Los Ángeles, USA,Aug 16 -Prensa Latina) Aretha Franklin, the undisputed ''Queen of Soul'' who sang with matchless style on such classics as ''Think,'' ''''I Say a Little Prayer'' and her signature song, ''Respect,'' and stood as a cultural icon around the globe, has died at age 76 from pancreatic cancer.

Three new Cuban films are currently in different stages of production, and their directors hope they will make the cut to compete in the 40th edition of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, held in Havana every December.

US filmmaker Oliver Stone is set to direct today Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro in an intimate New York-set drama.

Sancti Spiritus - The giant guayabera that protects the House that bears the name of the national garment, the only institution of its kind in Cuba, will march through the streets of this Sancti Spiritus town, founded in 1514.

The Eduardo Abela Salon honors a plastic artist, born in San Antonio de los Baños. Its headquarters is located in the Provincial Center that bears the name of the creator and where the Hall is held at that level. In 2001, it was decided to change its name and call it Salón Habana; but in 2011, as a result of the new Political-Administrative Division, it retakes its initial name Eduardo Abela Hall, which it had kept for 18 years.

Several Cuban artists raised their voices in support of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples in their struggle for a better future during the cultural activity of the closing ceremony of the 24th Sao Paulo Forum.