The gunman who killed five people at Fort Lauderdale airport will be brought tojustice. A 26 Year Old Army veteran has been arrested. At least 43 people have been killed by a lorry bomb in the northern syrian town of azaz. Talks between London Underground and the tssa union are continuing at the Conciliation Service acas. The Rmt Union Have left the talks. A 24 hour strike is set to start on sunday evening. Now on bbc news, the travel show. Cuba is at a turning point. Last year saw the end of decades of isolation from the usa, with tourism needing a new spirit of enterprise here. Some sanctions have been lifted, like commercial flights from the us. The wheels are in motion, but everyones wondering exactly where is cuba headed right now . That question is especially poignant after the recent death of fidel castro and election of donald trump to the us presidency. If the thawing of relations does continue, the economy here may benefit, but is this country in danger of losing its soul . Those precious assets that make this place, well, cuba on my first trip here for nearly 20 years, im on a mission to find out. It may be a small island, 90 miles off the coast of florida, but cuba has a unique story to tell. Ever since fidel castro and his band of revolutionaries seized control in 1959, the country has followed its own socialist path. The usa imposed a Trade Embargo on cuba in the early 60s and americans here were told to return home immediately. Classic cars like this were left behind when the rich American Playboys left town after the revolution. Now, it looks like theyre on their way back. The new us president may threaten to reimpose recently lifted sanctions. But right now, driving around havana in vintage cars is a hit among those tourists whore already here. Youre restoring this 1958, lovely bel air car. Can i help . 0k, come on sit down. 0k. In this moment, were checking the window. 0k. Is it turning . At this moment . Open. 0k. Perfect. Its incredible, actually going inside these old cars. Beautiful all these wires made in the 40s and 50s. I feel like a master craftsman, even though all i was doing was this. Julio was a taxi driver five years ago, with his beloved 1955 chevrolet bel air. Now hes taken advantage of government reforms and is a partner in a business that restores and hires out classic vehicles to tourists. There are now 22 cars in total under their banner. This is such a rewarding thing to do. Looks, its already cleaner. I havent started painting it. Tourists will be important for us, this business particularly. The Business Brain behind the company isjulios wife. She has already been invited to washington by the us Vice President in recognition of her entrepreneurial acumen. Shes lucky. Most cubans cant travel. For us, its very important when we finish the restoration to get money. You get money . Wheelies much better. We live much better. We can travel. We live like capitalists. We work a lot, but we live better now. Theres only three of these in teuber . In cuba. Only three in the whole of cuba in a country where even a Brain Surgeon can earn only 30 a month, running a private enterprise like this can be relatively lucrative. It was julios wife who quickly saw the appeal of Vintage Chevrolets to foreigners. Beautiful can we go for a drive . She wasnt always a fan of these vintage vehicles. Now she has names for all of them, including herfavourite lola. At the beginning i didnt like to drive, but now i love to drive. Its very easy, and its not very common to see a woman driving this kind of car. Whats happening here . There is a wi fi area in this part. And they are connecting with the internet. 0h, oh, wow, so its like a hotspot that everybody comes to get online . Wow. The internet is the revolution that passed cuba by. For most, its unaffordable and restricted. Take a stroll around town and you see more evidence of a gulf in wealth. Ration shops, poor Housing Conditions and two parallel currencies one for locals and one for tourists. This Market Trader tried to explain it. This is what . This is convertible peso. This one is cuban, normal peso. Why have two different types . We have to find a way to better locate. We are not allowed to use dollars. This is a way to do business in cuba without the dollar. Its going to disappear. Soon . When the Embargo Lifts . I hope so. From that explanation im going to give you a tip thank you very much, youre kind take care on the flipside, there is a strong sense of National Pride here, of pulling through, and many local communities have thriving cultural scenes. The chaleco de hamel, complete with murals and crazy artworks, is a shrine to cubas african roots. This is the voice of black cuba. Raw, intense, even sometimes angry. Always emotional and passionate. This street is the brainchild of local artist salvador. He encountered opposition from the authorities who accused him of promoting dangerous, mythical beliefs. And then, rather rashly perhaps, the performers let mejoin in from the raw and passionate, to the sublime. The