Periodico 26

Havana, Cuba.—Songs and poems dedicated to Havana, dances showing the city's cultural heritage, and a spectacular fireworks display paid homage to Cuba´s capital city on a gala for its 500th anniversary.

The Provincial Assembly of People´s Power in Havana held a solemn session Saturday to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Cuban capital.

The rain from a cold front did not dissuade thousands of Havana residents from converging at its Malecon sea promenade Friday evening to watch a spectacular fireworks display.

A few days away from turning 500 years, Havana continues to add evidence of how much it has been groomed to celebrate, in the spirit of a cosmopolitan city that rejuvenates itself with a look to the future, without disdaining its past.

An amazing theme park that recreates the era of the dinosaurs will open in Havana in 2019, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the founding of the city, on November 16, operators reported on Tuesday.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Thursday assessed the preparations to celebrate Havana's 500th anniversary in November.

Havana Club Internacional S.A. called to participate in the Digital Photography contest ''Havana 7 is your feeling'', on occasion of the 500th anniversary of the founding of Havana.

Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler, the Havana City Historian, told reporters that "Havana has played an important role in the construction of the national character, in the struggles for independence, and in the battles led by students and workers."

The 500th anniversary of Havana will be the opportunity to relaunch the capital as a renewed and updated tourist destination, said Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz.

This priority was emphasized during a meeting of the national government group supporting the capital, led by Cuba's President