HavanaReporterY O U R S O U R C E O F N E W S & M O R EA Bimonthly Newspaper of the Prensa Lat ina News Agency

©THE YEAR IXNº 6MAR 31, 2019HAVANA, CUBAISSN 2224-5707Price: 1.00 CUC1.00 USD1.20 CAN

Visitors and Havana’s Rum Museum P.11

Cuban Film Institute Celebrates 60th Anniversary P 10

Photo Feature

Culture

Cuba-U.S.

Cuba: No Evidence of Alleged Sonic Attacks P 4

P. 3

Havana Welcomes Artists from Around the World

P. 7

THEA Bimonthly Newspaper of the Prensa Latina News Agency

TOURISM2

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President: Luis Enrique González.Information Vice President: Moisés Pérez MokEditorial Vice President: Orlando Oramas Chief Editor: Luis MelianEnglish Editor: Mitra Ghaffari

Translation: Dayamí Interian/ Yanely InteriánGraphic Designers: Fernando TitoChief Graphic Editor: Francisco GonzálezAdvertising: Nelson Pérez VergaraCirculation: Commercial Department.

Printing: Imprenta Federico EngelsPublisher: Agencia Informativa Latinoamericana, Prensa Latina, S.A.Calle E, esq. 19 No. 454, Vedado, La Habana-4, Cuba.Telephone: (53)7838-3496 / 7832-3578 Fax: (53)7833-3068 E-mail: thr@prensa-latina.cu

Cuba: Tourism Always a High Priority

By TinoMANUEL

HAVANA.- Cuban authorities’ concern to develop tourism is well justified, at it is one of the leading industries in the world, highly appreciated by millions of people.

For this reason, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez attended the Tourism Ministry’s (MINTUR) meeting in which participants discussed the tourist sector’s services and main issues in 2018 to find solutions for enhancement.

Tourism serves as a weapon against intolerance. Traveling offers a harmonious relation among different cultures and expands the scope of understanding between human beings.

Hence, in addition to being a key element for countries’ economies, trade and job markets, tourism paves the way for equilibrium and knowledge.

The Cuban president noted that the tourist sector holds great responsibility within the country’s development, as it is the second source of income on the island (after the export of services), and asked the industry to be more efficient.

It was also highlighted that this year the country welcomed one million foreign visitors by March 3rd, and the intention is to close 2019 with five million.

Cuba began developing the tourist industry in 1994, and strong efforts have been made ever since by all governmental entities to keep it growing. From 2004 to 2008, a little over two million tourists visited the island, in 2015 the figure rose to three million visitors, but it has climbed to four million a year from 2016 on.

This increasing trend shows that the Cuban tourism portfolio includes strategies

aimed at improving infrastructure and further increasing promotion in principal markets to help draw tourists to Cuba, among other initiatives.

The MINTUR officials told Díaz-Canel that the cruise ship tourist modality grew by 46 percent in 2018, and referenced to the sector’s challenges in terms of equipment, logistics and the duration of the operations at cruise ship terminals.

Meanwhile, Cuban Minister of Tourism Manuel Marrero commented that the number of tourists in 2018 continued to increase as it has during the past eleven years, despite the difficulties that the country faced due to natural disasters and the hostile U.S. policy towards the island.

He added that Canada continues to be the number one market of tourists to Cuba. Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy contribute the largest number of European visitors, while Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Brazil do so for Latin America.

Last year, a total of 3,600 new rooms were completed and concept hotels opened, such as Hotel Packard in Havana, Hotel Internacional in Varadero (its first part), and Segundo Frente and Iberostar Holguín in the east.

The data complements a panorama where some 300 hotels have more than 70,000 rooms available. However, tourism is a changing sector that entails attention, systematic work, marketing and intelligence in order to guarantee its constant development.

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HAVANA.- After it was approved on February 24, the new Constitution represents a legislative challenge for Cuba, as many laws are now necessary to ensure full implementation.

Some experts speculate that at least 50 laws would be needed, while others agree that it is still early to define an amount.

The most important task now is to go through the Constitution carefully so as to identify the laws that must be created or adjusted to the constitutional text, the president of the National Union of Jurists, José Alexis Guinarte, told The Havana Reporter.

Guinarte commented that Cuba is faced with implementing what is detailed in the 229-article document and, above all, must do it swiftly and successfully, especially with regards to laws which, due to their complexity and social dynamics, need to be adopted as soon as possible.

“We have created a number of strategies already that respond to this challenge, in order to adjust it (the Constitution) to the socioeconomic system. We did it in advance because we were sure that a new Constitution would be coming soon,” the jurist said.

Guinarte explained that efforts are being made in initiatives such as the Family Code, procedural laws as well as regulations of People’s Power National Assembly and municipal assemblies.

The new Constitution was approved by nearly seven million Cubans during the February 24 referendum, representing 86.8 percent of the voters who took to the polls.

It had been previously passed in December 2018 by the People’s Power National Assembly (Parliament), following a popular consultation process from August 13th to November 15th last year, in which almost nine million Cubans participated.

The constitutional text increases individual rights, includes changes in the structure of the State, strengthens the people’s power from the basis of greater municipal autonomy and recognizes different forms of properties, including private ownership.

“The legislative process ahead will be difficult,” said Yamila González, the Vice President of the National Union of Jurists.

“Achieving a real Constitution will entail drawing up and implementing laws on its establishment,” said González, who recalled that the Constitution is the supreme element of legal code in Cuba.

“While reading the articles on Family Law, which is contained in chapter III of the Constitution, we see that they are connected with others on individual rights and guarantees, both requiring the reform of the Family Code,” she noted.

One of the Constitution’s Temporary Stipulations specifies that a popular consultation process and referendum on

the Family Code draft bill must begin two years after the text takes effect.

According to the Vice President of the National Union of Jurists, this directive highlights a peculiarity on the island: that the public can give their opinions.

After casting his vote during the recent referendum, President Miguel Díaz-Canel told the press that a large legislative process aimed at implementing the new Constitution would then follow.

“We are already organizing it; we have identified several laws and call upon jurists, university students, professors and other specialists to participate (in this process) to thus have a much better end product,” he noted.

