In Africa, Obamaa s presidency couldna t help but be personal

Africa was electrified by the rise of Barack Obama, the first U.S. president of African descent. It was in Africa that he signaled a historic opening toward Cuba, took aim at the twin scourges of corruption and dictatorship and sent thousands of troops to fight one of the most terrifying disease outbreaks in decades.

Whether Cuba or Key West, it’s all about having fun

After a recent, somewhat hysterical spate of Citizen’s Voice comments about the supposed misuse of the terms “drag queen” and “female impersonator” around here – which, by many, many accounts are interchangeable – I decided to excavate an old image from an interesting evening in Havana in 2008 that featured just that. An elderly writer from New York City and I became acquainted during a trip to see Raul Castro speak on the 55th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution in Santiago de Cuba, and once back in the capital, she invited me out to “dinner and a show.”

Cuba passes law banning naming sites after Castro

President Raul Castro had already announced that his older brother did not want to be immortalized with statues or public places named with his name. Photo: Getty Images Cuba’s National Assembly approved a law on Tuesday that bans erecting commemorative statues of Fidel Castro or naming public places after him, in accordance with the wishes of the revolutionary leader who died last month.