Artsy Americans Offer Preview of Cuba Thaw

American tourists are flooding into Cuba as the freeze between the countries shows signs of thawing, reports the Los Angeles Times. For the recent Cuban Biennale art show, young Americans arrived to enjoy the culture and nightlife, defying the longstanding travel ban. With a bill to lift restrictions pending in the Senate, citizens on both sides of the divide wonder whether the influx foretells real change.

Although President Obama has made only minor policy revisionsthus far, Cubans look to him as a harbinger of change. "If they lift the restrictions, there will be more freedom, more travel, more opportunity," said a 20-year-old Cuban. Meanwhile, this year's Biennale featured US-based artists in an attempt to forge connections. "Art is a great bridge, the way to start a conversation," said one of the American organizers.
(More Cuba stories.)