Cuban National ballet school, founded in 1962, today with some 3,000 students, is the biggest of its kind in its world. This couple are partners on and off stage, and they feel ballet has a unique place in the cuban way of life. As rising stars, annette and danny live in a nice part of town with their young daughter. But they say there is no sense of celebrity here. But people recognise you . In the street . They say its danny . And as night falls in the city, old havana loves to celebrate its artistic side. The gran teatro de la habana, A Havana Landmark since 1838. But with the castro governments belief in arts for all, its become a theatre for the people, not just the privileged. Its a Big Charity Gala tonight. The talk of the town. And choreographed by the Living Legend of cuban ballet, alicia alonso. Danny and annette get themselves ready. Applause and so to the centrepiece of tonights show. Annette and danny perform a sequence from the ballet giselle. It may look effortless, but this is the result of years of dedication, and a passion ive already noticed so many cubans share. Head out of havana, and theres an awful lot more to discover about the cuban archipelago. My next destination is trinidad, the sugar town, halfway along the coast of the island, some 350km from the capital. One really cool thing ive noticed about cuba, theres hardly any traffic. Weve been driving down some of the main arteries in the island on our way to trinidad, and ive hardly seen any cars. This is what perpetuates the notion that cuba is stuck in a time warp. A perfectly preserved, spanish era colonial settlement. Tourism is cubas biggest industry and is currently booming, fuelled by the rush of new tourists many from the usa. Hotel rooms in the capital are heavily booked, which leaves the traveller on a limited budget with a very cuban option of casas particulares. This is basically the airbnb prototype, whereby people lease out their spare rooms to tourists. And for many, this is a lifeline out of poverty. But where is the man who actually runs this b b . Hola how are you . Very well welcome hello, julio. Whos this . Let me introduce you. Luno. My favourite horse Turns Outjulio has several strings to his bow. Notjust a hotelier, but also a horse whisperer. And youre going to show me how to keep the horse calm and make her trained . Fantastic. I will show you right now. You can see. Starting to be nervous. The neck goes up . Yes. And of course, the restlessness can reveal itself in other ways. Nice really nice you actually talk into the ear . No theres no whispering . This is the funny thing, we never whisper we establish leadership, then you see the body language. I have a solution for you. You and me, we lose the hair i know the Hair Transplants are expensive, but you can do this you look like a heavy metal rock star. Appropriate, as julios favourite band is iron maiden. Very cheap, the only thing you need the horse a cheap at on a more serious note, julio and his wife, a trained accountant, are more proof of the entrepreneurial spirit that is blossoming all around the island. Hes an ambitious man. Ineed. Freedom to do business. I am not afraid, because i know cubans are smart enough and wont lose the cuban identity. Some americans, i work a lot with them, they say soon youll have mcdonalds, starbucks. Maybe we can have things similar, but in our cuban style. I like good burgers and good coffee, but in our style. Julio took me on a trip around trinidad by horse and cart. On the towns cobbled streets, its the most practical way. Would you like to try . Sure youre doing very well common sense will tell you. Common sense is everything. The trick is soft hands. And our man of many talents isnt finished yet. Julio runs Photography Courses for tourists too. This is an interesting location. What do you like about it . This kind of photography is like hunting. But no rifle, youre using a camera instead. Not like this. Julio actually likens his style to a gunslinger. The john wayne technique, he calls it. In the cowboy movies, before shooting they do it like this with the fingers. This is the feeling you should have. Feel the adrenaline. And the movement. This is the way to keep the camera. Vertical very good julio finds his perfect shot. The beautiful tower is the symbol of trinidad. I shoot with the camera. Ill reach that point show me. One shot is enough. Wow, bang hes on a roll here. No change the picture. The picture will come to you. You love who . Iron maiden whats your favourite song . All of them, but. Run to the hills . How does that go again . Run to the hiiilllsss just down the coast, 180km south east of havana, is cienaga de zapata. This is where you find the historically significant bay of pigs. The scene of the failed invasion by cuban opponents to castro in 1961, backed by the us government. Any invasion these days is from a new rush of tourists to sample the islands nature. Which potentially itself creates a new problem. Because until now, cuba has been protective of its environment and wildlife. That