/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/THEATRE-VENEZUELA: The Street as the World’s Stage

The 13th International Theatre Festival of Caracas, which has already extended far beyond the Venezuelan capital, this year has the distinction of being a street encounter, in addition to serving as a showcase for companies that are staking their bets on what is known as "total theatre".

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-BRAZIL: Funk, Rap at Opposite Ends of Moral Spectrum

The funk and rap musical genres, both originating from African-American movements in the United States, have found a place in Brazil, but have been altered to fit the reality of this country - and with surprisingly different results.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-JAMAICA: In Search of Silk Royalties

Administrators of the estate of Garnet Silk, the popular Rastafarian singer who died in 1994 are gearing up for a legal battle to claim royalties from his many hit songs.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/SCULPTURE-LATAM: Magical Realism Reaches the Vatican

The art of Latin America combines rationality with magic, which explains why it continues to gain popularity around the world, says Costa Rican sculptor Jorge Jiménez Deredia, one of the regional artists who has achieved greatest fame in Europe.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/THEATRE-ARGENTINA: The Search for Identity in a Country of ‘Disappeared’

'Theatre for Identity' is the theme of a novel undertaking in the Argentine capital, where 41 plays are being put on every Monday in 14 theatres.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-VIETNAM: Musician Remembered for Music that Floods Hearts

He achieved brief fame outside Vietnam during the North-South conflict, when he used to sing of peace and love among brothers and was called the 'Bob Dylan of Vietnam' by the Western media.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/PHOTOGRAPHY-US: Black Life Filtered Through Quick Eyes, Quicker Shutters

Bikers, boxers, goddesses and martyrs of the civil rights movement populate a sweeping exhibit at New York's Brooklyn Museum of Art, which weaves the work of 94 living African-American photographers into a deftly shaded exploration of race, class and sex in the last half century.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/BOOKS-INDONESIA: Decades Later, Renowned Writer is Free to Promote Book

Fifty years after his book 'Bukan Pasar Malam' (It's Not An All Night Fair) was first published in Indonesia, Pramoedya Ananta Toer is now free to talk about it.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-KENYA: Musicians Barely Survive On Their Art

Kenya has a lot of talented musicians, but they barely make a living from their art.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-MEXICO: Arts Festival Enthrals the Capital

The residents of the Mexican capital succumbed to the seduction of music, dance, theatre and other attractions staged by national and foreign artists, filling the city's plazas and cultural centres during the Festival of Mexico City's Historic Centre.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/BOOKS-CUBA: Writers Take Place on World Stage

Cuban literature is reaching new heights on the world stage fed by a growing interest in the complexity of life on the Caribbean island and the fact that its writers, anxious to get published, have looked outside the country for publishers.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ MUSIC-JAMAICA: Morgan Heritage Looks to Conquer World

In little over three years, Morgan Heritage have risen from virtual unknowns to become one of the leading acts in contemporary reggae. After conquering Jamaica's dancehall and making a name on the European scene, the siblings are gunning to break new ground with rock fans in the United States.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/THEATRE-PERU: A Nation’s Politics in Shakespeare’s Mirror

Peru had the opportunity to see itself reflected in the ruthless mirror of William Shakespeare through a version of his 'Macbeth' in which the Scottish king brandishes a pistol and sports a suit and tie.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/INDIA: Countryside Strewn With Priceless Vintage Cars

Partha Bose discovered the 1917 model Ford when he stopped by at a remote village in India's eastern Bihar state to change a flat tyre.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-BRAZIL: Documentary Portrays the Poor, Who Prefer to Watch the Rich

Poor, but proud of the community in which they live, they like to sing and talk about the simple pleasures of life. They are the real-life characters of 'Babilonia 2000', a documentary that reveals the poor side of Brazil to the middle-class, movie-going Brazilians.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-VENEZUELA: Globalisation Feeds Debate on Culture Law

Globalisation and the role of the State are at the core of the debate in Venezuela on a new law governing culture, and even the supporters of the government are divided, meaning all bets are off as to what the definitive text of the legislation will look like.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-VIETNAM: Makers of ‘Quiet American’ Go Back in Time

Thu Van is extremely excited. The 43-year-old Vietnamese stunt artist has doubled many times before for actresses and even actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan in very audacious action films, but this is the first time she is taking part in a Hollywood production.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-US: Ancestral Native-American Lands for Sale

Imagine Machu Pichu replaced by new housing developments, or indigenous ancestral lands looted of artefacts and sold to collectors. Native lands are up for sale. So tribal leaders and archaeologists are buying in order to save them from destruction.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ARCHAEOLOGY-MEXICO: Chitchen Itza among ‘New’ Wonders of the World

The archaeological site Chitchén Itzá, pride of Mexico and symbol of the great level of development achieved by the Mayan peoples, looks to be a shoo-in for a spot among the new seven wonders of the world, according to a survey underway on the Internet.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-US: Exploring New York’s “Secret Cities”

New York is both a single, sophisticated metropolis and a patchwork of ever-shifting immigrant villages, making it the ultimate "musical particle accelerator", where simply riding in a taxi cab can be an exotic encounter in cultural tourism.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/EXHIBITION: Science Alone Cannot Suffice to Comprehend the World

Spanish artist and educator María Novo calls into question the ability of the instruments of science to provide humanity with a grasp on the complexity of nature, in an exhibition at UNESCO headquarters in the French capital.