A ballerina whose life reached a “turning point” when she met Castro

Americas Now

This week’s Urban Voice on “Americas Now” is a ballerina from Cuba named Marta Ortega.

Former Royal Ballet superstar Carlos Acosta formed a new company called Acosta Dance and Marta Ortega is one of its dancers. Marta shows us what a typical day in Havana is like for her and tells us about the people and places that inspire her.

She also recounts the day she met Fidel Castro.

Cuba is home of some of the world’s famous dancers. On the top of the list is legendary ballerina Alicia Alonso. She danced for the American Ballet Theater and eventually became the first western dancer invited to perform in the Soviet Union. At age 95 she is the director of the famous National Ballet of Cuba and she still joins the company while touring abroad.

Check out this week’s Urban Voice on ballet dancer Marta Ortega here.