HAVANA.- Cuba relies on the efficient performance of its municipalities for the promotion of central programs such as the construction and restoration of houses and food self-sufficiency.

Giving greater autonomy to the municipalities is one of the elements that stands out within the new Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, after it was approved on February 24 by 86.8 percent of the Cubans who voted in the constitutional referendum.

At a recent meeting, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel talked with the local authorities about the main development concerns in the country, particularly the economy.

Díaz-Canel reiterated the importance to defend a more efficient government performance from the provincial level, and asked to give top priority to housing programs as well as the production of building materials.

He also stressed the need to expand food production and electronic trade as parts of the program aimed at providing Cuban society with information technologies.

Similarly, the meeting analyzed the ongoing sugarcane harvest, the guidelines for the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution, as well as the 2019 Economic Plan.

With regard to the sugarcane harvest, Díaz-Canel warned it is imperative to take good advantage of the months of March and April, to offer better attention to the workforce and accomplish the rescheduled harvest program in order to attain better yields.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Permanent Commission for Implementation and Development, Marino Murillo Jorge, explained the process for updating the country’s socioeconomic model.

Murillo mentioned the policies approved for self-employment, non-agricultural

cooperatives, and territorial contribution to both local development and the country’s demographics.

Díaz-Canel announced during the meeting that the April session of the People’s Power National Assembly (Parliament) will address the implementation of guidelines focused on local development.

For his part, Economy and Planning Minister Alejandro Gil stressed that investments are expected to increase 20 percent this year.

He also referred to the investment process in the transport sector and announced that this year’s tourism is likely to rise 9.2 percent over that of 2018. This, he said, has a direct impact on other productive sectors as well.

By LiviaRODRIGUEZ

Cuban Government Focuses on Municipalities

By WaldoMENDILUZA

Challenges to Actualize New Constitution

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By CossetLAZO

HAVANA.- Although the United States government insists on using the term ‘attack’ to refer to the alleged health incidents reported by U.S. diplomats in Havana, science has not supported such accusations.

“According to the investigations conducted, no possible sources with the intentions or means to execute such actions have been identified,” Lt Col. Roberto Hernández told the national and foreign press.

“The technical results of the recordings analyzed showed that it is not possible that those audio recordings could damage health,” added Hernández, who commented that an interdisciplinary team was created to study the alleged health incidents.

These experts conducted control studies among neighbors and hotel staff and no new health problems were detected.

The official also noted that the process included scientific exchange between experts from the United States and Europe in the fields of neurology, neurophysiology, psychiatry, sound physics, psychology, microwave technology and bioengineering.

Carlos Fernández de Cossío, the Director General of U.S. Affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, reiterated that Cuba guarantees the safety of all people, including the members of the diplomatic staff accredited to the island.

“Cuba has not questioned that some members of the staff may be ill. The truth is that, based on the investigations conducted and the prevailing evidence, nothing shows that the illness they might have suffered or the symptoms reported are the result of their stay on the island,” the official explained.

“Since February 17, 2017, when the Embassy of the United States in Cuba informed the Foreign Ministry about the occurrence of the alleged attacks that caused hearing problems among other kinds of health conditions for diplomatic officials in Havana, the Cuban government gave special attention to this issue and took the necessary steps to clarify the situation,” the official added.

According to Fernández de Cossío, “there is no evidence, theory or investigatory result supported by science that can justify the use of the term ‘attack’, which Washington continues to use in public, although in official meetings they have

acknowledged that there is no evidence.”He also highlighted that the investigation Cuba has conducted and the results

of the exchanges with U.S. authorities don’t support the hypothesis that an attack occurred either.

Along those lines, he noted that the investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation rules out the hypothesis of an acoustic, sonic, ultrasonic or infrasonic attack.

For his part, Director of the Cuban Neurosciences Center Mitchell Valdés summarized the work conducted by the Cuban Expert Committee and the Cuban Academy of Sciences on the alleged health incidents reported by U.S. diplomats.

Valdés explained that according to the Cuban Medical Commission established for this particular case, none of the symptoms were caused by the alleged sonic attacks.

He also referred to some questions that the international scientific community has voiced on the alleged theories of acoustic attacks and claimed brain damage.

Cuba: No Evidence of Alleged Sonic Attacks

By RobertoCASTELLANOS

Trump Disregards International Opinion

HAVANA.- Iran, multilateralism, climate change and trade agreements: U.S. president Donald Trump shows again and again that he will impose his agenda no matter the wishes of the international community.

The most recent example of that unilateral vision was his decision to tighten the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, which has been enforced for more than 50 years and has caused damages amounting to over 933 billion dollars for the island.

Although an overwhelming majority of the international community has rejected this policy at the UN for more than 20 years, Trump decided to go from

speech to action against Cuba.As part of his strategy, the U.S.

government has partially activated a controversial title of the Helms-Burton Act, a law passed in 1996 to codify and strengthen the siege against Cuba.

Although all four titles of that initiative were originally enacted, in practice Title III has been suspended every six months by the successive U.S. presidents.

Title III authorizes the U.S. courts to put companies of third countries that “traffic” in U.S. properties that were nationalized by Cuba in the 1960s on trial.

Cuba rejects this, saying that the U.S. government at the time didn’t agree to receive the appropriate compensations -

unlike other countries such as Spain and Canada – and stresses the legality of the expropriations.

Title III was suspended for 23 years to avoid both friction with the United States’ allies in Europe– many of them with important investments in Cuba – and a foreseeable wave of international criticism because of its notable extraterritorial nature, which violates international law.

Although the Department of State cancelled the effective application of Title III for 30 more days on March 4th, it announced that as of March 19, they would allow filing lawsuits against more than 200 Cuban companies that are

included on a unilateral list aimed at asphyxiating the Cuban economy.

But the media and analysts don’t rule out that once this term is met, the title could be completely activated or that other steps could be taken against Havana, such as the inclusion of Cuba on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism – which is drafted by the Department of State and highly questioned for its biased nature.

Those plans are part of the White House offensive against progressive Latin American countries, such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, a stance Trump made clear when he took power, over two years ago.

