties prevail when they look for financial support,” said the minister of women and gender equality.

The latest Poll on National Socioeconomic Characterization revealed that six out of 10 Chileans in poverty are women, and six out of 10 non-economically active persons are women as well, said Plá.

The most pressing challenge for banks is to reduce the barriers in order to speed up the country’s economic progress, the minister explained.

According to ECLAC, the international context is “uncertain and complex” due to the increasing financial volatility in the world and the occurrence of commercial and geopolitical conflicts.

The financial sector is ever more concentrated in and interconnected with few actors and countries, thus distancing itself ever more from the real economy and people’s needs, its executive secretary stated.

Breaking the Statistic Silence against Women

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10 CULTURE

HAVANA.- As an old saying goes, paying tribute to those who deserve it is a duty towards our ancestors; and this maxim is perfect to honor Cuban musician Juan Formell, who directed the emblematic Van Van band for over 40 years and also created popular rhythms.

Formell, well-known for introducing electronic instruments in Cuba’s musical formats, founded in 1969 the emblematic band in which he developed his creative activity, aimed at the search for a new sonority and experimentation.

To develop such an intense process of rehearsal and constant creation, the artist relied on the use of the expressive resources linked to the son.

On September 3, the Honorary Department that carries the name of maestro Juan Formell – who died four years ago – was opened at the Cuban Higher Institute of Art (ISA), to pay tribute to a person who made a valuable contribution to this Caribbean nation’s dance music.

Dean of the ISA Department of Music María del Rosario Hernández stated that the creation of the department represented a challenge, but it is a way to attract the musicians who develop the country’s most disseminated genres, such as son and guaracha.

“This new place, which will preserve the most autochthonous elements of our dance roots, shows the importance we place on the learning of music, and students will be able to enhance their knowledge and take specialized workshops,” said Hernández.

“Here, the students will take lessons on repertoire and will participate in contests and colloquiums,” noted the specialist.

“The Juan Formell Honorary Department is part of a dream we had for several years. More than 20 years ago, we opened the Benny Moré Classroom and today, in this new period, we have a novel room for the teaching and learning of dance genres,” she added.

Samuel Formell, the band’s current director and son and heir of this sonority, acknowledged and appreciated the

tribute paid to his father and said he is part of this artistic center.

“I appreciate the recognition rendered to my father’s legacy and the work of the band,” stated Samuel.

“Whenever we have a chance, we’ll come here to explain how he did the musical arrangements, the harmony; how the Van Van orchestra was created; how they started, and the spirit of Formell, a true creator of the island’s most popular melodies,” said the band’s director and drum player.

Juan Formell (Havana, August 2nd 1942- May 1st 2014) was a Cuban composer, arranger and bass player. His professional activity started in 1957, at the age of 15, with cabaret, radio and television bands.

In 1968, he started using a guitar-bass at the Elio Revé typical band, specialized in eastern changüi.

From that rhythm, emerged the songo, a new musical style invented by Formell. In 1981, he included the trombones in his brass band to consolidate the orchestra’s main rhythm.

That period had an important influence on the Van Van’s work, and many of his most famous creations are also from that time.

Cuban Music Pays Tribute to Juan Formell

By DaimarelysPEREZ

Cienfuegos’ Valle Palace, A center for Culture & Tourism

Text & Photos by TinoMANUEL

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HAVANA.- The cultural trips to Cuba have continued to increase over the years, as many people come both to vacation and to learn.

One of the best examples is Palacio de Valle (Valle Palace), a gorgeous building in the central province of Cienfuegos that attracts plenty of visitors for its history, traditions and beauty.

Located in an area within Cienfuegos known as Punta Gorda, Palacio de Valle is an architectonic jewel that reminds its visitors of the Moorish architecture of Spain, with features of the gothic, baroque and Mudejar styles.

It is a suitable place for holding cultural events and has a restaurant (seafood is the house specialty), a museum and a bar.

Given its importance, the building was declared a National Monument of the Cienfuegos Cultural Heritage. Its construction began in 1913 and was completed in 1917, at a cost estimated at 1.5 million pesos (then roughly equivalent to dollars).

Except for the precious Cuban mahogany, all the building materials were imported: Carrara marble, Italian alabasters, ceramics from Venice and Granada, Spanish ironworks and forges and European glass. The building served as a Hunters’ Club and a school of art after 1959, but today it is mainly used for tourism related activities.

Meanwhile, the nearby Hotel Jagua is considered one of Cuba’s most famous hotels, with comfortable rooms set in the 1950s style with beautiful views.

Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 by French colonists headed by Louis de Clouet. Known in Cuba as the Pearl of the South, it is a seaport city and the administrative center of the province with the same name. It comprises 4,177 square kilometers and has a deep bay, with a mountainous region in the surrounding area.

