May 2nd, 1997

NEWS FROM HAVANA

1) Elsinor in Havana.

2) Pablo Milanes will pack the Plaza of the Revolution.

3) "Journey into the Unknown" is shown in Cuba.

4) Where's the 3rd million?

5) Reported increase in illnesses which require disclosure.

6) Wind driven energy moves forward in Cuba.

7) Surveys in Havana.

8) Ilegals on the run in Havana.

9) Wheelchairs for handicapped Cubans.

10) The debate on small enterprises remains postponed.

1) Elsinor in Havana.

HAVANA, April 29, 1997.- The Eleventh Festival of Scenic Arts and Dance of the Superior Art's Institute will take place in Havana from June 17th to 29th. Elsinor is its name, and at this festival they will make public the outcome of the work of this institution.

Elsinor is a joining of proposals, an index of the scenic and dance potential of the youngest artists in the country. Some of the presentations have seriously taken the attention of the critics, according to those in the medium, and have put forth a theatrical production much broader than the student's projections.

Elsinor is part of a scenic reality with is far richer than what can be expected. Theatrical works such as "La Piedad", a critical vision of Cuba's participation in the war in Angola, or "Islas Solitarias", a crude approach to those ill with AIDS, or the experimental project "La Cuarta Pared", were created and developed under the seal of Elsinor.

The Organizing Committee will grant prizes to the best production, the best scenic design, the best drama script, the best theatrical or dance critic's choice, the best choreography, the best male and female interpreters.

Elsinor in Havana, for the good of the country, deserves a commercial. Those interested should contact the Faculty of Scenic Arts at the Superior Arts Institute, phone number 53-7-21-2332, or through fax at: 53-7-33-6633.

2) Pablo Milanes will pack the Plaza of the Revolution.

HAVANA, April 29, 1997.- It seems like re-known Cuban singer/songwriter Pablo Milanes is will pack the Plaza of the Revolution Jose Marti next May 10th, when thousands of young people will flock to listen to him in a charity concert for those ill with AIDS, according to expectations.

The popular composer and singer is in the heart of generations of Cubans. As the composer of classics such as Yolanda or El Breve Espacio en que no Estas, this latest initiative of his, aside from being a noble gesture, brings forth those street artists towards a rally with the power to bring together all our compatriots without any distinctions to creed.

It is not yet known in which manner they'll organize the charity/fund raising aspect of this event. But the simple fact that the Plaza of the Revolution Jose Marti is the chosen stage means an important civic support to those sick with AIDS in Cuba.

According to a person well connected to writers and artists in Cuba, aside from asking to remain anonymous, we are faced with new and recently opened paths towards the designation of Abel Prieto as Culture Minister.

3) "Journey into the Unknown" is shown in Cuba.

HAVANA, April 29, 1997.- "Journey Into the Unknown", an important series of American documentaries with Walter Cronkite, is being shown in Cuban television and it is starting to develop great public interest.

In the first of the documentaries, the Cuban viewers had the opportunity to get into the world of information and to learn the meaning of the magic word which is entering their conscience daily: Internet, the sworn enemy of censorship.

Barely a few weeks later, another program from the series, Prisoner of the War on Drugs, generated many reactions among the population when Cubans started contrasting American prison conditions to inmate's treatment in Cuban prisons. "All of the inmates are fat", said the mother of a common prisoner when talking about what she saw on television.

Julio, a retiree, said he heard a debate among former common prisoners at Havana's Central Park, where the crux of the argument also involved the different treatment, particularly concerning the food and the right to make phone calls.

According to a source, "Journey Into the Unknown" is turning, for Cubans, into a journey into FINALLY! KNOW.

4) Where's the 3rd million?

HAVANA, April 29, 1997.- Some 45 days after the official media announced that the 3rd million of the present Cuban sugar harvest would be reached approximately by April 1st, there has been no official confirmation announced to the public.

There are many conflicting opinions concerning this silence. Some say that the present campaign ended in an abyss where the lack of sugar cane, the operatives stoppages, and the industrial breakdowns wreaked havoc.

Others believe that the government is keeping silent due to commercial conveniences such as entering the market with certain advantages.

On the other hand, the emphasis which the official media places on the preparations for the upcoming harvest and end up the current one as soon as possible, whatever happens, is very noticeable.

According to specialists, this means that life experience has started to impose more rational criteria in the conduct of the sugar harvest in the country. According to the same sources, this will be the last harvest in which cane will be harvested out of season, as it was in previous years, when they were extended into months in which it is irrational to process sugar cane.

5) Reported increase in illnesses which require disclosure.

HAVANA, April 29,1997.- Illnesses which require mandatory disclosure seem to be on the rise in Cuba, according to statements by Dr. Augusto Madrigal, from the Medical College in Cuba.

Insisting that the requirement to disclose the incidence of those illnesses is an international regulation of the World's Health Organization, and a duty to be respected by the Cuban government, Dr. Madrigal pointed out that, upon a comparison the first trimesters of 1996 and 1997 they could notice some increases from 1996 in several of the most severe diseases.

Such is the case of acute diarreah illness, hepatitis, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases. On the other hand, there has been a decrease in acute respiratory infections, meningitis, leptospirosis and neuropathy, this according to the source.

Dr. Madrigal stated that such increases were due, in the first case, to the poor quality of the drinking water which the citizens are using, and for this reason, he recommends that people only drink treated or boiled water, because the chlrorination process is not trustworthy, he emphasized.

Regarding tuberculosis, Dr. Madrigal asserted that there has been an increase of approximately 20 percent in the number of cases, mainly in the prison system.