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HAVANA.- Cuba leads by example in the reduction of ozone-depleting substances and is now preparing to implement the Kigali Amendment, aimed at gradually reducing the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

These compounds are commonly used to replace others that are harmful to the atmosphere. And although they do not deteriorate the environment, they are greenhouse gases with high global warming potential.

Efforts to eradicate HFC under the Montreal Protocol have been negotiated since 2009, but it was not until October 15th, 2016 when 197 members of the protocol signed the Kigali Amendment with the objective of steadily reducing the use of these substances throughout the world.

Controlling the production and consumption of HFC adds to the environmental achievements already attained by the Montreal Protocol through the progressive elimination of chlorofluorocarbons and hydro-chlorofluorocarbons.

In this regard, Cuba ratified its commitment to environmental protectionin the scientific and technological field by holding an international meeting March 5th-7th in Havana, with the participation of experts from Brazil, Colombia and the host country.

With intentions to implement the Kigali Amendment at the beginning of 2020, experts disussed energy efficiency in the air-conditioning sector, as well as cooling gases and alternative technologies with low carbon footprints in order to eliminate

HFC.The head of the Ozone Team at the Center on Information

Management and Energy Development in Cuba, Nelson Espinosa, said that it is imperative to save energy in the air-conditioning sector by using technologies developed for crucial fields of the Cuban economy such as tourism and healthcare.

According to Espinosa, this is essential to mitigate climate change, a problem which Cuba pays special attention to.

Espinosa noted that the country has controlled the introduction and use of equipment with certain energy efficiency values such as refrigerators, with the objective of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide gases to the atmosphere, both directly by the equipment or indirectly through energy consumption.

Representatives of the UN Development Program stated that the implementation of these projects will help Cuba consolidate strategies such as the National Economic and Social Development Plan through 2030, the Policy for the Potential Development of Renewable Energy Sources, and the Efficient Use of Energy.

The achievements Cuba has attained in the reduction of HFC consumption are already noticeable. In 2017, the country won the Ozone Award in Canada, the highest recognition granted by the Montreal protocol for controlling and eliminating the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. The ozone layer serves as an umbrella that protects the planet from harmful radiations of the sun.

HAVANA.- Specialists are successfully using Surfacen, a Cuban medicine developed to treat a respiratory distress syndrome in premature babies as well as other respiratory diseases in children and adults.

This exogenous pulmonary surfactant helps to reduce the infant mortality rate, which ranges between 0.2 and 0.3 per each 1,000 live births, the head of Cuba’s National Neonatology Group, Andrés Morilla, told The Havana Reporter.

Surfacen, a porcine-derived lung surfactant, was developed by the National Animal Health Center and has been used regularly since 1990, with different clinical trials proving its safety and effectiveness, the expert noted.

For example, research of its treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome won the 2017 Grand Annual Health Prize.

During the latest 8th International Congress on Emergencies and Intensive Care, URGRAV 2019, the head of that study, Dr. Valentín Moya, said that the fourth phase began two years ago and involves 15 pediatric intensive care units in 13 Cuban provinces.

The ongoing clinical trial of phase IV was conducted on 34 patients –with an outcome of 29 survivors- and recorded 100 percent recovery of the oxygenation levels after the treatment was administered.

According to Moya, phase III of the clinical trial showed a 42 percent reduction of the infant mortality rate in children under five, who are the most vulnerable to the disease.

Meanwhile, Morilla explained that other studies being held associate this product with molecules of other medicines such as antibiotics or steroids, with the objective of turning it into a carrier that would treat diseases such as bronchial

asthma and bronchopneumonia in their early stages.

Surfacen reduces superficial tension by supplying the deficiency of the endogenous surfactant. As a result, the partial pressure of arterial oxygen increases.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome is caused by pulmonary and extra-pulmonary diseases such as traumas and infections.

Most exogenous surfactants are produced in developed countries at a high cost; hence, the development of this medicine in Cuba has a great economic impact.

The latest research on Surfacen was presented during the 8th URGRAV Congress held recently at Havana’s Convention Center.

Nearly 300 doctors, nurses and intensive care technicians from 15 countries attended the event, which also addressed the internship program, cardiopulmonary-cerebral resuscitation and academic alternatives in life support training.

By MarnieFIALLO

Surfacen: New Applications of Cuban Medicine

By LisbetRODRIGUEZ

Cuba Committed to Reducing Greenhouse Gases

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6 CULTURE

HAVANA.- The 18th edition of the International ''Guillermo Barreto in Memoriam'' Drum Festival, Cuba s main event dedicated to percussion and its different manifestations, came to a successful close in the Cuban capital.

This year dedicated to Spain, the festival brought famous Cuban and foreign artists together in Havana, with a top notch program that surpassed the expectations of the Cuban public.

Outstanding Spanish flamenco musicians attended the festival including Ketama Trio, one of the most popular contemporary groups, popular folk singer Falete, pianist, singer and composer Laura de los Ángeles, double bassist Javier Colina, percussionist José Montaña, and Pantax fusion music band, among others.

Cuba was represented by some of the best musicians, especially legendary rumba bands like Muñequitos de Matanzas and Yoruba Andabo.

Among the most popular Cuban bands were Los Van Van, Adalberto Álvarez y su Son, Habana D´Primera, Pupy y Los que Son Son, Alain Pérez, Elito Revé

y su Charangón, Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor, El Niño y La Verdad, and El Expresso de Cuba, together with pianist Javier “Caramelo” Mazó.

The solo performers included Cimafunk, Brenda Navarrete, Rodney Barreto and Oliver Valdés, who are all young artists with brilliant futures in Cuban music.

One of the festival’s highlights was the collaboration of Spanish and Cuban musicians, an extraordinary fusion of talent along with the exploration of unbounded musical manifestations playing off of both cultures musical traditions.

The Spanish and Cuban percussionists had to be in sync with each other while staying true to their own sound, allowing for an explosion of musical colors when it all came together.

As always, the program of the Drum Festival included the percussion contest, lectures, meetings with artistic teaching students and the casino and rumba dance competitions.

A jury made up of famous Cuban musicians were in charge of testing the

participants’ skills playing the conga drum, either solo performances or jam sessions, featuring a large variety of musical genres such as Afro-Cuban rhythms, son montuno and Latin jazz, among others.

