Scott: Thanks Maggie, We Will See You Later on in the Show

Maggie: Hola, from Havana, Cuba. I am Maggie Rulli and Channel One News starts right now.

Scott: Thanks Maggie, we will see you later on in the show.

But first up, President Obama yesterday spoke about the violent riots that have rocked Maryland. Tom Hanson has the latest from Baltimore.

Tom: It was a city on lock down yesterday as the National Guard came in to keep the peace after riots and fires tore apart Baltimore.

President Barack Obama: That is not a protest. That is not a statement. It’s people, a handful of people taking advantage of the situation for their own purposes, and they need to be treated as criminals.

Tom: More than 230 people have been arrested so far, including at least 34 young people. The protests started peacefully more than a week ago after Freddie grey died in police custody.

It is part of a growing movement to bring attention to police treatment of black men.

Adam Fishman: I think everyone kind of needs to step up and realize, you know what, let’s gather together, let’s gain some support, you know, let’s look at these issues and see what’s going on.

Scott: Thanks Tom. We will keep following this story.

Alright, coming up, we are taking a look at life in Cuba.

We are continuing our in depth look at Cuba as the U.S. begins to open up a new relationship with the country. Today, Maggie Rulli shows us the past, present and future of those living their lives on the island nation.

Maggie: Denise Duarte loves being center stage. She sings, dances, and acts for one of the most prestigious theater groups in Cuba called “La Colmenita.”

Denise Duarte: I don't see it as a school. I see it more like a family.

Maggie: Just a 15 minute bus ride from “La Colmenita” is her home. She lives here in Havana with her parents, her sister, and her two dogs.

Like most Cubans in Havana, Denise and her family live modestly, a comfortable life but one without a lot of luxuries. That’s because Cuba is ruled by the Communist Party.

The government controls most aspects of daily life, like how much money families will earn each month, where they can live, and even what they can watch or read. It is all

1 | P a g e part of a system put into place by Fidel Castro, who ruled the country for almost 50 years

In 1959, Fidel Castro, with the help of his brother Raul, led a revolution and overthrew the Cuban government.

David Batista: I believe the revolution happened because of a lot of bad governments that we had before, bad economy, a lot of poverty, and the fact that government did not take care of poor people at all.

Maggie: Castro built a new communist government. The goal of communism is to take ownership of all of the land and resources and then spread wealth out evenly among society, in theory, minimizing the gap between the richest and the poorest people.

Castro's government seized control of over $25 billion of property and private businesses from the Cuban people. Many families lost everything.

Male: My grandparents and my parents lost a lot. And I don’t mean materially. I mean lost a lot in terms of identity, in terms of homeland.

Maggie: Castro also began restricting people’s freedoms. Cuba no longer held elections, the government prohibited the practice of religion, and even limited other choices, like how much food you received through government ration cards.

Maggie: So with the card you get things like rice, sugar, chicken, fish. But if you want things outside of that, you go to the store and you buy them.

Denise: But it's better to buy it with the card, because they have prices much lower than at the stores.

Maggie: We just bought this pineapple for around 16 cents, which back in the states is next to nothing. But here in Cuba, where people live off just 20 bucks a month, pineapples can be a luxury. And luxuries are out of the question as most Cubans have struggled just to put food on the table for decades.

Even though we are just 90 miles apart, the U.S. cut off all ties with Cuba in 1961. U.S. companies were not allowed to do business here, meaning no buying or selling of goods, and travel was nearly impossible.

It was all meant to punish the country by hurting its economy. And it has been the longest standing embargo in modern history.

This crippled the Cuban economy and left a food shortage across the country.

David: The fact that we cannot use dollars makes everything more expensive.

2 | P a g e Maggie: Those who spoke out against Fidel, were quickly silenced through beatings, jail time, or even forced to leave the country. Thousands of Cubans began to flee.

But some of Castro's changes did benefit the people of Cuba.

He pushed to get equality for blacks and women on the island. He also made healthcare and public transportation free for all Cubans, and education became a top priority.

Unlike American students, kids here in Cuba aren't worried about debt after college. That's because the government covers all their costs of education through a Master's degree.

This led to Cuba having one of the highest rates of literacy in the world, even higher than in the United States.

Harold Cardenas: We don't have a good economy. We don’t have many good things to offer, but we have very prepared people. And that’s very important because many countries with better economies, doesn't has as many doctors, as many professionals that we have.

Maggie: For Denise, if being an entertainer doesn't work out, she plans on becoming an economist, like her mom. And she says that even though the U.S. embargo on Cuba has hurt the country economically, the country will never be robbed of its rich culture.

Denise: Despite the fact that the embargo hasn't allowed our country to develop. It is a country that no matter how little we have, we share it with the world.

Scott: Cuba has been cut off from much of the world for decades, but that is starting to change.

Cardenas: This is very expensive. So when you get one of these in your hands, you must take good care of it.

Maggie: Harold Cardenas is a political blogger in a country where only 5 percent of the people has access to the internet.

Cardenas: When you say blogger in Cuba, pretty much nobody knows what it is. You know you must explain to them, I’m a blogger, I write stuff on the internet' “Ah, yes. The internet, that thing”

Maggie: One internet card like this costs around $5 per hour for a slow, unreliable connection.

Cardenas: $5 is what you earn in almost a week.

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Maggie: But Harold takes full advantage of his time as he writes about political issues on his blog, La Joven Cuba, or, the Young Cuba.

Cardenas: Cuba is changing very fastly, and I think we don't appreciate how fast this is going because we are living inside.

Maggie: In 2008, Fidel Castro became too sick to lead the country, so he handed over power to his brother Raul.

Cardenas: When Raul Castro came to power, when he became president, I was very skeptical.

Maggie: But the new change in leadership lead to some new changes in their day-today lives.

David: Instead of controlling everything, what is happening is what they are calling the new economic model. It’s allowing private people to run small businesses.

Maggie Rulli: So, while things like health, education, and food are still controlled by the government, Cubans are now being allowed to open up their own private businesses, as long as the government deems them to be “non-essential”.

Twenty years ago, a street like this would have never existed, but Cuba has gone though some changes over the past few years, and now certain private businesses like restaurants, hair salons, and small shops are allowed to open.

And although there is still no freedom of the press, the country has become a little more lenient on Cubans, like Harold, who have been critical of the government.

Cardenas: I think we have much more freedom to say things and write stuff right now than 10 years before. And that’s very important. It’s a huge accomplishment.

But still, Cuba ranks among the world’s worst countries for freedom of speech. Fortunately, Cubans who for years have had no means of communication to the outside world are slowly gaining access.

Harold took us out to a part of town where young people hang out on weekends.

Cardenas: The young people hang out together and they share files, they take pictures, they take selfies, that is the new thing here, they’re a little late.

Maggie: They also share music from their favorites artists.

Mary Angel: Nicki Minaj Justin Beiber, Rhianna, Miley Cyrus.

4 | P a g e Maggie: Since internet speeds are so slow, it is easier for people to download just one song, picture, or music video, and then transfer them to friends over Bluetooth. And it is also a way for them to get around the government, which still regulates what they can and can’t watch on TV.

But as Cuban’s gain more and more freedoms, they can’t help but crave more, something that will only be possible if the American embargo is lifted.

Cardenas: The Cubans relate much more to a country that is moving towards somewhere and that is changing, than a country that is stuck in time.

Maggie Rulli, Channel One News.

Scott: For more on culture, food, and sports in Cuba, just head to Channelone.com.

Ok guys, we are out of time. We will see you tomorrow.

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