Madonna arrives at a restaurant in downtown Havana. Photo: Reuters
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Madonna celebrates 58th birthday in Havana
Megastar and her 19-year-old daughter Lourdes take to the streets of Cuba’s capital, dancing in a restaurant and drawing crowds wherever they go
Madonna walks along a street in Havana, where she is celebrating her 58th birthday. Photo: AFP
Pop singer Madonna celebrated her 58th birthday in Havana on Tuesday, dancing to Cuban beats during a night on the town and drawing crowds as she toured the city.
The Material Girl’s visit got a write-up in the Cuban Communist party’s official newspaper, Granma, which reported that she “toured different city squares to start the first day of her visit, which will last until Wednesday”.
It said the US pop superstar was in Cuba with her eldest daughter, Lourdes, a 19-year-old model whose father is Cuban dancer and fitness trainer Carlos Leon. American photographer Steven Klein and stylists B. Akerlund and Andy Lecompte are travelling with them, it said.
Madonna posted a picture of herself to her Twitter account with the caption “Cuba Libre”. It shows her wearing a revealing black dress with yellow flowers and smiling as she tips a black hat.
Videos posted online by fans show her dressed in the same outfit strolling through the streets of Old Havana and dancing to Cuban beats at a restaurant in the historic city centre as onlookers cheer.
The singer is celebrating her birthday in Cuba. Photo: Reuters
The news site Cubadebate said Madonna was planning a “big party” on Tuesday with the “rhythms and flavours” of Cuba.
Crowds wait for a glimpse of Madonna. Photo: AP
Madonna is the latest in a string of US celebrities to visit Cuba since its historic rapprochement with the United States was announced in December 2014. Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé, Jay Z, Katy Perry, Kanye West, Usher, Paris Hilton, and Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian have all been to the Caribbean island recently.
On the streets of Havana. Photo: AFP
US citizens are still officially banned from travelling to Cuba as tourists but President Barack Obama’s administration has loosened travel restrictions, enabling more Americans to make the trip under permitted categories such as “cultural exchanges”.