The dance competition has summoned incredible, international participants throughout its nearly 20 years

of existence, and this year the awards went to one Japanese and two Chilean dancers.

With the closing of this year s festival, which was also dedicated to Havana’s 500 years of founding, the organizers are now focused on the upcoming festival which, they announced, will be dedicated to Africa.

By YanisbelPEÑA

Flamenco at Cuban Drum Festival

HAVANA.- Cuba will host the traveling festival ‘A Bridge to Havana’ for the eighth occasion, an event aimed at establishing cooperative ties between artists from the island and the rest of the world.

This year, the event will be enhanced by the presence of Spanish duo Andy and Lucas, who will share the stage with Cuban musicians Jorge Luis Robaina and his band Karamba; Nassiry Lugo and his band Moneda Dura; David Blanco; Adrian Berazaín, and Jorgito Kamancola.

One of the main features of this edition, to be held from April 22th to 29th, is that it will also be taken to other central and western provinces of Cuba, in order to “extend this cultural bridge and conduct concerts in other provincial capitals, where fusion music is celebrated,” said Robaina, organizer of the festival.

The performances will start on April 23 at the Santa Ana Center, in Trinidad (Sancti Spíritus). Then the festival will be taken to the Costa Sur Cabaret, in Cienfuegos; the Varadero Amphitheater, in Matanzas; the El Sauce Center, in Havana, and finally the Rumayor Cabaret, in Pinar del Río, where it will conclude, on Sunday 28th.

This will be a good opportunity for the Spanish singers to promote their most recent CD, Nueva Vida, which they took on tour to several Latin American and European countries.

Record production has taken a new turn in the lives of Andy and Lucas, not only on the personal level – with the birth of their respective children – but also with the change of musical genre and fusion with other genres, such as reggaeton.

Cuban musician Nassiry Lugo, for his part, will return to the Cuban stage after spending several years outside

of the country. In this event, he will premiere his most recent collaboration with the Karamba band, Ay Lola, available on main digital music platforms.

This festival will also promote the most recent record production of Karamba, Desahogos, whose main albums include El Burrito, Mi amor anda perdido por Madrid, and Cómeme featuring Lugo.

According to the organizer of the event, this edition strays from the traditional festival style to become a more commercial show, as it serves as a platform to show artists´ most recent productions.

“We will create a very interactive performance, as we will sing with other artists, share the stage with invited guests and of course, there will be a special moment for Andy and Lucas, as Cubans have followed them until this point,” added Robaina.

‘A Bridge to Havana’ came into being ten years ago in the city of Zaragoza with the objective of performing rhythms such as rumba, flamenco, reggae, rock and roll and hip hop on the same stage.

The first three editions were conducted in Spain with the participation of Cuban musicians. Since the fourth edition, the festival has been held in Cuba, where it has not only reached Havana but other regions of the country too, highlighting Cuban music internationally.

“There is a lot of interaction with Spain in my life. I was there for more than 10 years, doing my best to get into the music market there, and for that reason I have wanted to incorporate the bands that I have worked with as well as other local musicians that are well known by Cuban audiences,” commented Robaina.

Throughout all of its editions, eight in Cuba and 13

since its foundation, the festival has counted on the participation of renowned musicians from different countries, including Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Argentina. In the future, they hope to incorporate French artists.

“I think that right now Cuba is a window, that even though it is not lucrative, allows visibility to visiting bands from the musical and cultural point of view, while allowing the Cubans to perform in other scenarios,” noted the leader of Karamba.

By AriannaLEON

Cuban and Spanish Artists Build ‘A Bridge to Havana’

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7SPOTLIGHT

Havana.- More than 300 artists from 52 countries, represented by both individual and collective projects, will participate in the upcoming XIII Havana Biennial, to take place from April 12th to May 12th.

The event, considered one of the most important in the world, makes contemporary artistic evolution and thinking visible, while fostering interaction between creators, curators, experts and institutions,and promoting sustainable development without impeding artistic vision.

The Havana Biennial was created 35 years ago to promote the work of young artists and new ways of conceptualization and production, with many fresh ideas and a high aesthetic value.

This year’s edition, entitled La construcción de lo possible (The construction of what’s possible), will count on the presence of nine Cuban National Visual Arts awardees - Manuel Mendive, Roberto Fabelo, René Francisco Rodríguez, José Manuel Fors, José Villa Soberón, Pedro de Oraá, Pedro Pablo Oliva, Eduardo Ponjuán and José A. Toirac – for curatorial work.

Important foreign intellectuals will also enhance the event with their presence: Ticio Escobar, from Paraguay; Boaventura de Souza Santos, from Portugal; Senegalese critic Babacar Mbow, and Colombian writer Carlos Jauregui.

The main venues of the Biennial include the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center; the National Fine Arts Museum; the Alicia Alonso Grand Theater of Havana; the University of Arts (ISA); the Havana Malecón (seawall) and the project Detrás del Muro (Behind the Wall); the Chullima Workshop; the Factoría Habana Gallery, and the Visual Arts Development Center, among other institutions.

Parallel activities will be conducted during the event, including exhibitions, festivals, fashion shows and Cuban and foreign design exhibits. Talks and presentations, for their part, will take place at the Havana Convention Center.

For the first time, the Biennial will extend to other national and international entities located outside Havana. In addition to the capital, the event will take place in the provinces of Matanzas, Pinar del Río, Cienfuegos and Camagüey. The goal of the greater influence to be a participatory-reflective interaction between emerging practices and groups, institutions and other entities that promote artistic creation.

The Pinar del Río province will welcome the Pharmacy Project, while Matanzas will be the venue of Intermittent River, an initiative by artist Magdalena Campos. Cienfuegos proposes the collective exhibit Mar adentro (The Sea Inside), a tribute to

the bicentennial anniversary of this city, while Camagüey will join the International Video Art Festival.

The San Alejandro National Fine Arts Academy, Casa de las Américas and the René Portocarrero Experimental Graphic Art and Serigraphy workshops will also host parallel exhibits, which will include collective and individual series, performance art and workshops.

This year, the Biennial is celebrating the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the San Cristóbal de La Habana Village. For this reason, a project to develop a Cultural Corridor on Línea Street is included among the activities, in partnership with the European Union.

