Mementos From Our 2003 Conference

These pictures were taken by Elaine Adler who was on our 2003 trip

A Cuban Dermatologist

Adios Muchachos (2001)

by Daniel Chavarria

This is a funny, memorable crime novel that gives one insight into many aspects of present day Cuban culture.

“Fun, fast and intelligent, this devilishly charming import gives pulp fiction a good name. Hailed as one of the best Latin writers, Uruguayan-born Chavarr¡a is well known throughout Europe as well as in Latin America. The story, a madcap caper full of twisted sex, devious schemes and high-rolling hijinks, also showcases Chavarr¡a's considerable scholarly research into prostitution. When Alicia, a crafty, bicycle-riding Havana hooker in present-day Cuba, meets Victor, a convicted bank robber masquerading as an upstanding businessman, they quickly realize each other's mutually nefarious motives and wind up in a business pact that leads to larceny, kidnapping and death. Linguistic and cultural tidbits illuminate the intelligence at work behind the bawdy and raw story, while the narrative reveals the exploitative nature of economic forces at work in Cuba. 

Amazon

Tentative Faculty

Confirmed Speakers
2017 Cuba-Hawaii Hot Spots in Dermatology

Jag Bhawan	Chief of Dermatopathology Boston University School of Medicine
Rokea el-Azahry	Editor in Chief, International Journal of Dermatology Professor of Dermatology, The May Clinic Rochester, Minnesota
David Elpern	Co-Founder Virtual Grand Rounds in Dermatology Williamstown, Massachusetts
Lawrence Gibson	Professor of Dermatology and Dermatopathology Mayo Medical School and Clinic Rochester, Minnesota
Douglas Johnson	Associate Professor of Dermatology John A. Burns School of Medicine Honolulu, Hawaii
Patrick Kenny	Head, Melanoma Center – Victoria, British Columbia University of British Columbia
Ashfaq Marghoob	Head, Hauppauge Dermatology Section, Memorial Sloan Kettering  Cancer Center Director of American Dermoscopy Meeting
Mary Maloney	Chairman of Dermatology Department Chief of Micrographic Surgery University of  Massachusetts School of Medicine
Amanda Oakley	Honorary Associate Professor, Waikato Clinical Campus, University of Auckland, New Zealand Founder, DermNet.org
George Reizner	Professor of Dermatology University of Wisconsin, Madison Treasurer, International Society of Dermatology
Jose R. Ruiz	Medical Resident Brown University School of Medicine
Caitlin Stiglmeier	Pediatrics and Global Health Kauai, Hawaii and Syracuse, New York
Omid Zargari	Consultant Dermatologist, Founder, IranDerma Rasht, Iran

Trading With The Enemy

Oblivious to national borders, pigeons have long carried messages between Havana and Key West, the southernmost city in the continental United States. A well-trained pigeon can make the 100-mile journey in roughly four hours. A sailboat takes 24. People have used pigeons as messengers from the dawn of civilization in Sumer. The U.S. military used homing birds through the Vietnam War. But in the age of drones, a feather-and-bone messenger seems outdated, particularly when the U.S. government spends millions of dollars on surveillance blimps that drift over the Florida Straits looking for illicit traffic.

Despite a trade embargo and the Trading with the Enemy Act (which the United States only applies to Cuba), Havana and Key West have always had a close relationship. Their cultures have been shaped by a history of transporting illicit cargo, dating back to the rumrunners of the Prohibition era. They’re like sister cities, despite the barricade aimed at separating them.

Trading With The Enemy is a 2 minute film documenting pigeons transporting Cubn cigars from Havana to Key West...

Meeting Announcement

Cuban Hot Spots 2017
January 28 – 30, 2017
Havana and Beyond

We are in the early planning stages for a conference to be held in Cuba in late January 2017 and are inviting you to consider joining us.  This will be a person-to-person meeting between U.S. and Cuban dermatologists.  As you know, many CME meetings are underwritten by PhRMA.  The speakers are hired guns who preach the message of their handlers: usually, the use of branded, expensive products. Cuba, today, can not afford biologics for most patients.

We intend to gather a group of dermatologists (and a few others) who want to share some of their experiences with our Cuban colleagues.  While Cuba has many well-trained physicians, they have not had access to the technological tools that we utilize hourly in the U.S.  Our speakers will share their experience.

All participants (including the organizers) of Cuban Hot Spots will pay their own way.  We do not provide travel stipends or honoraria.  We have enlisted the help of Jose R. Ruiz, a young Cuban doctor, to coordinate the program with us.  He will help too make this symposium unique.

We will limit the size of our group to keep Cuban Hot Spots amiable.  If you wish to reserve a place for 2017 please let us know.  A $100 nonrefundable fee will reserve a spot. The deposit money will be used for textbooks and other supplies for physicians and clinics that we will send down to the island.

Abrazos,

David Elpern

Douglas Johnson

George Reizner

Close Encounters

encuentros breves

 crean 

 amistades duranderas

brief encounters

create

 lasting friendships 

Rosa Blanca Jose Marti

Cultivo Una Rosa Blanca

by Jose Marti

This is Jose Marti's most famous poem.

Cultivo una rosa blanca
en junio como enero
para el amigo sincero
que me da su mano franca. Y para el cruel que me arranca
el corazón con que vivo,
cardo ni ortiga cultivo;
cultivo la rosa blanca.

I have a white rose to tend
In July as in January;
I give it to the true friend
Who offers his frank hand to me.
And for the cruel one whose blows
Break the heart by which I live,
Thistle nor thorn do I give:
For him, too, I have a white rose.

