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Drought-Stricken Cubans Getting By

By Vanessa Arrington, Associated Press Writer. Sat Aug 7.

HOLGUIN, Cuba - For Rebeca Falla, it's getting harder and harder to chill out. Eastern Cuba's worst drought in 40 years has turned cooking, washing clothes and scrubbing floors into a housewife's nightmare.

Then there's showering. Falla, 59, is accustomed to taking long, cold ones twice daily for relief from the humid 90-degree weather, but has to settle for a brief drizzle. "It leaves you in a very bad mood," she says.

The water shortage has affected thousands in Holguin city, 435 miles east of Havana in the area hardest hit. Surrounding towns in Holguin province and the eastern provinces of Camaguey and Las Tunas have also suffered.

Yucca, banana and sugarcane crops have withered away, spiking up prices in local markets. Nearly 13,000 bony cows have been slaughtered this year.

Authorities went on alert in Holguin, Cuba's fourth largest city, in July 2003, when rain failed to fill reservoirs. Two months later one of the city's three reservoirs dried up, then another in May when rainfall was 40 percent below normal.

"Never before have two reservoirs dried up," said Leandro Bermudez, Holguin's deputy director of Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources. "It's been very tense here."

Although things have improved lately with more frequent rain showers, it will be weeks before reservoirs and wells are replenished. The reservoir that dried up in May has recovered only enough to guarantee 30 days of water for hospitals and clinics in Holguin, a city of 300,000.

Faucets run empty, and most wells dried up long ago.

Still, in communist Cuba, social solidarity is deeply ingrained, and the few remaining people with water on their property open wells and hoses to neighbors.

"They have never turned anyone away," Idalia Gongora, 43, said as she and her daughter filled buckets from her neighbors' well. "Thank goodness, they are very charitable people. If not, we would have suffered much more."

Cuba's centralized government reacted rapidly, digging more than 100 new wells in and around Holguin and setting up dozens of stores selling drinking water for two Cuban cents a liter. With the Cuban peso trading at 26 to the U.S. dollar, that's far less than an American penny.

Government trucks and tractors were converted into water carriers. About 115 cruise this city delivering water. It's free but mostly nondrinkable.

One recent evening, dozens of people surrounded one water carrier, as high-spirited as children around an ice cream truck, filling plastic and metal containers, even garbage cans.

One man who returned repeatedly was teased by a neighbor, who shouted: "Mario's family appears to be growing by the minute!"

If deliveries don't meet demand, entrepreneurs with makeshift trucks and a special government permit fill the gap, also at two U.S. cents a liter.

In the Vista Alegre neighborhood of Holguin, the community council rallies about 30 people at 8 a.m. to plan the day - organizing truck routes to every block, making sure clinics and bakeries get what they need, deploying volunteers who work as late as 9 p.m.

"We spend more time here than in our own homes," said Gloria Asencio Galvez, the acting council head.

Holguin residents await the opening of a $5 million, 34-mile pipeline from the Cauto River in southern Cuba. Water is supposed to start flowing on Aug. 31 and fill half the city's daily needs. But it won't reach the countryside, where the economic pinch is sharpest.

Farmer Rafael Aguilera, 55, sitting on his porch 12 miles south of Holguin, said the daily yield from his skinny cows has fallen from four gallons a day to less than two pints. All the milk now goes to his 8-year-old son.

Aguilera lost his corn crops, and there's little drinking water. Parched, brittle land stretches out all around.

"Nothing makes it to us out here," said Aleda Hernandez, Aguilera's wife. "We're off the map."

Profile: Nethercutt's persistence pays off for Cuba trade

Jim Brunner, Seattle Times staff reporter. The Seattle Times, Sun Aug 8.

As Republican George Nethercutt campaigns for the U.S. Senate, Democrats frequently mock him as a "rubber stamp" who would blindly follow the orders of the Bush administration. In a typical attack, incumbent Sen. Patty Murray recently sent out a fundraising appeal warning voters not to "send another clone to Washington."

For the most part, Nethercutt has indeed toed the GOP party line during his decade in Congress. A study by Congressional Quarterly calculates he's backed the Bush administration on more than 90 percent of votes.

But Nethercutt also has displayed an independent streak on a major foreign-policy issue - the country's 40-year trade embargo against Cuba.

Full story at Seattle Times

Cuban Dissident Has Heart Attack

HAVANA, Aug 5, (AP) - One of 75 political dissidents arrested in a government crackdown last year was in the hospital Thursday after suffering a heart attack behind bars.