The objective of this initiative, directed by Cuban architect Vilma Bartolomé, is to transform the public spaces that are located along this central Havana street, including transformed sidewalks, streets, signals, groves, theaters, bookstores, cafés, restaurants, galleries and museums.

By doing so, the project hopes to favor the beautification of the city: to promote culture from an inclusive approach, encourage participation of the public,and foster the development of communication strategy and creative lab training programs.

The event highlights the role that design plays in contemporary creation and in the reality of Cuba and the region in the fields of industry, economy, society and culture.

One of the highlights of this edition includes an exhibit by artist Esther Aldaz (the Canary Islands), who tries to establish a link between the future and the way that Cubans interpret her work.

This exhibit, based on the project ‘What we are talking about when we talk about future,’ aims to identify the relationship between words, the future and people’s perspectives through questionnaires.

The Havana Biennial, whose objective is to show the work of professionals and institutions that are high quality and hardworking examples, creativity and innovation, will welcome a high number of artists from all over the world.

The most represented Spanish-speaking nations include Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Mexico, while Africa will be represented by artists from Mali, the Republic of Congo, Benin, Kenya, Morocco, the Republic of Senegal, Nigeria and Egypt.

The Middle East will be represented by artists coming from Syria and Iran; the Caribbean by Barbados, Martinique, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic; Asia by Japan, China, India and the Philippines; and Europe, by Spain, Finland, Germany, France and Portugal.

By LizBOBADILLA

Havana Welcomes Artists from Around the World

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

CULTURE

UPCOMING EVENTS

XXIV International

Urban Landscape

Dance Festival (Abr 3-7)

International Circus

Festival(CIRCUBA , Jun

26-30)

9THE CARIBBEAN

HAVANA.- The Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Timothy Harris, rejected the inclusion of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member countries on the European Union (EU) blacklist on deficiencies in financial affairs.

When referring to that list during the recent 30th Conference of the CARICOM Heads of Government, Harris questioned the EU’s stance on interfering in the internal affairs of regional countries, and called it an attack against sovereignty.

“That stance reminds us of a different era when we had to follow the orders of our colonial masters, who imposed trade laws and hindered our development,” the prime minister said at the conference held in February.

In 2017, the European Union presented its first blacklist of tax havens, which it considered as a juridical and political instrument to fight fraud and tax evasion and included only 17 “non-cooperative tax jurisdictions”.

According to the blacklist, the territories listed have failed to comply with certain requirements or refused to adopt measures to reform their tax system in order to abide by European transparency standards.

Regarded as positive by some countries but with suspicion by others, that first blacklist included American Samoa, Macao, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Bahrain, Mongolia, Namibia, Tunisia, Guam, Palau, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Barbados –the last four are members of the CARICOM.

Two months later, several territories were removed from that list: South Korea, Macao, Mongolia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Panama, plus two CARICOM member countries: Grenada and Barbados. That decision was made after the EU economy and finance

ministers agreed that those countries would have to take on political commitments to change the identified deficiencies, and advance toward international standards of good governance.

The EU also revealed a second “gray” list of territories that fail to comply with its standards: Andorra, Armenia, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Turkey, Isle of Man, Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Swaziland, Botswana, Peru, Uruguay, New Caledonia, Jamaica, Bermuda and Cayman Islands –the last three in the Caribbean region.

After the list was first announced, CARICOM General Secretary Irwin LaRocque warned that the regional countries had been included on the list even though they had not been mentioned by relevant supervisory authorities such as the International Financial Action Group or the OECD Global Forum.

“The EU’s decision has taken into consideration new, unilateral criteria that go far beyond the tax transparency

standards and international responsibility so widely accepted,” he stressed.

The NGO Oxfam said in a report that if the EU applies its own criteria to its member countries, five of them would also be included on the list.

Oxfam stressed that one year after the lists were first revealed, the legitimacy and efficiency of the selection process have been questioned.

Oxfam estimated that France, Spain, Italy and Germany have failed to collect nearly 35.1 billion Euros in 2015 alone, which would have been enough to have each country’s budget assigned to developing healthcare multiplied by 354.

By depriving the countries from the money needed to finance education, health and job generation, the tax havens play a part in increasing poverty and inequality in the world. The people of each country are affected, especially women, the Oxfam text mentioned.

The NGO believes that “far beyond the technicalities, big political interests lie behind the blacklist, as some countries are too powerful to be included on the list themselves.” The United States and Switzerland stand as the best examples.

Oxfam warned that the tax havens are also within the EU itself; however, the bloc assessed countries outside its borders only, excluding some of the world’s greatest tax heavens.

“In order to be trustworthy, the EU must have order in its own house first,” added the NGO.

A blacklist of tax havens is only a tool and not a solution per se, but it can help stop tax evasion if it has a strong, objective and ambitious nature, Oxfam said.

The truth is that while few people get rich with this capital –which largely results from arms, drug trafficking and corruption– the economies of many countries are practically paralyzed from a lack of liquidity.

By OdalysTROYA

CARICOM Questions European Union’s Blacklist

10 CULTURE

HAVANA.- This year, the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC) is celebrating its 60th anniversary as it takes pride in having spread the passion for cinema all over the country.

To celebrate the occasion, throughout this year the Cuban Film Library– at Havana’s 23 y 12 Theater – will showcase a retrospective of the important works produced by ICAIC throughout the last 60 years. Those works include classic films such as Memorias del Subdesarrollo (1968) and Fresa y Chocolate (1993), directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea.

Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate) was the first Cuban film to receive an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Film category and won the Goya Award for best Spanish-speaking foreign film.

This March, an event took place in Havana to discuss the foundation of the Cuban Film Institute. This event was attended by French-Spanish intellectual Ignacio Ramonet, who discovered Cuba through its cinema and conducted his master’s thesis in this field.

Included in the celebration of this anniversary, ICAIC opened the Santiago Álvarez Hall at Havana’s Infanta Multiscreen Cinema. This hall is named after one of the most outstanding film figures in Latin America, who won more than 80 awards in national contests and international festivals.

