It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Issue 17 of Cubaplus magazine, the first
issue of the New Year and, as is our custom, full of information about the many wonderful
activities that await you in Cuba.
At the top of the list is the 13th Habanos Festival,
scheduled for February, and which continues to be a
celebration of one of Cuba's finest and best-known
products worldwide: the Habano cigar. And all of
those who, like me, appreciate a superior cigar will
again be satisfyingly surprised at the new launchings
of top quality smokes, including a shorter but highly
aromatic and intensely-flavoured Partagás that is more
in keeping with the changing needs to today's smokers.
Our readers also know that Cubaplus is dedicated
to all aspects of Cuban culture, so be sure to check
out the feature on Cuba's Tobacco Painter, Milton
Bernal Castro and photographer Miguel Puldon
Villareal, who have a special place reserved for their
works at the Habanos Festival for their excellent work
with cigars. And don't miss Cuban abstract painter
Rigoberto Mena, who through his work expresses his
innermost perceptions of his surroundings, as well as
our two featured photographers, Nelson RamÃrez de
Arellano and Liudmila Velasco, who link their lives
and images to show a mirror of themselves and the
world in which they live. And for music lovers, we
have a special interview with Haila MarÃa Mompie,
one of Cuba's major female voices who talks about her
childhood and dreams as an artist.
In this issue, you'll also read about CUBADISCO
2011, which has nothing to do with discotheques but
is an International Fair and Competition to bring to
national and international attention what the Cuban
recording industry has been up to.
Another favourite of the Cubaplus team is the
International Book Fair, also in February and this year
celebrating its 20th edition. With great enthusiasm, we
invite you to take a look at the feature on page xx,
where you'll learn more about the Fair as well as about
the fascinating old colonial military complex in which
it takes place.
This issue, as well as our previous issue, also
provides a special glimpse into Cuba's International
Craftsmanship Fair, FIART 2010. Always a special
experience for us, this year, the official program
included the presentation of the Cubaplus magazine.
To start off the New Year with something unique,
right in the centre of this issue you'll find a Special
Section on Mexico, focusing on the beautiful tourist
destination now known as "Cancún and the Treasures
of the Caribbean."
We, the Cubaplus team, also enjoyed a special
end-of-year dinner at the recently-opened Castropol
Restaurant.
I'm sure you'll enjoy reading this issue, which
continues the established tradition of Cubaplus in
presenting art, culture, fashion and music, as well
as touching on medical advances - in this issue, an
ecologically-produced nutritional supplement for
cancer patients. Enjoy.
