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Pope Benedict XVI will visit Cuba in next march

Pope Benedict XVI approved the itinerary for the trip he will make on March 26-28 to Cuba, where he will be received by President Raul Castro, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Cuba, or COCC, said Sunday.

The pontiff will travel from Mexico to the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, 944 kilometers (585 miles) from Havana, on March 26, arriving in the early afternoon and “will be officially received by President Raul Castro Ruz, by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Cuba and by the archbishop of this city,” Dionisio Garcia, the COCC said in a statement.

The program established for his stay on the communist-ruled island was presented to the pope by the officials in charge of his travels after the preparatory meetings they held with Cuban government and COCC authorities during the visit they made to Havana in mid-December.

The 84-year-old Benedict XVI will travel to Mexico and then to Cuba on his second visit to Latin America - he was in Brazil in 2007 - and his first to Spanish-speaking countries in the region.

The pope’s trip will coincide with the celebration on the island of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the image of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, Cuba’s patron saint.

The pontiff will be transported in an open vehicle from the airport to the archbishopric in Santiago de Cuba and on the afternoon of his arrival he will celebrate an open-air Mass on the Plaza de la Revolucion Antonio Maceo for the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, the COCC said.

Later, he will travel to the nearby provincial town of El Cobre, where he will be housed in the priests’ residence and the next day he will make a private visit to the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre there to “pray for several minutes” before the saint’s venerated image.

In August 2010, the image of the Virgin of Charity, accompanied by church authorities, began an unprecedented tour of the island, traveling some 30,000 kilometers (18,600 miles) to churches, schools, hospitals, prisons and public squares all over the country, a pilgrimage that concluded last Dec. 30 with a farewell Mass in Havana.

The pope’s visit to Cuba will conclude in Havana, where upon his arrival in the capital at midday on March 27, he will be welcomed at Jose Marti airport by Cardinal Jaime Ortega, auxiliary bishops, religious and civil officials.

On that day, Benedict XVI will officially meet with Castro and also with Cuban Catholic authorities at the Apostolic Nunciature, where he will be staying.

Rounding out his agenda, the pope is scheduled on March 28 to celebrate a Mass on Havana’s emblematic Plaza de la Revolución José Martí.

The pontiff’s visit will be the second by a pope to Cuba, after John Paul II’s “historic” 1998 trip to the island.

U.S. citizens enjoy the Jazz Plaza '2011

HAVANA, Cuba -- The 27th International Festival Jazz Plaza 2011, the most important such gathering in Cuba, opened last night with a gala featuring jazz musicians Arturo O'Farrill from the US and Cuba’s Gonzalo Rubalcaba, along with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Until December 18th musicians from various countries are participating at the Jazz Place 2011, presided over by Cuba’s Chucho Valdés. The Jazz Plaza 2011 includes concerts and jam sessions in theaters, music halls and Havana hotels.

The United States is also bringing guitarist Kash Killion and sax player Neil Leonard, who is accompanied by artists from the Berklee College of Music, the academic institution where he is a professor.

Fans authorized by the US government to travel to Havana also came from the United States to attend the festival. The group of US citizens traveled to Havana thanks to the permission granted to the Jazz Times magazine and the US tourism agency Insight Cuba which focuses on cultural tours.

Foreign guests also include Laberinto del Caos from Mexico, Naad Braahnam from India, the Nori Brothers from Japan, the Triple Ace Trio from Austria, and musicians Everton Pablo Paul from Canada and Mateuz Kolakowsky from Poland.

The 7th Jazz Plaza Theoretical Colloquium is running parallel to the event during which master lectures, classes, video screenings and other activities will take place.

Paradisus Rio de Oro, number one among TUI UK customers

Paradisus Rio de Oro is the hotel preferred by customers of the leading tour operator TUI UK & Ireland (First Choice Holidays & Thomson Holidays) as their holiday destination in Cuba, based on TUI UK polls conducted during the current 2010-2011 winter season with clients who expressed a predilection for the hotel and on comments which considered Paradisus Rio de Oro a first-class resort to which they wanted to return.

Customers particularly highlighted the excellence of its Royal Service, fabulous location, exquisite cuisine and attentive friendly workers.

TUI UK polls also indicated that the hotel in general as well as the quality and variety of the food, excellent service in restaurants and bars, location, comfortable rooms and entertainment facilities were the aspects most valued by guests. According to the survey, Paradisus Rio de Oro tops the list of the five leading hotels in Cuba together with Paradisus Princesa del Mar and Paradisus Varadero.

Thus, Sol Melia Cuba's Paradisus Resorts continue to merit the recognition of prestigious international tour operators and customers, due to the culture created by the company which favors high levels of quality and service considered its hallmarks.

According to TripAdvisor, the largest travel community on the web , Paradisus Rio de Oro also ranks first among the hotels in Cuba, based on more than a thousand comments lauding its excellence.

This Five Star Plus Ultra All Inclusive hotel is located on the north coast of the eastern province of Holguin, about 800 km from Havana.

Saratoga Hotel one of the best in America

HAVANA, Cuba -- The specialized British magazine Condé Nast Traveller UK included again the Saratoga Hotel, located in Old Havana, as one of the best 100 in its kind in the Americas and the Caribbean.

Executives from the British magazine released its traditional Readers’ Travel Awards, where the Saratoga ranked 16, among the over 7,000 in the region that were evaluated by the readers, using different criteria, which includes region, design, facilities, food, services, location and rooms.

This is the fourth time the Cuban hotel has been included in this exclusive list, and last year placed 10th in the same category.

Tourism industry experts, journalists and professionals have shown their admiration for the Saratoga, and included it among the top 60 hotels in the world in The Hot List of 2006.

Also, the Saratoga won the Best for Ambience & Design in the 2008 Gold List gathered by the Condé Nast Traveller UK, one of the leading magazines for this sector in the world.

Belonging to the Habaguanex S.A. tourist company, the Saratoga is a five-star hotel with over 90 rooms, including seven suites, and a wide range of services aimed at providing comfort to its guests.

One of the most attractive aspects is the centric location of the Hotel in Paseo del Prado and Dragones. Very close to places of social, historic and cultural interest like the National Capitol, the Fraternity Park, Partagas' Tobacco Factory and the Great Theather of Havana.

Cuba will authorize the sale of real state to foreigners

HAVANA, Cuba -- Negotiations with foreign investors about construction of up to 16 golf courses and condominium communities will begin in January, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero told reporters at the National Assembly on Sunday.

Marrerro’s announcement, based on a decision by the Council of Ministers at a meeting July 16-17, reverts the freeze on foreign real estate buying and selling imposed by the government in 2000, after a short-lived experiment with condominium construction in Havana.

Specific regulations for the purchase and sale of real estate by foreigners will be published before the end of the year, Marrero said. The immigration status of foreign buyers, as well as the types of contracts and statutes regulating the joint ventures between foreign investors and state companies are “being analyzed,” he added.

The 16 projects “have already been approved by the Council of Ministers, are in the process of implementation, and it’s being concluded,” Marrero told reporters, according to AFP.

Cuban development projects go through three stages — identifying a Cuban partner, obtaining approval of the foreign investment and tourism ministries, and finally getting the go-ahead from the Council of State.

Marrero said of the 16 golf course projects approved by the Council of Ministers, negotiations on four are “very advanced.” They include one project in the province of Holguín, one in Pinar del Río, and two located between Havana and the beach resort of Varadero.

This would be the government’s second run at residential real estate construction for foreigners, after it aborted a first run in the late 1990s.