To celebrate the centennial anniversary of the famous Cuban filmmaker, the institution decided to dedicate the abovementioned hall to the screening of documentaries, which will be the main part of the hall’s program.

In addition, at the Ceremony for the 60th Anniversary of the institution held on March 22nd at the Charles Chaplin Theater - ICAIC granted the 2019 National Film Award to producer Miguel Mendoza,director of photography Livio Delgado and sound engineer Jerónimo Labrada.

Other celebratory activities include the opening of a bookstore at the 23 y 12

Theater – the first in Cuba to be dedicated to literature on filmmaking and the screening of the documentary Retrato de un artista siempre adolescente (Portray of an ever-young artist), which pays tribute to filmmaker Julio García Espinosa.

According to historical records, ICAIC was constituted under the first revolutionary act of the cultural field (No. 169), which was signed in 1959 by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and other authorities.

The act establishes the nature, strategy and purposes that would define filmmaking in the country, following the principle that “cinema is art.”

Article I of this act defined the purpose of “organizing, establishing and developing the Film Institute upon the basis of the artistic criteria included in Cuba’s cultural tradition and the objectives of the Revolution.”

It’s worthwhile to mention that ICAIC fostered the formation and reinforcement of film professionals in the continent and has screened a variety of international works to increase the cultural knowledge of the general public.

Thanks to the efforts of this entity, a system of outside broadcasting units took the cinema to the most remote areas of the country, making it accessible to everyone.

In the 1960s, ICAIC also sponsored the creation of the Sound Experimentation Group, which was dedicated to creating soundtracks for documentaries and films.

The objective of this group, which was directed by Leo Brouwer and composed of Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Noel Nicola, Sara González and other members of the so-called Cuban Nueva Trova, was to highlight Cuban music outside the criteria of the market.

ICAIC has undoubtedly had an influence within other art expressions in Cuba and its main event the Latin American New Film Festival, to be held this year from December 5th to 15th is still one of the most prestigious in the continent.

By MarthaSANCHEZ

Cuban Film Institute Celebrates 60th Anniversary

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

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11PHOTO FEATURE

HAVANA.- One of the places in Havana that most attracts visitors from Europe, especially Spain, as well as other parts of the world, is the Havana Club Rum Museum.

Havana is showcasing its defining features these days, as it will celebrate its 500 years of founding on November 16. Hence, all those who have visited or plan to visit the capital this year come looking for cultural and traditional elements such as Cuban rum.

The Havana Club Rum Museum was inaugurated on March 30th, 2000, and has received over two million visitors interested in learning about the rum’s manufacturing but also tasting the best samples available at the museum’s bar.

In 1993, Cuba’s CubaRon Company and France’s Pernod Ricard merged to create Havana Club International S.A., which is in charge of internationally commercializing what experts consider to be the best light rum.

The Havana Club Rum Museum was thus created with the objective of spreading information about this product which, together with Cuban cigars, corroborate the high quality of what is produced on the island (a second museum of this kind exists in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba).

Located at a colonial house on Port

Avenue that was formerly owned by Count De la Mortera, the museum casts a spell on all who wish to get familiar with rum manufacturing in Cuba and of course, taste the famous Cuban liquor.

In addition to the tourists who visit the museum on their own, many Cuban travel agencies take visitors, including Cubatur, Cubanacán and Gaviota Tour, as well as the tour companies Neckerman-Thomas Cook and TUI (Germany), Vacances Air Transat, Nouvelles Frontieres and Kuoni (France) and Marsans (Spain).

The truth is that a considerable number of the Spanish tourists who come to Havana visit the museum, maybe because of the existing cultural link between the two countries, as the Spanish were the first explorers to come to the island.

French and German tourists are frequent visitors of the museum as well.

The building has different floors that show the entire rum-making process, from the moment that the sugarcane is planted. It has an art gallery, an event hall and a 1930s-style bar that visitors especially seem to like.

The museum is located in Old Havana, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982, and comprises 2.2 square kilometers of the area, frequently visited by people from around the world.

Text and Photos by RobertoF.CAMPOS

Visitors and Havana’s Rum Museum

12 LATIN AMERICA

HAVANA.- The intense propaganda that the United States is carrying out against Venezuela on social media is part of a greater effort of the White House to overthrow, at all costs, governments that refuse to abide by its hegemony-based policy in the region.

The fact that Juan Guaidó proclaimed himself as president “in charge” in the streets of Caracas without any legal or moral support whatsoever, showed that in these subversive operations, Washington and its allies ,as they threaten to intervene in other countries, are determined to go to that extent.

John Bolton, Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, announced on March 3rd that the United States is planning to create a coalition “to change the government in Venezuela,” and added that the White House is not afraid to use the infamous Monroe Doctrine for the occasion.

Experts interviewed by The Havana Reporter share the view that one of the first things the alliance would do is to tighten the political and diplomatic siege on Venezuela. The second mission would be to group the forces and means necessary for a possible military intervention, once the conditions are created.

Among the propaganda, the White House insists on making the situation even more complicated by blaming Cuba for supporting the Bolivarian leadership headed by Nicolás Maduro.

As a result, Bolton said that the Donald Trump government is ready to apply a new sanction against Cuba, to tighten financial restrictions even further.

JUSTIFYING THE AGGRESSION, A DIFFICULT TASK

There are repeatedly threats of a possible attack against Venezuela by different entities and government officials, both in the United States and abroad.

Military analysts have warned that a military intervention in Venezuelan territory would face practical challenges that make it a relatively improbable choice, and some call it imprudent.

On the other hand, according to U.S. laws, Trump must get congressional approval for any long-term conventional military action. This seems quite unlikely

since Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives.

Specialists also warn that in order to make a limited and “surgical” incursion, the White House would not necessarily rely on open voting in Congress but instead present it as a consummated event.

Few experts rule out the military plan of action, taking into consideration the unpredictable character of the current U.S. administration.

THE PENTAGON AND ITS PROPOGANDAWith regard to the aggression towards Venezuela,

the Pentagon, among other sources, announced that the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) strike group and six escort ships had been sent to sea.

Also, as part of the operation to carry out the coup plan against President Maduro, the U.S. military made sure to “leak” information to the press about alleged movement of troops to the Caribbean and South America.