Located some 254 kilometers east of Havana, Cienfuegos’ many beautiful attractions make it one of the most preferred Cuban destinations for different kinds of trips, but above all, for active leisure and cultural tours.

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LA PAZ. - On October 1, the world’s most important court will announce its decision on a century-old dispute: the lawsuit Bolivia brought against Chile to negotiate its access to the sea.

In the middle of March, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Netherlands, hosted the last phase of the process Bolivia opened against Chile in 2013, asking the neighbor country to negotiate in good faith a sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean.

A century after the Chilean offensive against the then Bolivian Port of Antofagasta (1879), La Paz finally brought its neighbor to court to solve the difference.

On the one hand, Bolivia is urging Chile to come to the table to jointly find a solution to the issue, which dates back to 1879. On the other hand, based on the 1904 Treaty, Chile sustains there are no unsolved issues with Bolivia in terms of borders.

The aforementioned agreement sealed the territorial borders between the two countries after the Pacific War (1879-1883), which Bolivia lost and also involved Peru. As a result, the winning country got 120,000 km of territories rich in minerals and 400 km of coastline.

The hearing on the dispute took place in March in The Hague, where the group of Bolivian and foreign

lawyers sustained that the request does not affect the content of the agreement at all.

However, Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero, who headed his country’s delegation, said that Bolivia is trying to ignore the historic treaties.

Meanwhile, Bolivia sustains that the 1904 Treaty is unfair, and reiterates that the request has nothing to do with that historic document.

The Bolivian delegation led by President Evo Morales –the first head of State to attend a hearing of this kind-showed that several times Chile admitted they could sit and talk.

La Paz appeals to article 31 of the American Treaty on Pacific Settlement (Pact of Bogota in force since 1948) and quotes a dozen commitments contracted by top-ranking Chilean representatives between 1920 and 2010 to negotiate the Bolivian request.

Instead, Chile says nothing is pending on the matter. Chile has remained cautious on the matter over the years. An example of this was the 13-point agenda negotiated during the first term of then President Michelle Bachelet, which included the maritime issue but it was never addressed.

The southern country has stuck to its position: not to give up one centimeter of its territorial and maritime area.

In its counterclaim, Chile repeatedly rejected the Bolivian request saying that it is already

facilitating trade and access to the sea through its northern ports.

Two countries are now waiting for the ICJ ruling: one claiming it is a matter of historic compensation and sovereignty, and the other asserting it will not let go of one centimeter of its territory.

Chile & Landlocked Bolivia Await Historic ICJ Ruling

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SAN SALVADOR. - It has been confirmed: Americas’ Tom Thumb opened its doors to Asia’s Giant. In what is seen as a bold but inevitable move, the Salvadorian government put an end to eight decades of relations with Taiwan to establish diplomatic links with the People’s Republic of China.

The circumstances were favorable and President Salvador Sánchez Cerén made the Salvadorian left wing’s old dream come true: to build a bridge for the booming economic power.

As it was to be expected, the decision was supported by the ruling

Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), based on its longstanding ties with the Communist Party of China. However, this move upset the Salvadorian

ultra-rightwing and unleashed subtle and outrageous threats by the United States.

That reaction was predictable: on the one hand Washington continues with its commercial conflict with Beijing and sees a concern in China’s increasing role in a region the U.S. has traditionally considered “its own.” On the other hand, the Salvadorian oligarchy represented by the rightist Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) for many years benefited from the Taiwanese strategy of buying international recognition.

However, the increasing tension between Beijing and Taipei as a result of the Taiwan government’s ever escalating separatist discourse freed the two sides from a sort of coexistence agreement: President Tsai Ing-wen refused to recognize the existence of one China only as stipulated by Resolution 2758,

which the United Nations approved in October 1971. The consequences were sure to come. Including El Salvador, there are now 178 countries that recognize the People’s Republic of China as one legitimate country. Taiwan is becoming ever more isolated in the world.

According to Analytics pollster, seven out of ten Salvadorians think that the alliance with China will be beneficial for the country, despite the right wing’s media campaign against the decision.

Meanwhile, the risk management company Moody’s Investors Service considers that the local economy has a great opportunity to do business and attract investments.

Some people wanted to make this decision look like a “treason to Taiwan” that the FMLN conceived practically “in secret.” However, when the Legislative Assembly asked Foreign Minister Carlos Castañeda about it, he defended both the principle of confidentiality for the talks and that it would be more beneficial for the country to adopt the strategy of being the rule and not the exception with regard to China.

Castañeda stressed the aid received from Taiwan but insisted on giving way to other relations that are more favorable for El Salvador’s trade, industry, cultural exchange and social benefits.

