After a two-year pause caused by the pandemic, Cubans have returned to meeting visitors face-to-face, an extremely important moment for this most gregarious of countries, and supercharging the chances of promoting exports and attract foreign investment.

Two fairs of great importance for the island will take place while this edition is in circulation: FITSaludCuba and FIHAV 2022.

The first, at PABEXPO from October 17 to 20, will be a major international event showcasing what Cuba can now do to improve people’s health, using skills and technology accumulated over many years. The quality of Cuban doctors are coupled with developments in science, biopharmaceuticals and tourism, and offers people - both Cubans and visitors - the highest quality of life-enhancing treatment.

The Havana International Fair (FIHAV 2022) meanwhile, which takes place from November 14 to 18, will be attended by exhibitors, businessmen and experts from all sectors of the national economy, attracting a wide range of potential foreign partners. There will be trade meetings, business rounds, seminars and conferences that will benefit all those present.

One exciting new part of FIHAV 2022 will be the participation of the country’s new economic stars, the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (Mipymes) and non-agricultural cooperatives. They will include many female entrepreneurs who have started businesses, and who we celebrate in an article in this edition.

As usual, this edition celebrates the riches that tourists to this, the largest of the Antilles, can discover. We focus on the eastern province of Holguín. You will also find articles on two of the most famous artists: X Alfonso and Achy Lang. Our keen eye for the visual arts turns to the magnificent work of painter Ernesto García Peña, and we look at the fashion designs of the acclaimed Ismael de la Caridad.

We are delighted to have an exclusive interview with Dr. Francisco Durán, the national director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health, face of the fight against the pandemic in Cuba during these two years, and now a true national treasure.

We look at the latest products developed on the island, despite the economic limitations caused by the blockade, efforts that deserve to be celebrated with a delicious daiquiri, for which we offer the recipe on page 102.

Enjoy! Cordially

Dominic Soave
General Director

Articles in this edition:

• Holguín, the beauty that impressed Christopher Columbus
• Guesthouse Chateau Blanc, the only one of its kind in the largest Antillean Island
• Scuba Diving at Perdiz Point
• Varadero boulevard, options for every taste
• House of a Hundred Doors, a heritage jewel
• Bacunayagua Bridge
• Dr. Durán, the face of the fight against the pandemic in Cuba
• CSMC S.A.. All health all at once
• CNCMA. We are the center
• EMCOMED. Communication as an important element
• Diversity, innovation and originality at the FAC
• Liza Camilo: New Yorker/Cuba or Cuba/New Yorker
• Ernesto García Peña between love and the beauty of body and soul
• Daylene Rodríguez Moreno: photography is an intuitive and lucid act
• Leandro Mompié and the craft of constructing forms
• 15th birthday parties in Cuba: a lasting adolescence
• Ismael de la Caridad, Cuba at the center of his designs
• X Alfonso, a man who converts feelings into music
• Achy Lang and the influence of Cuban music
• Female entrepreneurs, a valuable contribution to the national economy
• ACINOX COMERCIAL, 15 years servicing the Cuban steel industry
• The factory for factories, for sustainable development
• A solid and safe path in Cuba
• Efficiency and quality demonstrated
• Excellence backed by more than 5 decades
• Industria Electrónica, a company that thinks like a country
• Erick Hernández, a master of the ball
• The classic DAIQUIRí