Margarito Broche, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for allegedly working with U.S. diplomats to undermine Cuba's communist government, was transferred to Salvador Allende Hospital late Wednesday, said his wife, Maria de la Caridad Noa.

Noa and other relatives waited outside the hospital Thursday in hopes of seeing the 47-year-old Broche. There was no official word on his condition.

"I hope that, if he comes out of the hospital alive, he will be given permission to go home, because he's in really bad shape," said Noa, adding that her husband never had heart problems before entering prison.

The government in recent months has released seven of the original 75 inmates for health reasons. The dissidents were rounded up in major crackdown on dissent in April 2003.

Contreras off to a strong start

By Scot Gregor Daily Herald Sports Writer. Daily Herald, Wed Aug 4.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - When Jose Contreras realized his old team, the New York Yankees, were looking to move him, he didn't hesitate waiving the no-trade clause in his contract.

"I accepted the trade because I knew they wanted me out of New York,'' Contreras said through an interpreter who just happened to be manager Ozzie Guillen's oldest son, Ozzie Jr. "It's like if I'm in your house and you don't want me there, I'going to leave.''

The Yankees might have thought they were taking out the trash when they dealt Contreras to the White Sox on Saturday in exchange for Esteban Loaiza.

But after the 32-year-old Cuban defector pitched 6 strong innings in Tuesday night's 12-4 romp over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, the Sox can't be blamed for feeling they stumbled on to a real treasure.

"We know this kid can pitch,'' Guillen said. "I've seen him before and he has a great arm. He did a tremendous job. If we caught the ball, he'd do even better.''

Consistently throwing a 94-mph fastball and mixing in a nasty splitter, Contreras (9-5) overmatched an unimpressive Kansas City lineup through the first four innings, allowing no runs on only 1 hit.

"All my pitches were working from the beginning of the game,'' Contreras said. "I felt comfortable from the beginning.''

Contreras, who was 117-50 (2.82 ERA) during a seven-year stint in the Cuban League, allowed 4 runs on 4 hits in the fifth inning, including a leadoff home run to Ken Harvey. But 2 of the runs were unearned, thanks to an error by third baseman Joe Crede.

After two tumultuous seasons with the Yankees, the 6-foot-4, 230 pounder seems to have instantly found a home with the White Sox.

"I'm happy that everything has gone so well in my first game,'' Contreras said. "I'm happy to be in Chicago, and my teammates put up some runs for me and made it easier. I was a little shy when I got here, but my teammates are great and they made me feel looser.''

Scoring a dozen runs will put any starting pitcher at ease, and the Sox wasted little time jumping on Royals starter Mike Wood (1-4).

After taking a 2-0 lead in the third inning, Paul Konerko broke the game open in the fifth with a grand slam, his 28th homer this season.

A 3-run shot (No. 13) by Aaron Rowand in the sixth inning put the White Sox in front 10-4 and marked the major-league best 18th time they've scored 10 or more runs in a game.

Konerko was happy to pick up the Sox' sluggish offense.

"I think this game goes in cycles and we weren't going to be that bad forever,'' Konerko said. "At the same time, we can't think we're going to walk in here tomorrow and score 10 runs.''

While he appreciated the backing, Contreras also realizes there are tougher days ahead.

"I hope I get this run support all the time because you can pitch more comfortably,'' Contreras said. "But I'm not going to get it all the time. And even though my teammates gave me a lot of run support, I just pitched my game.''

Duque zeros in for Yanks

By Anthony Mccarron, Daily News sports writer. Sun Aug 8.

Orlando Hernandez weaved from English to Spanish and back again while answering reporters' questions yesterday after throwing eight shutout innings against the Blue Jays in the Yankees' 6-0 victory at the Stadium. El Duque smiled easily as his 2-year-old son, Orlando Arnaldo, squirmed in his arms or broke free of his dad's grip and rummaged around in his old man's locker.

Hernandez is enjoying a renaissance in pinstripes, and it doesn't seem to be only about his superlative pitching since his comeback began six starts ago. Hernandez, at times grumpy in his first go-round, is cherishing his second honeymoon in the Bronx. At one point yesterday, he said, "Believe me, the responses" - such as an ovation after the eighth inning - "I appreciate it all."

Then he joked, "I'd also appreciate it if my little one here would behave a little."