He also abstained from talking about Taiwan’s role in several corruption scandals such as the one involving former President Francisco Flores, who diverted to his party’s coffers ten million dollars donated by Taipei for the victims of the 2001 earthquakes.

The detractors are trying to sow groundless fear among the people. Those who fear reprisals from Washington forget that the trade relations with the United States are based on free trade regional agreements. With regard to the large community whose remittances support millions of families, the Donald Trump administration had announced –before these relations with China- that in 2019 it would cancel the Temporary Protection Status supporting the two million Salvadorians living in the country.

Also unfounded is the rumor that China wants to militarize the Union Port because, after all, the United States is precisely the only country with military bases in the region.

What will China give to this Central American country? At first, a noticeable increase in trade exchange, which is approaching one billion dollars. El Salvador exports 72 products to China, mainly sugar. Some 12,000 companies import Chinese products to El Salvador. But they want to import something more than consumer goods: The Tourism Ministry hopes to attract some 50,000 Chinese visitors to El Salvador that may well appreciate the natural, culinary and cultural attractions of this small but great country.

By CharlyMORALES

By LauraBECQUER

El Salvador Opens Doors to China

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HAVANA.- The Federation of Culinary Associations of the Republic of Cuba (FACRC, in Spanish) is holding its 5th National Convention in October, largely intended to analyze details on training of staff and growth of the sector in Cuba.

The convention, to be held in Havana from October 16 to 18, is the most important event in the sector, which includes some 70,000 people nationwide.

Held every five years, the meeting also analyzes the result of the FACRC mission and approves new working guidelines and changes to other important documents.

This is the right space to examine the efforts made, above all at a time when the Cuban cuisine is aiming to be designated as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

One of FACRC’s objectives is to enhance the importance of the traditional Cuban cuisine in the realm of tourism, to

HAVANA.- The 36th edition of Havana’s International Fair (FIHAV) is an excellent business opportunity for new companies that are entering the market and for those already established.

A big and wide-ranging international exhibit from all five continents will be shown from October 29 to November 2 at Cuba’s main trade fair, which is also one of the most important in the region.

One of the event’s main attractions includes the 3rd Foreign Investment Forum to be held October 30-31 at the theater and executive hall of EXPOCUBA – the country’s biggest exhibition ground and FIHAV’S traditional venue.

The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment’s (MINCEX) Director for Foreign Investment, Deborah Rivas, told the press that the 2018-2019 Business Portfolio will be presented during that forum.

MINCEX stated that the 2017-2018 portfolio for foreign capital business included over 450 projects (156 new), accounting for more than 10.7 billion dollars.

Rivas noted that this type of meeting is addressed to foreign businesspeople interested in joining the investment

Cuban Chefs to Hold National Convention

FIHAV 2018: Ideal Venue for Businesses

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Text & Photo by RobertoF.CAMPOS

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projects identified in the aforementioned portfolio.

The meeting will also include a presentation on the Mariel Special Development Zone, an exchange of experiences on how to attract foreign investment, led by Vietnamese business executives, bilateral meetings, and the launch of the portfolio itself.

Rivas highlighted the importance of the forum to materialize investment projects and added that the registration of foreign companies in this kind of meetings continues to increase.

“It will be an excellent opportunity to hold bilateral meetings between Cuban business executives and potential foreign investors, as well as to continue sharing and exchanging ideas on the challenges we have to face in order to attract foreign capital,” stated the Fair’s Organizing Committee.

FIHAV has been continuously held in Cuba since 1983. As usual, the last edition witnessed a wide participation of Cuban and foreign visitors, official delegations, and chambers of commerce and organizations from different parts of the world that promote trade and investment.

For five days, the fair provides an excellent atmosphere to hold business

meetings, negotiation talks, seminars, lectures and other activities.

Last year, more than 3,400 exhibitors from over 70 countries attended FIHAV, where China’s pavilion was chosen as the best and Spain was acknowledged as the most-represented – it occupied five of the 25 exhibition halls at EXPOCUBA.

In spite of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba, events such as FIHAV are proof of the increasing international interest in doing business with Cuba, whose development model is undergoing a profound updating process, MINCEX noted.

encourage more foreign visitors to the island.

The Federation groups both professionals from State-run restaurants and from privately-owned restaurants known in Cuba as Paladares.

One of the most relevant activities that will be held prior to the Convention is the meeting of scientific commissions, as they will address a number of different topics with views to further enhance the development of culinary arts in this country.

The list of topics to be discussed during the convention includes The Cuban Cuisine, Cultural and Intangible Heritage, Professional Upgrading and Its Challenges, The Artechef Project and Its Future Plans, The Development of the Cuban Cuisine, and Structure, Development and Prospects.

