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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Elderly Cubans hit the dance floor to ward off blackout blues
By Anett Rios and Alien Fernandez HAVANA (Reuters) -Cuban grandmother Ana Mirta Sanchez was not about to let an unexpected blackout in Havana on a weekday morning cramp her style during a regular group dance with 30 or so of her friends and fellow seniors. "Sure, the power went out, and yes, we're soaked in sweat, but we're having fun," said Sanchez, 87, stepping away from the dance floor in the sultry Caribbean heat. The program is meant to be a fun and healthy distraction for seniors in a country facing an economic crisis that has left many families short of food and medicine, said Lizt Alfonso, director of the Havana dance company named after him. "The power went out in the middle of the class," Alfonso said in an interview on the second floor of his studio overlooking the breezy Straits of Florida. "But we didn't stop. Nothing can take away these moments of joy." Such opportunities are few and far between in Cuba, where a fast-growing senior population has few leisure options beyond the home. Cuba is the most elderly nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, with over one-quarter of the population aged over 60 according to statistics agency ONEI, thanks to a plummeting birthrate and fast-growing migration, largely to the United States. The dance program is a breath of fresh air, said Antonio Viart, a 71-year-old Havana resident who shook his hips to the beat. "We are an increasingly elderly country. We can't turn back the clock, but we can try to maintain our quality of life."
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Elderly Cubans hit the dance floor to ward off blackout blues
HAVANA - Cuban grandmother Ana Mirta Sanchez was not about to let an unexpected blackout in Havana on a weekday morning cramp her style during a regular group dance with 30 or so of her friends and fellow seniors. "Sure, the power went out, and yes, we're soaked in sweat, but we're having fun," said Sanchez, 87, stepping away from the dance floor in the sultry Caribbean heat. The program is meant to be a fun and healthy distraction for seniors in a country facing an economic crisis that has left many families short of food and medicine, said Lizt Alfonso, director of the Havana dance company named after him. "The power went out in the middle of the class," Alfonso said in an interview on the second floor of his studio overlooking the breezy Straits of Florida. "But we didn't stop. Nothing can take away these moments of joy." Such opportunities are few and far between in Cuba, where a fast-growing senior population has few leisure options beyond the home. Cuba is the most elderly nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, with over one-quarter of the population aged over 60 according to statistics agency ONEI, thanks to a plummeting birthrate and fast-growing migration, largely to the United States. The dance program is a breath of fresh air, said Antonio Viart, a 71-year-old Havana resident who shook his hips to the beat. "We are an increasingly elderly country. We can't turn back the clock, but we can try to maintain our quality of life." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Elderly Cubans hit the dance floor to ward off blackout blues
HAVANA, June 4 (Reuters) - Cuban grandmother Ana Mirta Sanchez was not about to let an unexpected blackout in Havana on a weekday morning cramp her style during a regular group dance with 30 or so of her friends and fellow seniors. "Sure, the power went out, and yes, we're soaked in sweat, but we're having fun," said Sanchez, 87, stepping away from the dance floor in the sultry Caribbean heat. The program is meant to be a fun and healthy distraction for seniors in a country facing an economic crisis that has left many families short of food and medicine, said Lizt Alfonso, director of the Havana dance company named after him. "The power went out in the middle of the class," Alfonso said in an interview on the second floor of his studio overlooking the breezy Straits of Florida. "But we didn't stop. Nothing can take away these moments of joy." Such opportunities are few and far between in Cuba, where a fast-growing senior population has few leisure options beyond the home. Cuba is the most elderly nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, with over one-quarter of the population aged over 60 according to statistics agency ONEI, thanks to a plummeting birthrate and fast-growing migration, largely to the United States. The dance program is a breath of fresh air, said Antonio Viart, a 71-year-old Havana resident who shook his hips to the beat. "We are an increasingly elderly country. We can't turn back the clock, but we can try to maintain our quality of life."
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Elderly Cubans hit the dance floor to ward off blackout blues
HAVANA, - Cuban grandmother Ana Mirta Sanchez was not about to let an unexpected blackout in Havana on a weekday morning cramp her style during a regular group dance with 30 or so of her friends and fellow seniors. "Sure, the power went out, and yes, we're soaked in sweat, but we're having fun," said Sanchez, 87, stepping away from the dance floor in the sultry Caribbean heat. The program is meant to be a fun and healthy distraction for seniors in a country facing an economic crisis that has left many families short of food and medicine, said Lizt Alfonso, director of the Havana dance company named after him. "The power went out in the middle of the class," Alfonso said in an interview on the second floor of his studio overlooking the breezy Straits of Florida. "But we didn't stop. Nothing can take away these moments of joy." Such opportunities are few and far between in Cuba, where a fast-growing senior population has few leisure options beyond the home. Cuba is the most elderly nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, with over one-quarter of the population aged over 60 according to statistics agency ONEI, thanks to a plummeting birthrate and fast-growing migration, largely to the United States. The dance program is a breath of fresh air, said Antonio Viart, a 71-year-old Havana resident who shook his hips to the beat. "We are an increasingly elderly country. We can't turn back the clock, but we can try to maintain our quality of life."
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Cuba pins hopes on Chinese to help save sputtering tourism industry
Cuba is pinning its hopes on attracting more visitors from Communist ally China as part of a last-ditch bid to revive a sputtering tourism industry devastated by renewed US sanctions under the Trump administration and a crisis-wracked economy. Advertisement Visitors from abroad, a critical source of foreign currency on the island, plunged by nearly a third in the first quarter of 2025, according to recent data from Cuba's statistics agency, ONEI, an ominous sign that has left top officials on the archipelago scrambling for alternatives. Cuba had forecast 2.6 million visitors in 2025, an 18 per cent increase over the previous year, but seems unlikely to hit that target as the peak northern winter fades into a sultry Caribbean summer. 'It's no secret that, recently, our country, and especially the tourism sector, is facing a complex scenario,' said Cuban Tourism Minister Juan Carlos Garcia in a speech on Wednesday inaugurating the island's annual tourism fair – this year dedicated to China. Garcia praised China in his talk, saying their close ties of cooperation and friendship had 'stood the test of time'. Advertisement The Asian giant could prove fertile ground for Cuba, despite the vast physical distance between the two countries.