Habana in Miami

In Miami’s adaptation of Havana, where the thrum of the old country persists, proposed zoning changes have led the National Trust for Historic Preservation to place a portion of Little Havana on its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2015.

See: Habana, Miami Style No Passport Required (NY Times, April 9, 2016)

Dining Out in Havana

Cubans sometimes joke that of all the lessons living under three generations of communism has taught them, by far the most important is learning how to wait.

So it’s a little surprising that as capitalism creeps in — the introduction of private ownership has created a thriving restaurant scene — people here are discovering, to their dismay, that they need to book reservations to get into their favorite places for dinner.

Reservations?  Cubans Confront a New Dining Culture -- N Times, April 6, 2016

Cuba - Not!

'Car Talk' in Cuba

Ray Magliozzi of ‘Car Talk’ Takes to the Road in Cuba  by Elaine Glusac, NY Times, April 3, 2016

Recently, Mr. Magliozzi took a trip to Cuba, where midcentury American cars famously rule the roads. Following are edited excerpts from a conversation with him.

Among other things, Ray found that “most streets in Havana are at least as good as the streets in Boston. They’re not ravaged by salt and ice.”

With Obama Visit to Cuba, Old Battle Lines Fade By DAMIEN CAVEMARCH 26, 2016

by Damien Cave, NY Times, March 27, 2016  Article

Hot Spot (for WiFi) in Havana

Adios Muchacos

This comic novel captures much of what it is like in present-day Cuba.
From Amazon: Fun, fast and intelligent, this devilishly charming import gives pulp fiction a good name. Hailed as one of the best Latin writers, Uruguayan-born Chavarr¡a has won literary prizes around the world. The story, a madcap caper full of twisted sex, devious schemes and high-rolling hijinks, also showcases Chavarr¡a's considerable scholarly research into prostitution. Linguistic and cultural tidbits illuminate the intelligence at work behind the bawdy and raw story, while the narrative reveals the exploitative nature of economic forces at work in Cuba. Lines blur between victim and victimizer as Chavarr¡a reveals a symbiosis in which wealthy foreigners exploit the country's resources (from sunken galleons to beautiful women) and the Cubans in turn exploit foreigners' resources. But Chavarr¡a never loses sight of his goal: to deliver an energetic hustle that will leave readers clamoring for more.

How Cuba eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis

by Jeanne Lenzer

This is an interesting (and short piece) that touches on public health and medical care in Cuba.  Clearly, cultural differences play a big role in facilitating public health measures.

Link to full article.

Cuba Says It Has Solved Racism. Obams is nor so Sure

This is a nice article in the March 23, NY Times.
Mr. González, an Afro-Cuban whose bakery counter is adorned with photographs of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, said it was not just the president whom people admire. “Look at that family,” he said, smiling broadly. “Can you imagine? Have you ever seen a more beautiful family?”

U.S. Researchers Blocked From Testing Cuban Drugs

The ongoing US blockade of Cuba is preventing US researchers from studying a drug they say is highly promising and could reduce the need for amputations caused by diabetic foot ulcers.

The drug, human recombinant epidermal growth factor (hrEGF), sold as Heberprot-P, was developed by Cuban researchers at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana. Cuban doctors say it has dramatically improved granulation of intractable diabetic foot ulcers.

PDF can be accessed on C2S Blog. 

President Obama's full speech to Cubans from Havana

Published on Mar 22, 2016

President Barack Obama addressed the Cuban people on Tuesday in a speech from the Gran Teatro de la Havana, where he urged reconciliation between peoples and urged the communist nation to “bury the last remnants of the Cold War in the Americas.”

Full Video of Talk.

Jose R. Ruiz wrote this to us:
I'm not sure if you got a chance to watch Obama's speech in Cuba today... It was one of the best speeches I have ever watched. I think you would enjoy watching it too. In spite of some concerning actions happening prior to Obama's visit, I think the future looks bright (or at least I hope so!).

 

How to Go To Cuba Right Now

NY Times article, March 15, 2016

Travel to Cuba just got easier and, probably, less expensive. The United States government on Tuesday announced new rules that allow Americans to travel independently to Cuba on what they call “people-to-people” trips, one of the most popular ways to see the island. This means that Americans who want to go and spend their time meeting ordinary Cubans no longer have to book their trip through an organization. They can buy a ticket — for now, on a charter flight but soon from a commercial airline — book themselves somewhere to stay on Airbnb, and voilà.

Good place to go for FAQs

An Activist Awaits Obama in Havana

This is an interesting video.

Amid the euphoria of President Obama’s visit is a darker reality for the artist Danilo Maldonado Machado, who has been jailed for his work. He hopes this week will spotlight Cuba’s repression.

Cuba on the Edge of Change

Cuba at times can feel like a nation abandoned. The aching disrepair of its cities, the untamed foliage of its countryside, the orphaned coastlines — a half-century of isolation has wrapped the country in decay. Yet few places in the world brim with as much life as Cuba, a contrast drawn sharper amid its faded grandeur.

Ny Times Sunday, March 20, 2016 - Article.

 

The Opening to Cuba Widens

NY Times Editorial 3.16.2016

N The new rules announced by the administration on on March 15, 2016  will make traveling there easier and cheaper. In the past, Americans who wanted to travel legally to Cuba had to rely on companies licensed by the Treasury Department, which required that the tour operators keep detailed itineraries and records to prove that the trips were cultural and educational experiences.  Now, proving that the trip has educational purposes will rest with the travelers. (And any seasoned traveler will tell you that conversations with bartenders, beachside or not, can be mightily educational.)

Related article: U.S. Eases Restrictions on Travel to Cuba  (3.16.2016)