Skip to main content

D.C. mayor meets with counterpart in Cuba

WASHINGTON — As part of a delegation to Cuba this week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has been touring parts of the island and talking with a number of Cuban leaders, including her counterpart, Havana Mayor Marta Hernández Romero.

Related Stories

“It was an honor to meet with Mayor Hernández Romero as we build a relationship between our two capital cities,” Bowser said in a statement.

“As one of the first U.S. city delegations in decades to visit Havana, we have put ourselves in a position to form a positive working relationship that we hope will benefit our region in years to come.”

Bowser is on the island with political and business leaders from the District, Maryland and Virginia.

The trip was organized by the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which says the delegation will “lay the groundwork for future relationships and potential economic and cultural opportunities in Cuba.”

Bowser has also met this week with Cuban officials in healthcare, education and tourism as well as the U.S. Ambassador in Cuba Jeffrey DeLaurentis.

The trip is scheduled to last through Thursday. It comes ahead of a historic visit from President Barack Obama set for next month.

Martin Scorsese, Cynthia Erivo to headline National Book Festival in DC

The National Book Festival is Saturday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest D.C. It will, of course, feature dozens of authors discussing their work, as regular attendees have come to expect. But this year, there’s more than just books and authors being celebrated. “We want people to understand the magic and the vastness of the collections at the Library of Congress,” Clay Smith, literary director of the Library of Congress told WTOP. His team puts the festival together each year. The festival is aiming to give attendees a broader look at American culture beyond books and the written word, Smith said.
Read Next Story