Sunday, July 06th, 2014

On Being Gay, And Socialist, In Cuba Today

by JASMINE GARSD June 26, 2014 3:46 PM ET     It was very late at night the last time Isbel Diaz Torres and his boyfriend were stopped by Cuban police. "They asked for our IDs, which is a rare procedure," Diaz recalls. The policeman then dropped the men's IDs on the floor. " 'That's very funny for you, a… [Read Full Article]

Thursday, July 03th, 2014

Cuba's Budding Entrepreneurs Travel A Rocky Road Toward Success

by DAVID GREENE and JASMINE GARSD When Americans think of business in Cuba, they think of government-owned enterprise. And the vast majority of Cubans do work for the state. But in recent years, private business owners known as cuentapropistas have flourished on the island. Cuentapropismo literally means "on your own account." As far back as the 1970s, Fidel Castro was talking about how socialism and small… [Read Full Article]

Tuesday, July 01th, 2014

Cuba's Mariel Port: Once An Escape, Now A Window To The Future

by DAVID GREENE and JASMINE GARSDWhen you arrive at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, you're greeted with a barrage of billboards with the popular Cuban government slogan promoting tourism: "Cuba, where the past and the present converge."Perhaps nowhere on the island is that statement more true than in the city of Mariel, about 30 miles from Havana on the northwestern coast.Mariel… [Read Full Article]

Thursday, June 26th, 2014

Tourism Money Flows Into Cuba, Bringing Economic Hopes And Fears

Every morning, Manuel Landin Rodriguez walks past the luxurious state-owned Xanadu Mansion hotel and crosses its neatly trimmed golf course all the way to its edge. He camps out on the cliff overlooking the turquoise Caribbean waters that make the resort town of Varadero on Cuba's northern coast so famous.Landin, a retired physical education teacher, comes to the spot to… [Read Full Article]

Tuesday, June 24th, 2014

Cuba on the Horizon: The Caribbean’s Hidden Biological Treasure

The upside of minimal economic growth since the Cold War? Pristine environmental beauty. Cuba’s coral reefs, coastal regions and jungles are home to the most diverse range of species in the Caribbean. Unlike most of the islands in the warm-water region, Cuba’s coastal gems have been spared the ravages of over-fishing, pollution and habitat destruction which invariably accompanies economic development.… [Read Full Article]