CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA July 8th, 1997 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Tuesday, July 8th, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- CUBA AND ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES SIGN IMPORTANT BILATERAL COOPERATION ACCORDS 2.- FORENSIC TEAM CONTINUES PROCESS OF INDENTIFYING SKELETAL REMAINS FOUND IN BOLIVIA 3.- YOUTH FESTIVAL COORDINATORS UNVEIL CULTURAL PROGRA 4.- HAVANA CHOSEN AS IBEROAMERICAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 5.- CUBAN ART EXHIBITION OPENS IN NAMIBIA 6.- IBEROAMERICAN ART IN DENMARK; CUBAN ART IS A BIG HIT CUBA AND ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES SIGN IMPORTANT BILATERAL COOPERATION ACCORDS Havana, July 8(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro and the visiting Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines James Mitchell signed an important economic, scientific and technical cooperation accord today in the Cuban capital. The prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will hold a news conference tomorrow, Wednesday, here in Havana before leaving Cuba. Prime Minister Mitchell arrived in Havana on Saturday at the invitation of the Cuban government. During his visit, the Caribbean dignitary visited tourist areas at Varadero Beach resort, as well as other sites of economic and social interest. FORENSIC TEAM CONTINUES PROCESS OF INDENTIFYING SKELETAL REMAINS FOUND IN BOLIVIA Santa Cruz, July 8(RHC)-- Cuban, Argentinian and Bolivian experts today finished cleaning the skeletal remains of seven people discovered in a common grave in Bolivia. One of those remains is believed to be those of guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara and experts are continuing to carry out the definitive identification of the remains. Cuban expert Jorge Gonzalez, Director of Cuba's Institute of Legal Medicine -- along with the other forensic specialists -- are convinced that the remains discovered last June 28th belong to the Argentinian-born revolutionary and six others who participated in Che's internationalist insurgency movement: 3 Cubans, 2 Bolivians and one Peruvian. Bolivian human rights activists today gave the forensic team information concerning the Bolivian guerrillas that will help in their identification. The Cuban expert is in possession of information concerning Che, including dental records. The remains have already been transferred from the outskirts of the small southern Bolivian town of Vallegrande to the city of Santa Cruz. The forensic team hopes to make positive identifications before next week. YOUTH FESTIVAL COORDINATORS UNVEIL CULTURAL PROGRAM Havana, July 8(RHC)-- In an unprecedented co-production, leaders of Cuban culture, sports, education and youth organizations have joined their talents and efforts to put together the youth festival's cultural program. At a news conference Tuesday in the Cuban capital, a member of the Youth Festival Coordinating Committee and official of the island's Ministry of Culture, Deisy Tejeda, said that not only will the festival's inaugural and closing ceremonies consist of cultural performances, but culture will flow throughout. The Ministry of Culture has placed a major emphasis on the opening ceremony, which will take place on the steps of the University of Havana on July 28th. Cuban and foreign singers, actors, actresses and visual artists will take part in the presentation, which will be dedicated to internationalist guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara. Contemporary and folkloric ballet, classic music concerts by Cuban children and youth philharmonic orchestras, aerobics-gymnastics presentations, theater performances and much more will amuse and entertain more than 6000 delegates to the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students. HAVANA CHOSEN AS IBEROAMERICAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE Havana, July 8(RHC)-- Havana has been selected as the 1997 Capital of Iberoamerican Culture. The honor was announced during the 12th Meeting of the Union of Iberoamerican Capital Cities' Culture Committee, which wound up today in the Cuban capital. The exchange between representatives of the 26 participating delegations from Latin America and Spain was held at Havana's Ambos Mundos Hotel, where they debated issues such as cultural decentralization and links between culture and the economy. During the meeting, the President of Havana's Provincial Assembly, Conrado Martinez Corona, said that despite Cuba's economic difficulties, the capital has increased its cultural offerings, stressing that Havana has a strong cultural movement. Havana was the seventh city to be honored with the title of Capital of Iberoamerican Culture. Previous capitals were Montevideo, Managua, Lisbon, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires and Santa Fe de Bogota. CUBAN ART EXHIBITION OPENS IN NAMIBIA Windhoek, July 8(RHC)-- Namibia's Information Deputy Minister Natius Shixwameni has inaugurated the first exhibition of Cuban art in the Namibian capital, with art work by young painter Odalys Hernandez. Shixwameni expressed his satisfaction that it was the work of a young Cuban artist that was on display, since the Caribbean island will soon be the site of the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students. Attending the exhibition's opening ceremony were government officials, representatives of political and youth organizations and members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Namibia. IBEROAMERICAN ART IN DENMARK; CUBAN ART IS A BIG HIT Copenhagen, July 8(RHC)-- Cuban art forms part of an exhibition called "Iberoamerica: Artistic Expressions," currently on display in Denmark. The exhibit is also made up of art from ten other countries. The exhibition includes paintings, sculptures and engravings from both internationally-known as well as new artists from Cuba, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Portugal and Venezuela. Present at the opening of the 200-piece exhibition was the President of Copenhague's Town Council, Bodil Jensen. CUBAN SINGER-SONGWRITER PABLO MILANES WILL PERFORM IN COSTA RICA Havana, July 8(RHC)-- Cuban singer and songwriter Pablo Milanes, who recently toured Spain and Switzerland, will arrive in Costa Rica tomorrow, where he will offer two concerts at San Jose's National Theater. According to international concert producer Arnoldo Herrera, Milanes had only one concert scheduled for Costa Rica, but the overwhelming public demand prompted him to organize a second performance. Milanes will travel to Costa Rica accompanied by his group, formed by six musicians. They will perform songs from his most recent CD's --"Plegaria" and "Origenes," -- as well as some of his classics, such as "Yolanda," and "Comienzo y Final de una Verde Manana." Pablo, a founder of Cuba's New Song Movement along with Silvio Rodriguez, has recorded a total of 26 albums and has carried out more than 90 international tours since 1970. [c] 1997. 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