Q&A: Prompting Cubans to Think and Talk

"I talk to deal with problems. In Cuba, there is too much formal, repetitive discourse and not enough directed at people, with their anxieties and joys," said Manuel Calviño, the host and writer of a television programme that tries not to add to that deficit.

MIDEAST: Music Runs Into Walls

In the West Bank, dissident voices questioning the Palestinian Authority's increasingly authoritarian rule have become rare. But a young musician in Ramallah refuses to hold his tongue.

ARGENTINA: Free Books in Public Places to Woo Readers

"This book has not been lost. It has no owner; it is part of the Argentine Free Book Movement, and it was left in this place so that you would find it."

GUATEMALA: Theatre as HIV Prevention Tool in Native Communities

Poverty, lack of access to education and taboos about sexuality have hampered campaigns for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS among indigenous communities in Guatemala. These constraints have led to the development of new ways of communicating vital information, like theatre.

OP-ED: Solid Present, Bright Future for Latin America’s Film Industry

Since the 1980s, despite chronic social crisis, Latin America has seen significant advances in economic and industrial development, which have given a boost to the region's film industry.

Films Shrink Global Problems Down to a More Human Scale

"It's bad to be rich at the height of fame with your morals a dirty shame," says Valter pointedly as he bumps along in the back of a pickup towards Jardim Gramacho, the largest landfill in the world, located in Brazil.

Theatre For Development and Peace

Some African playwrights say they want to use drama to promote development and peace, and they appealed to world leaders to listen on World Theatre Day, celebrated Wednesday.

‘God Bless Montevideo’ Inspires Serbs

Only months ago, most of the Serbs would probably not know that Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay, as there is hardly anything that connects the two nations.

WOMEN’S DAY: Comic Strip Tells a Serious Story

Violence against women is not a subject that one would normally associate with comic strip books, but a French publisher thought this would be a "perfect" medium for raising awareness among both young and old.

Iconoclastic Young Filmmakers Look at Real Issues in Cuba

Lighting up dark areas of Cuban society with youthful vigour, Muestra Joven (the Young Cinema Exhibition), a local independent film event, reached its 10th anniversary characterised by experimentation and subjects that are both complex and invisible in the national media.

CUBA: Varadero’s Architectural Charm Threatened by Tourism

Important architectural works from the Modern movement in Cuba appear to be doomed as a result of the expansion of massive hotel complexes, which threaten to take over the landscape in Varadero, this country's most famous beach resort.

ARGENTINA: Early Treatment Can Stop Stuttering in Children

British actor Colin Firth's sensitivity and skill in portraying one man's determination to overcome stuttering, in "The King's Speech", did more than any campaign in Argentina to show people that with timely intervention, the lives of tens of thousands of children can change.

Expressions Of A Free Arab Cinema

At this year’s 61st edition of the Berlin International Film Festival Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi took the highest prize.

ARGENTINA: Theatre’s Far Fringe Gaining Spaces

Unconventional venues for high-quality experimental theatre have found a voice of their own in the Argentine capital's cultural scene, and are demanding freedom from the red tape that is hindering their development.

Q&A: “Art Can Transform Small Aspects of Society”

For the first time, Cuba's National Fine Arts Prize was awarded to a member of the country's "80s generation": René Francisco Rodríguez, whose work crops up in the most unexpected places in urban communities, and who finds it hard to relinquish the "utilitarian character of art."

ARGENTINA: Boom in Gay-Friendly Theatre

The nearly 200 theatres in the Argentine capital have been staging an increasing number of plays exploring gender identity or specifically gay issues in recent years, in mainstream, fringe and state-run productions.

Iraqi Artist Becomes World’s First Human Camera

Wafaa Bilal hasn't had a decent night's sleep in about two months. After becoming the first person to have a camera surgically implanted into the back of his head, the Iraqi- American artist is learning the hard way just how much of a headache modern technology can be.

CUBA: Looking for Roots Across the Ocean

Their tanned skin is weathered by years of sun, and their voices preserve traces of accents from different parts of Spain.

The Ethics of Social Networking for Journalists

The digital revolution is turning people into producers, as well as consumers, of media content. But this new reality has yet to be fully assimilated, and journalists face questions and uncertainties about their social role, their duties and also their rights.

MEXICO: Native Craftswomen Harness Their Skills

It took María de los Ángeles Carrillo, a native craftswoman from Mexico, eight months to weave a decorative junco reed basket, for which she won an 8,000 dollar prize from the Mexican government.

Q&A: “In Mexico, We Have Let the Violent Ones Do the Talking”

"In Mexico, we have let the violent ones do the talking," says journalist Marcela Turati, author of "Fuego Cruzado" (Crossfire), a new book that tells the stories of victims of President Felipe Calderón's war on drugs, which has left an official death toll of 30,000 in four years.