includes protecting this fella. The critically endangered cu ban crocodile. This Breeding Farm was created at the behest of castro in 1962. There are 4,000 crocs here in total, separated by age and size. Wow. Check this out. Obviously they cant bite now. But the colours and markings of the skin, are they distinctive . Yes, one of the characteristics of the Cuban Crocodile. One of the things that make them different from the american. Wow one movement from me when they get bigger, ill be jumping Cross Breeding with the thriving American Crocodile is the biggest current threat to the cu ban crocs survival. We are prepared. They need the area for warmth, sun, and for shadow. They need water and land. And this is what makes the Cuban Crocodile so unique they jump for their food. He canjump his size, using his tail. All of this is to protect the species of the Cuban Crocodile. Yes. And to stop it being overrun by American Crocodiles. Do you think theres something symbolic here . I dont know. Maybe my time in cuba is about to end, but sunrise in the morning gives me one more special glimpse of the islands wildlife. This is the biggest swampland in the caribbean. Its also home to 33 kinds of aquatic birds, including one of the most glamorous the pink flamingo. They come and go as they please. Now, not all residents of cuba enjoy that kind of freedom and certainly not over how their country is run. Recent changes may now take another twist with the recent us administration, and the death of the original Revolutionary Leader of the flock, fidel castro, has been a revolutionary moment. Theres no turning back now for cuba, and the rest of the world will watch with keen interest to see how this feisty, proud island negotiates its journey into the unknown. Hi there. I hope you are enjoying your saturday afternoon. Although the weather is not exactly inspiring, its a dull old day. The Satellite Pictures show the extent of the cloud, there are not many brea ks of the cloud, there are not many breaks out there. If you are suing sunshine, you are doing well. These days overcast into the evening time. A few patches of fog have lingered all day long and im not going to shift now. There is no wind to stir things up. Drizzle in the west, almost anywhere, actually. Dry and cloudy. Up across scotland, the cloudy. Up across scotland, the cloud is then across eastern areas. He probably we are going to see the clearest of the skies. For the rest of us, it stays overcast. The fog becomes more extensive in the night. Nasty patches tomorrow morning. Keep in touch with your local Radio Station for details of where the worst of the fog is. It could be over the hills or in the valleys, it isa over the hills or in the valleys, it is a mixed out there. The cloud cover should prevent temperatures falling to load. Except that for the east of scotland we will wake up to A Touch Of Frost here. Some of the best of sunshine across these areas first thing. Again, a bit ofa struggle. Hopefully more in the way of sunshine than today, but dont hold your breath. Probably in east wales and North East England are the best of the breaks. Its an fa cup weekend, no real problems for the weather but the fog might delay your journey. Youll need a layer or two, although it is going to be a mild day. Nine or 10 degrees will be typical, chillier than that in eastern scotland. Rain in western scotla nd eastern scotland. Rain in western scotland as we end the day. An approaching Weather Front is going to be important in the following 2a hours. Spreading rain into scotland and Northern Ireland as we start monday. That will spread its way southwards and eastwards, a band of quite heavy rain. Behind it, we see chilly are, five or six by Northern Ireland, in scotland, snow on the high ground but mild in the south. A shot of cold early on next week and then a mild interlude through the middle of the week, and then some real arctic air coming down later on next week. A bit of a roller coaster. This could air giving widespread frost and the possibility of some snow. Notjust about the high ground of scotland. Watch this space. The potential for some wintry weather later on next week. Ill be back in half an hours time. This is bbc news. The headlines at 3pm nhs england rejects claims by the red cross that hospital and Ambulance Services are experiencing a humanitarian crisis. A former American Army soldier has been arrested, after five people were shot dead at Fort Lauderdale airport in florida. The governor of florida says the gunman will be brought tojustice. The person responsible for this act will be brought to justice to the fullest extent of the law. When you hurt one of us, you hurt all of us. At least 43 people have been killed by a lorry bomb in the northern syrian town of azaz. Also the spiralling cost of repairing potholes in england and wales. Councils predict the repair bill could reach £14 billion within two yea rs. And coming up in half an hour, the click team visits las vegas
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.