The Department of State is largely responsible for the propaganda in the media, sometimes serving as the

main source.This story does not end here, in light of recent

statements by representatives of the Trump administration.There are more chapters ahead, and although they

do not exclude Venezuela, will focus also on Nicaragua and Cuba, which some of Trump’s advisors could see as a counterweight to the recent accusations that the tycoon is facing within the U.S.

The coup-like and aggressive incursions against the Nicaraguan government between April and July last year were defeated by Nicaraguan authorities with the neutralization of terrorists and a comprehensive national negotiation policy.

The upcoming chapters of this series of attempts for regime change may very well target Nicaragua and Cuba, supported by the extremely conservative sectors of the U.S. Congress.

As it has happened with similar operations, the ultra-rightwing sectors, who are experts in lying and promoting (mis)Information Operations, are once again running the risk of making fools of themselves because they have not learned the lessons of history.

USA vs Venezuela: Debate on Foreign InterventionBy RobertoGARCIA

GUATEMALA CITY.- After two months of proselytism, Guatemalan political parties initiated an unprecedented 90-day election campaign during which they have the green light to present their candidates and future governmental programs.

Twenty-six left, center and right-wing parties will try to win 340 municipal corporations, 160 Congress seats and 20 Central American Parliament seats. However, this time they will have to meet new regulations due to the amendment of the Political Parties and Electoral Act (LEPP).

For some of them, uncertainty about

their participation in the elections is in the past as they have already been accredited. Others, however, are undertaking legal actions or waiting to be registered through the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE).

The process prior to the start of the election campaign – which began March 18th– was characterized by mutual accusations, settling of scores (two mayor candidates were killed) and lawsuits that could ultimately change the total number of candidates listed on the ballots.

The competition for presidency and vice-presidency of the Republic among the 24

candidates (one party is part of an alliance) will be very tight in these elections, where there is an unprecedented participation of women.

Sandra Torres (Nationalist Change Union) and Zury Ríos (now with the Valor Party) are participating again, while former Attorney General Thelma Aldana (Semilla) and indigenous leader Thelma Cabrera (Movement for People´s Liberation) have joined the race.

Five other women are also candidates, including Claudia Valiente, Blanca Jolopand y Liliana Hernández, for the left-wing parties Convergencia, Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity and WINAQ, respectively; Blanca Alfaro, for Citizens Prosperity; Yara Argueta, for Commitment, Renovation and Order, and Betty Marroquín, for the National-Nation Convergence Front, which is now in power.

The financial backing for each political organization that nominates mayor, parliament and presidential candidates totals 29.6 million quetzals (about 3.8 million

dollars) – a figure lower than that authorized four years ago (58.2 million quetzals / 7.6 million dollars).

The main electoral entity will play a decisive role in the fulfillment of these regulations, even though it is already facing crossfire for those who refuse to abandon old school rules and benefit from illicit financing.

The changes made to the LEPP allow the contending campaigns to enjoy the same opportunities when placing advertisements on billboards or in the media, which will grant them closer access to the population.

Fighting violence, allowing access to decent and well-paid jobs, providing quality health and education, are some of the main issues - although many of them were included in the campaign promises of the party currently in power: National-Nation Convergence Front.

The Guatemalan citizens will have the last word on June 16th, when they will go to the polls. They are the ones who will have the final say if political discourse doesn’t match their interests and concerns

By MaitteMARREROUnprecedented Election Campaign UnderwayGUATEMALA

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13ECONOMY

HAVANA.- Throughout this year, the work at the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM) has been characterized by the approval of new users and the beginning of entrepreneurial operations.

This major project, which hopes to foster Cuba’s sustainable economic development, is increasingly catching the interest of foreign businesses while maintaining investments.

In this sense, the project plans to continue the development of infrastructure and services in order to facilitate the rapid establishment of new users and licensees.

By the end of February this year, ZEDM announced the addition of the Canadian-capital company WYM Group S.A. as a new user at the Zone.

This company will produce and commercialize household paper products and cleaning products.

According to the information provided by the ZEDM website, this Cuban subsidiary company - which is part of the Canadian company Wym INC. was authorized to operate in Cuba for the next 25 years, after it was registered at the Commercial Registry.

The company’s productions will include napkins, disposable handkerchiefs, paper towels and all-purpose cleaner for domestic and commercial use. These products, which will meet high standards of quality, will be directed both as exports and products for the domestic market.

The plant, to be located at ZEDM’s Sector A, will have high-tech equipment and will generate part of its electric power from solar panels.

According to the report, the plant is expected to obtain the raw materials from the national market, which will contribute to strengthening production of other sectors of the Cuban economy.

Headquartered in Quebec, Wym INC is dedicated to international development, project management and manufacturing sanitary products.

WYM Group S.A. is the first Quebecoise company to establish partnership with ZEDM.

Meanwhile, the Spanish company Profood Service S.A. which will manufacture and commercialize food, drink and vending machines - started its operations at ZEDM in February.

Profood Service’s products, which

are intended for the national hotel and store sector, include juice and cocktail beverages, liqueurs, dried fruits, cereals, coffee and cocoa, among others, ZEDM announced on its Twitter account.

The company’s plant will also assemble the vending machines for some of these products and will provide maintenance, repair and replacement services.

The factory, located in the agribusiness processing zone of ZEDM’s Sector A, covers an area of 2,000 square meters with modern equipment and a highly-qualified staff.

This entity is expected to produce more than 300 different products at full capacity, manufacturing about 26 million units per year.

The company’s production processes

include business relations with local companies to obtain raw materials that meet the international standards of quality. Products such as sugar, fruit pulp, sugarcane alcohol, flour and starch are obtained from the national market, the report indicated.

Profood Service, S.A. is a subsidiary company of the Spanish trading company Hotelsa Alimentación S.L., which is dedicated to manufacturing and commercializing food and drink products for the international hotel sector.

The company has branches in Europe and Latin America, including Cuba, where it has more than 25 years of experience in food supply.

By MasielFERNANDEZ

New Business Partners at Mariel ZED

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14 ECONOMY

HAVANA.- The rate of informal jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be the highest in the world, the International Labor Organization (ILO) revealed in a recent report.