Last January 26 FACRC celebrated 37 years of founding. Its creation made true the dream of all Cuban chefs. The late chef Gilberto Smith, an outstanding specialist and the author of many lobster recipes, was one of its promoters.

The Federation aims to develop the Cuban cuisine by improving the style, reviving traditional recipes and meeting the most important food standards. Its objective is to make it highly attractive throughout the world.

HAVANA.- In less than one month and for the 27th consecutive time since 1992, the UN General Assembly will vote a draft resolution demanding the end of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba for nearly six decades.

Scheduled for October 31, the UN plenary session will hold several speeches on the topic of the unilateral anti-Cuba sanctions made official in February 1962 by the then U.S. President John F. Kennedy through Proclamation 3447, a policy maintained and tightened by the following administrations.

Among the speakers will be Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodríguez, who is expected to denounce the tightening of the blockade by President Donald Trump since taking office in January 2017.

The Cuban government regards the U.S blockade as the main obstacle to the country’s development, and blames it for accumulated losses worth some 933.67 billion dollars, taking into consideration the devaluation of the dollar on the international market.

At the end of August, Cuba published a report on the impact of the blockade in different sectors of the society, including some very sensitive fields like health.

The text published in the face of the new UN General Assembly voting contains concrete examples of the damage caused by the blockade between April 2017 and March 2018, with the losses estimated at more than USD 4.3 billion.

The laws and regulations that codify the U.S siege have been strongly rejected at the UN since 1992, translated into the support given to resolutions similar to the one that will be voted on October 31. For the past

three years those resolutions had the support of 191 of the 193 UN member states.

In mid-September the Cuban government denounced that Washington exerts pressure on several countries, principally the most economically vulnerable, to try to reduce its isolation in the international community.

In this regard, sources from the Cuban Foreign Ministry warned that, far beyond statistics, the blockade

is an ethical and moral affair that breaks international law and the UN Charter principles.

Likewise, they recalled that the economic, commercial and financial siege has a markedly extraterritorial nature, precisely in times when the world is working to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda agreed upon by the 193 UN member countries in September 2015.

UN to Vote on U.S. Blockade Against Cuba

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By MendyRODRIGUEZ

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HAVANA.- Several famous phrases make reference to a person’s determination and unlimited willpower, especially one French writer Honore de Balzac said: “There’s no such thing as great talent without great willpower.”

Cuban Erick Hernández, a player specialized in ball control and juggling, is a paradigm of perseverance and hard work. He’s one of those men who, with his physical and mental preparation and based on his determination, defy age and continue making history as a result of incredible perseverance.

Proof of this is the recent world record the player set last September 16th at the lobby of the Havana’s Iberostar Parque Central Hotel. For the new record in juggling, the player remained in the seated position and only used his feet, and wore three-pound weights on each ankle, an extra challenge that made his feat even more impressive.

No other player in the world had exceeded two hours in this position. The well-built former footballer kept the ball in the air, without touching the ground, for two hours, two minutes and three seconds in total.

In an interview to The Havana Reporter, Hernández stated his pleasure for the time recorded and confirmed that at the end of this year he will try to set another two world records.

“I trained a lot in order to attain this record. Concentration at all times and the support of my trainers were essential to reach this objective,” said the 52-year old player, a self-confessed fan of Real Madrid.

Erick, whose mother unfortunately passed away a few days before this event, has set more world and Guinness records in ball control than any other player.

His next challenge includes controlling the ball with his head in the seated position, and later on he will try to break the record of controlling the ball with the feet and head – in both cases, weight will be added to his ankles.

Hernández, whose preparation mainly relies on hard daily work to strengthen his abdomen, quadriceps, the upper part of the back and the legs, will use the Telstar 18 ball – the one recently used at the Russia World Cup – to break the records set in the aforementioned modalities.

“I am highly motivated to train hard. Every record has its history,” stressed Hernández, known as ‘The ball master.’

The most extraordinary records he has set during his sport career include running 100 meters in 17.83 seconds; running a marathon in seven hours and 17 minutes; juggling the ball for one hour and 10 minutes, and juggling the ball with the feet in the seated position, for three hours, three minutes and 14 seconds.

By CarlosBANDINEZ

Erick Hernández: The Ball Master

At the beginning of this year, Hernández set another record: juggling the ball with the feet, with a three-pound weight in each ankle, in one hour and 20 minutes.

However, his compatriot Luis Carlos García broke his record in April by registering 1:32.01 hours. For that reason, he has unfinished business to settle in that discipline.

The beautiful sport rivalry between both player forces them to train harder every day, according to Hernández, a player who started this adventure in 1998, when he set his first world record: doing an exercise that combined the head and feet for ten hours.

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