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Madonna latest in stream of celebs visiting Cuba

HAVANA — Madonna is the latest celebrity to visit Cuba, dancing in a restaurant for her birthday and touring Havana with her family and friends.

Pop star Madonna (left) arrives at a restaurant in downtown Havana, Cuba, Aug 16, 2016. Photo: Reuters.

Pop star Madonna (left) arrives at a restaurant in downtown Havana, Cuba, Aug 16, 2016. Photo: Reuters.

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HAVANA — Madonna is the latest celebrity to visit Cuba, dancing in a restaurant for her birthday and touring Havana with her family and friends.

The singer arrived in Havana on Monday (Aug 15).

In a white shawl, black sunglasses and Panama hat, the singer wandered through the streets of Havana with her bodyguards.

Locals took pictures of her with their phones and one group sang “happy birthday,” an AFP photographer saw.

“She is in Cuba to celebrate her 58th birthday in Havana along with her children, relatives and close friends,” state news website Cubadebate said.

Madonna posted a photograph on Twitter of herself in a black dress with a design of yellow flowers and the Spanish message “Cuba libre” or “Free Cuba.”

A video posted on Instagram showed her in the same dress dancing on a table to Cuban music in a restaurant in Havana’s old city.

Fan Taimi Estrada Joba says she hopes to see Madonna perform a concert in Cuba someday. In her words, “We are very happy she came.”

“It was great. I think she had one of her best birthdays ever,” said one local man, Jasel Rey, 26, who said he was present at that celebration on Monday evening. “The best was that she started dancing on a table.”

Cuban state newspaper Granma said Madonna was accompanied by her daughter Lourdes Leon, 19, whose father Carlos Leon is a US-based Cuban dancer and trainer.

After decades of hostility, Cuba formally restored diplomatic relations with the United States last July and eased travel restrictions. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and singer Beyonce have been among the other US stars to visit the country as part of a boom in tourism set off by the declaration of detente with the United States in December 2014.

Cuban state media posted enthusiastic reports about Madonna’s visit and the Foreign Ministry sent a string of tweets welcoming her. AGENCIES

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