According to the study entitled World Employment and Social Outlook: 2019 Trends, more than 53 percent of the economically active population in the region is estimated to work in the informal sector.

Even in countries that are considered to have medium-high to high income, these indicators exceed 40 percent, as is the case in Argentina (47.2 percent), Brazil (46), Chile (40.5) and Mexico (53.4).

The persistence of informal employment in this region is one of the factors that has a direct effect on the increasing multifaceted poverty index, which assesses a number of depravations in education, health, job, social security, housing and standards of living in general.

It is estimated that 20 percent of the regional population was affected by multidimensional poverty in 2014, which mostly impacts rural areas.

The report demonstrated that in some Central American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras where informal hiring represents between 70 and 80 percent of total jobs- 50 percent or more of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty.

The analysis also reiterated that the rate of informal employment is higher among low-income workers.

Therefore, in 2013 informal employment stood at over 72 percent within the poorest 10 percent of the population, while it accounted for less than 30 percent within the richest

10 percent.In fact, the study illustrated that a simultaneous and self-reinforced relation

between informal employment, poverty and social exclusion is evident, and this situation ends up creating a vicious circle of inequality and deprivation affecting more multiple generations.

On the other hand, the continually high rate of informal jobs in the region shows that this form of employment is the only way for many people to have work and try to keep afloat.

The report warns, however, that the goal of beating poverty is far from achievable for the majority of informal workers, as this situation actually makes it harder for them.

The reality is that in most of these cases, this kind of employment entails low wages and limited access to social welfare, family benefits and foreign funding.

Nearly 65 percent of the workers in the wholesale and retail trade sector, for instance, are hired informally and the distribution largely differs between countries.

While in Costa Rica it hardly surpasses 20 percent, in Ecuador this indicator lies around 90 percent.

If the current trend, marked by precarious working conditions, continues, it would be impossible for many countries to accomplish one of the Sustainable Development Goals: ensuring decent jobs for all.

Although alarming, the current employment scene in Latin America and the Caribbean is not the only one with a high index of informal employment in the world.

It is estimated that two billion workers 61 percent of the world’s economically active population are engaged in the informal job sector.

Informal Employment

Detrimental to Workers

By IvetteFERNANDEZ

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15SPORTS

HAVANA.- The potential of Cuban baseball is limitless. Amazingly talented baseball players with supernatural skills arise all over the country, almost as if by magic. They can succeed at any level of the competition, as has been proved over the years.

And then a surprising announcementwas made recently: The Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) made a gigantic step by signing an agreement with the Little League Baseball International (LLBI), which will allow children between 4 and 12 years to experience athletic growth with higher goals and expectations.

“This is a happy day. It is a historic day for Cuban baseball and for Cuban children. It is a dream come true after many years of negotiations,” FCB President HiginioVélez said at a press conference at the Latin American Stadium in Havana.

The agreement aims to contribute towardthe development of baseball by further increasingCubanchildren’s interest in practicing the sport, while enriching the proven quality ofLittle League in the Caribbean and the world.

Vélez also said that this agreement is an incentive for families, children and community coaches who, thanks to their work and efforts, will be able to represent Cuba at such a big event as the Little League World Series held every year in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

It is an honor to welcome Cuba into the Minor Leagues, said LLBI President and Executive

Director Stephen Keener, who added that the organization’s main objective is to develop friendly relations between children who play baseball.

“Over the course of the negotiations we hadmajor political support, including letters from the governor of Pennsylvania, U.S. senators and congressmen, and many community officials,” said Keener.

Cuba had been banned from participating in the Little Leagues due to the blockade imposed by the United States against the island over 50 years ago.

This agreement adds to the one signed last December between FCB and Major League Baseball (MLB) to normalizehiringCuban baseball players by any of the League’s 30 teams.

From now on and as long as the agreements are withstood –something that may be difficult due to the U.S. blockade against Cuba and thepotentialagendas of U.S. presidents- Cuban baseball players will be able to participate in the best competitions around the world starting from the little leagues and at local levels

By YasielCANCIO

A Giant Step in Baseball

HAVANA.- Cuban athlete Arlenis Sierra is one of the best cyclists in the world. The 26-year-old, who is the current captain of the Astana professional team, is getting ready for the season at Havana’s Reynaldo Paseiro Cycling Track.

Sierra’s list of achievements is extraordinary: winner of the California 2017 Tour and Pan-American Champion in 2018, and three-time gold medalist at the 2018 Barranquilla Central American and Caribbean Games, among other titles.

During one of her training sessions, the young cyclist granted an exclusive interview to The Havana Reporter to talk about her athletic career as well as her main challenges in 2019.

After winning the Grand Cadel Evans Race held in Australia last January, Sierra - a native of the town Manzanillo, in the eastern province of Granma, is now placed ninth in the world’s road cycling ranking, the highest she’s placed so far in her athletic career.

“I didn’t expect it but it is great news and a good start for me this

year. This is my third season with the Astana team, a squad that demands high intensity,” Sierra said.

In 2018, the athlete won two titles: one in Guangxi, China, and the other one in L’Ardeche, France. When discussing these results, she commented: “I am at the peak of my competitive level; I think I’m reaching athletic maturity, I try to focus on my daily workouts and especially on my team.”

Sierra joined the squad in 2017. About her experience as a professional athlete and the achievements she has attained, she said, “it’s complicated; coming to Europe, where there’s a different culture and people don’t have a high opinion of the Latin American athletes makes the task more difficult.”

“As team captain, I have had to face all kinds of situations—conflicts of ego, differences of opinion between teammates—but with patience, preparation and hard work we have been able to attain good results,” said Sierra, who was also the Pan-American champion in Guadalajara 2011.

By AlexisRUAArlenis Sierra: A Modest Cyclist

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16

Auditory disorders represent a frequent health problem in children. According to statistics provided by the WHO, 1-3 out of a thousand children are born with severe bilateral auditory deficiencies. If there is a failure to detect and treat congenital cochlear damage and/or those that are expressed in the pre-verbal stage (before the age of 3), they have a negative impact on the cognitive development, so they undoubtedly become a health problem.

Audiological Rehabilitation Program

www.smcsalud.cu