June 10, 2010

At their closest points, the United States and Cuba are only 90 miles apart. The distance between Provincetown and Boston is 116 miles, to put it into perspective. And yet, our two nations are worlds apart, a division that is a relic of the Cold War, when the United States imposed a strict embargo on Cuba in 1962, not long after Fidel Castro took control of the island nation.

Ever since, most Americans are forbidden to travel to Cuba, no American financial institutions are allowed to do business in the communist country, and there are no diplomatic ties with one of our geographically closest neighbors. While there is a rich Cuban cultural presence in the United States, it is largely in southern Florida. As a result, many Americans have little understanding of the country's culture, outside of a few Cuban-American celebrities and the occasional documentary or traveling ballet or musical group allowed out by Cuban government and in by the United States.

There is however one exception--art. (To read full article, click link below).