News stories by Patricia Grogg, page 11

When Sara Gutiérrez began working her land, she knew a lot about hairdressing, her first profession, but nothing about agricultural techniques. 'The first crops were really bad, until I learned how to get good yields even in difficult conditions,' she said.

Cuba marked the 35th anniversary of the bombing of a Cubana airlines jet, in which 73 people were killed, with demonstrations against terrorism and a demand for the release of five government agents in prison in the United States.

This month, the Cuban government eased up on taxes and other legal aspects involved in self-employment. But experts warn that there are serious limitations standing in the way of growth of private enterprise, which is supposed to absorb hundreds of thousands of employees slashed from the public workforce.

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation criticised the situation in this Caribbean island nation in a report released three days after government media warned that a new smear campaign was being organised against the country.

The Catholic Church seems to be expecting a rise in religious sentiment among the Cuban population as a result of the climate of dialogue and more relaxed relations with the government seen since the 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II.

Women are still a small minority on Cuba’s hip hop scene. 'If the situation is hard for us nationwide, imagine what it’s like in the eastern region, where this genre has very little recognition,' says Yaneidys Tamayo, leader of the group Las Positivas.

The day that electricity arrived in the Cuban village of Jova, there were shouts, laughter and tears of joy, even among the most incredulous, who had doubted it was possible. 'I didn’t know what to do; it actually made me nervous,' Carmen Carvallosa confessed.

The city of Cienfuegos, known in Cuba as the 'Pearl of the South', is unique for its spotless cleanliness, the orderly grid pattern of its streets, its 19th century architecture and its air of 'Grande Dame' elegance. Now its past splendours, ravaged by time or left to deteriorate because of economic difficulties, are being restored.

Cuban President Raúl Castro’s announcement of coming changes to migration policy appears to be the result of repeated demands by the population for freedom to travel, a right ensnared for decades in the Cuba-United States conflict.

'I'm not racist, but at night, if I see three black men coming, I cross the street'; 'I have a black friend, but I'd never accept him as my brother-in-law'; 'Who me, racist? Not at all! But my daughter marrying a black man…' These are the kinds of comments that can frequently be heard in Cuba, where discrimination of any kind is prohibited by law.