The National Ballet of Cuba, under the direction of the renowned Alicia Alonso, marked International Women's Day with a special performance on the evening of March 7, honoring women heroes of the 1959 Revolution, including the late Vilma Espín, wife of current president Raúl Castro. (AFP, March 8, via Terra, Peru)

In Santo Domingo a group of Dominican women dressed in black celebrated March 8 with a backwards march. Women are "those most affected by the great evils the country is experiencing," organizers said, "since they are the ones who do the most purchasing, who suffer the most from the blackouts in the home, the lack of employment, the lack of security, among many other evils." With signs reading "Today women are in mourning," "No to corruption in the government," "No to the high cost of food," "No to the blackouts," the women walked backwards to the music of "The Bus Is in Reverse," a song by Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra. The protest was organized by the women of the Democratic Institutional Party (PDI), which appears be a spit-off from the social democratic Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD). (La Raza, Chicago, March 9, from EFE)

From Weekly News Update on the Americas, March 13.