They dance!
Forget all the commentary on Castro. By far the most insightful comment comes from the singer, Craig David, whom I have just heard being interviewed.
INTERVIEWER: So you did some of your new album in Cuba?Dissidents might be locked up, Cubans might live in poverty. But who cares? They are very good dancers.CRAIG DAVID: I had lots of misconceptions about it being a communist country and all that. It's true that they're not as privy as we are with inventions, food and so on. But they make up for it with incredible dancing.
Previous
Blogs: Clive Davis | Melanie Phillips | Americano | Coffee House | Trading Floor
Actions: Print this article | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (6)
Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Advertisement
Stephen Pollard's Blog Roll
Oliver Kamm
Politics, economics and culture from the master. Unmissable.
Daniel Finkelstein's Times Comment Central
A daily must-read.
Tim Worstall
Lots of interesting nibbles - and a ruthless swatter of economic gibberish.
Marginal Revolution
Tyler Cowen's riveting economic blog.
Harry's Place
Must-read left of centre blog from writers who understand the threat to the West.
Thought Experiments
The peerless Bryan Appleyard's blog.
Opera Chic
An American in Milan, on opera.
Intermezzo
A London-based classical music enthusiast.
Jessica Duchen's classical music blog
Does what it says on the tin.
Samizdata
Libertarian blog, packed every day.
Norm's blog
The thoroughly sensible thoughts of renowned left-wing academic Norman Geras, Professor of Government at Manchester. And cricket, too.
Public Interest
Peter Briffa's inimitable take on The Yazzmonster and other assorted demons.
Reform
The public sector reform group; their website is an invaluable source of data and ideas.
Centre for the New Europe
The leading European public policy think tank.
Latest blog posts
sponsored links
Nissan Family Cars - Book a Test Drive Online
Take advantage of unbeatable Nissan value. Book a test drive today.
Nissan Family Cars - Book a Test Drive Online
Take advantage of unbeatable Nissan value. Book a test drive today.
ROME CENTRE
PORTA METRONIA, ROME Standing high on the top of one of the seven hills of Rome- the Coelian- this unique
City Breaks. ROME and PARIS
ROME and PARIS: over 350 holiday rentals apartments listed: visit www.romanreference.com and www.parisreference.com or call +39 0648 903612.
Jewellery. RUFFS (Estd. 1904).
Goldsmiths by Design Welcome to Ruffs! You have found a company of Goldsmiths that specialises in the manufacture, amongst other
Spectator Business | Apollo Magazine
Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms
Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP
All Articles and Content Copyright ©2008 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved
David Gillies
February 19th, 2008 4:53pmTypical numbskull paternalism from someone who has been enriched far beyond what his talent merits alone. Shades of an 'all the happy darkies' piece from a sub-par CiF contributor. You know the drill: 'they might not have a pot to piss in, but they smile all the time and love a good sing-song, and wouldn't it be nice if we in the West could get away from our materialist obsession blah, blah, blah' and so on ad nauseam.
F.M.Zutano
February 19th, 2008 6:50pmPollard - have you ever been to Cuba?
Jennie
February 19th, 2008 7:37pmCuba has a comprehensive, free public healthcare system - which is more than can be said of the Land of the Free, the USA.
F.M.Zutano
February 21st, 2008 3:31amNo, I didn't think so.
David Gillies
February 21st, 2008 8:29pmCuba's much-vaunted healthcare system is free, and worth every penny. If it were so marvellous, why did Castro need to import a Spanish doctor to look after his guts? For the average Cuban, the bribes necessary to ensure access to genuinely good healthcare are quite unaffordable. Castro and his thugs have turned one of the more prosperous countries in the region into a pestilential hell-hole, and still there are useful idiots singing his praises. And of course the US has a comprehensive healthcare system. What it doesn't have is a comprehensive health insurance system.
Jennie
February 22nd, 2008 5:00pmDavid Gillies. I know many people who have visited Cuba - and they would not recognise your description of the country. It is widely acknowledged that the Battista regime was one of the most corrupt on earth and that pre-revolution Havana was a sleaze-hole. The US has a comprehensive healthcare system - but only for those able to afford high insurance premiums. If low-premium schemes were available, these would buy only very limited healthcare.