6) Wind driven energy moves forward in Cuba.

HAVANA, April 29, 1997.- Massive use of wind driven electricity would have taken a great first step upon the construction of wind driven generators of electricity of up to 1.5 kilowatts at the Politechnical Superior Institute Julio Antonio Echeverria, in Havana.

The use of wind driven energy to produce electricity in Cuba went through a serious crisis of dogmas and misunderstanding throughout the years. As late as 1990, Dr. Castro Diaz-Balart, son of the Cuban president, wrote against it in a book published and when there was practically no knowledge of the results of California's aeolic farms.

In 1991, studies were undertaken, and science proved what everyone seemed to know: Cuba is an excellent country to produce energy from wind. Upon further studies, they identified 18 areas in the Cuban archipielago with the proper conditions to produce electricity theoretically, this according to official sources.

According to specialists, the proper combination of efficient thermoelectrical centers, aeolic energy, electricity generated by an efficient sugar industry, and other sources, would make it unnecessary to start the thermonuclear plant in Juragua, without taking into account other alternatives.

7) Surveys in Havana.

HAVANA, April 29, 1997.- Different entities have started surveys and census in the city of Havana, with different objectives. One of the most significant ones is a housing census to catch illegals.

If, on the one hand, the National Housing Institute has been searching for the tiniest detail as to how citizens obtained their housing, on the other, dozens of sociologists or sociology students have been investigating the quality of life.

Among the questions asked are the following: level of income, ownership of electronic appliances, socio/cultural centers in the neighborhood, and whether some are being built, and the use of free time.

According to one of the survey interviewers, the situation seems to be critical in the municipalities of Centro Havana and Old Havana. According to other sources, the low quality of life would be the most probable cause of a social explosion similar to the one on August 5, 1994, and these two municipalities seem to be the two candidates to serve as a spark.

8) Illegals on the run in Havana.

HAVANA, April 29, 1997.- The recent passing of a government decree to control the migration of illegals flocking to Havana from all the other provinces, and which is known as "palestinization", has been the cause of a great deal of concern to the migrants from the interior of the island nation.

Barely a few days since the decree was passed, several forms of housing rental have emerged, which will provide shelter to the fearful "palestinians". This is possible because the legislative act establishes certain requirements to obtain a permit to live in Havana, in which it is enough to get permission from the owner of a home in good condition and with sufficient space.

The famous decree has been provoking talk. Some think that it is in contradiction with Article 43 of the Republic's Constitution, which grants everyone the right to live where they wish, thereby making a regulation against it unconstitutional.

Others insist that it is a necessary measure, since it bans or at least limits the stampede from the areas of less development towards Havana. In some sense, the inability to "escape" from the interior towards the capital would create pressure towards finding local solutions to the problems in the other provinces, where some sort of citizen's initiative would be mobilized within the provinces.

Thirdly, some have taken to point out the ironic aspect of this issue. It is to be expected that the police authorities in Havana will play a great role in the enforcement of this decree. But since few in Havana want to be policemen, the government had little choice but to "import" them from the provinces.

So it seems that the "palestinians" will prevent the "palestinians" from moving to Havana.

9) Wheelchairs for handicapped Cubans.

HAVANA, April 29, 1997.- The handout by the Cuban government of some 1,573 wheelchairs to handicapped citizens, in addition to urgently meeting other demands, such as the so called National Plan for the Attention of People with Handicaps, would be an alternative to other actions such as the recent incidents at the train terminal in Havana, where handicapped citizens were repressed.

The volume of the wheelchairs given, represents three times as much as was given in 1995, and would be close to the annual needs, according to the information provided by a highly placed director of handicap services.

At one point close to 1994, they talked about an accumulated demand of some 4 thousand wheelchairs, and two strong statements regarding this situation by the handicapped, who spoke forcefully in public about the situation of the lack of wheelchairs.

According to diverse sources, the accumulation of difficulties on the lives of the Cuban handicapped has been felt, and would be turning them into a distinct social grouping, and not at all easy to suppress, independently form the fact that the government's economic shortcomings would have influenced its good will towards this group.

10) The debate on small enterprises remains postponed.

HAVANA, April 29, 1997.- The central issues of a debate on small to medium enterprises in Cuba remain postponed and could become a source of controversy at the upcoming Communist Party Congress.

Internationally, it is considered a small or medium size enterprise those businesses whose workers amount from 300 to 500. Around 80 to 90 percent of Cuban state enterprises would fall into this category, according to sources.

According to economists, the solution to the plethora of problems facing the Cuban economy, range the depth and breadth of these types of enterprises, according to international norm. This would involve a decentralization of functions and an engagement in the market never before seen in Castro's era.

A central point of contention would be the topic of property, something which the Cuban government seems to be backing away from, according to Carlos Lage, who recently stated: "Private participation—in these small and medium size enterprises—is not something (that will happen) immediately due to several reasons, including the lack of experience in the development of a very small enterprise, the paladares (home restaurants)".

According to sources, these words would indicate the abandonment of the old dogmatic and principled reasons, to move towards a more pragmatic approach, and in which they would be delaying the solution of this issue until they can be certain, or have some degree of certainty, what the real threat to the political power which such decentralization would involve, asserted several economists.

Readers wishing to contact Manuel David Orrio can address their letters to:

Requena #8 Apt. 4 (interior)

entre Carlos III and Lugaren~o.

Ciudad Habana, 10600, Cuba.

Translated for CubaNet by Lourdes Arriete