Hernandez is coming off shoulder surgery, and while he has been mostly effusive and fun in the clubhouse, he's rapidly proving that not much has changed from his good old days. He allowed only five hits yesterday and walked two, while striking out seven. His fastball wasn't quite as hard as the last time he handcuffed the Jays - July 22, when he threw seven shutout innings - but his guile still worked.

When someone asked him if he was the same pitcher he was in the late '90s, when he first joined the Yanks after defecting from Cuba, he said through an interpreter - "Yes, yes. I'm Orlando Hernandez, alias Duque. I work out every day. I just had surgery on my arm. I'm out there battling, still."

He got help yesterday from Gary Sheffield, whose first-inning RBI single gave the Yanks the lead for good, and Bernie Williams. Williams, in a 5-for-30 skid, had a two-out, two-run single in the fifth that gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead.

Miguel Cairo (3-for-5) had an RBI triple, Hideki Matsui had an RBI single and Alex Rodriguez scored another run on a wild pitch for the Yanks, who have won four straight and seven of eight and are a season-high 31 games over .500.

Just as the Yankees seemed in danger of exhausting their key relievers, Hernandez became the third straight starter to throw at least eight innings. The last time three starters had done that was Sept. 22-24, 2002 (David Wells, Hernandez and Mike Mussina).

"That's three starts in a row now that these guys have been very economical," Joe Torre said. "Eight innings, three times in a row, that's something that makes you feel real good. It certainly came at the right time and everybody is in a pretty good mood because of it."

Hernandez, who was activated four weeks ago knowing that his arm strength wasn't what it should be, never expected to throw eight innings and no one else around the Yankees thought he would, either. "Being able to come back, start after start, to me is the most amazing thing," catcher John Flaherty said. "He just knows how to pitch and he dictates the action."

"To me, Hernandez was filthy," added Jays manager Carlos Tosca. "He was throwing strikes on the black; he was throwing pitches that went from balls to strikes on the black; he was elevating his fastball.

"It looked like he was on a mission."

Perhaps Hernandez was thinking about keeping his spot in the rotation. Mussina likely will be ready to rejoin the rotation soon and someone has to go to the bullpen. Not Hernandez, Torre said.

He's probably pitching better than any Yankee starter, with a 4-0 record and a 2.25 ERA.

"He's healthy, he's got a good look about him and he's able to finish off pitches," Torre said. "His first couple of starts, he wasn't really able to finish off his breaking ball. But now he's pitching with a lot of confidence."

Full story at New York Daily News

Cuba's Olympic hopes still alive

AFP, 9 Aug - Cuba's reigning Olympic long jump champion Ivan Pedroso only finished third on the final day of the Ibero-American Championships here.

Ten days before the athletics program begins at the Athens Olympics, four-time world champion Pedroso could only manage 7.78 metres, behind the winning jump of 8.26m for Joan Lino Martinez of Spain. Victor Castillo of Venezuela took the silver medal with 7.95m.

Pedroso, 31, said last month he had shaken off a foot injury and was aiming to be the first Cuban to retain an Olympic athletics title.

Another Cuban medal hope, women's world javelin record holder Osleidys Menendez, showed she was on course for Athens with a winning throw of 66.99m.

Although it was far below her world record of 71.54m, Menendez looked on form to improve on the bronze medal she won at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Havana Night Performers On Stage At Stardust

Saturday August 7.

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The first contingent of the Havana Night Club performers arrived Saturday in Las Vegas and hit the stage of the Stardust.

Star dancer Liliam Ferrer Cobas burst onto the stage with a leap and her Latin flair ignited the enthusiasm shown by fellow four troupe members. The remaining show performers are expected to arrive Monday and Tuesday so they will be ready to perform before near-sellout crowds next weekend.

Havana Night Club - The Show will be performing through September 6, 2004 at the Stardust Resort and Casino. The performance includes 32 dancers, a 13-piece award-winning Cubaximo band and singers in a unique interactive theatrical production.

Saturday, troupe members practiced on stage with Rigoberto "Papin" Saavedra Larrinaga pounding the congas while singer Jose Manuel Primo Matos belted out Cuban ballads. The show evokes the cultural riches of the magnificent island of Cuba by showcasing the rich musical versatility with modern dance in an explosion of energy and originality.

Co-producers of the Show, illusionists Siegfried and Roy, Emmy award winning director and choreographer Kenny Ortega and international producer and creative director Nicole "ND" Durr have been instrumental in securing the travel arrangements of the 53 entertainers from Havana to the Las Vegas.

http://www.havananightclub.com

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