Vin Diesel, Gisele Bündchen and Kardashian Family are just some of the characters who have visited Cuba recently. Even before the easing of the long-standing economic embargo by President Barack Obama around 94,000 Americans visited the island in the first four months of 2016. The expectation is that this number will increase, and not only among Americans.
The luxury brand Chanel chose Cuba to present a new collection and centered the historic show around the Paseo del Prado, avenue of Havana. The British model Stella Tennant opened the show, on May 3, modelling clothes from the new collection. Brazilian models Gisele Bundchen and Alice Dellal, the English actress Tilda Swinton and the American actor Vin Diesel honoured the parade, wearing looks that recall the hallmarks of Cuban culture.
In recent years, Chanel has chosen tourist sites to present their new collections and the brand said in a statement that the cultural wealth and opening of Cuba to the world made the country a source of inspiration for the brand and Karl Lagerfeld, its creative director.
Pedal taxi in Cuba. (Courtesy: Bud Ellison / CC BY 2.0)
On May 1, the first American cruise ship bound for Cuba left Miami and arrived in Havana the next day. The Adonia ship took 700 passengers to Cuba, and now offers the route twice a month, in order to promote cultural exchange between the two countries. Cubans living in the United States were also passengers. A former law prohibiting Cubans entering the country by sea was suspended by the government of Raúl Castro.
Vin Diesel has not been to the island just to see the Chanel parade. He is participating in the recordings of the eighth film of “Fast & Furious” – the first Hollywood production to be filmed in Cuba in more than half a century. Though filming disrupted roads, many curious locals gathered with interest, to see what was happening.
American socialite and reality TV star Kim Kardashian, along with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian, visited to the island to film for the latest installment of ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’, the family’s reality show.
Both Raúl Castro and Barack Obama seem eager to create new agreements before Obama leaves office in January 2017. With all of these visits, it is apparent that a new era is beginning in Cuba.
