Caribbean

Halfway through the mesmerizing set of Afro-Caribbean classics that singer-songwriter Rubén Blades presented Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl, he introduced the beloved 1984 hit "Decisiones," noting that it had been banned in his native Panama at the time of its release. "The dictators are now gone," Blades said wryly. "But the song remains. " The same could be said about salsa. Its soulful groove dominated much of Latin music from the mid-'60s to the early '90s. In recent years, however, it has all but disappeared from the Latin American zeitgeist - replaced by more visceral and less complex dance formats such as reggaetón , merengue and bachata . But the songs remain, their staggering sonic richness and poetic imagery intact.

Club Med, pioneer of all-inclusive vacations, has launched a flash sale that ends tonight (Monday). Pick a spot in Cancun, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and even Florida and save 45% off a weeklong stay in late fall and winter. The deal: The sale is good at Club Med properties in Sandpiper, Fla.; Cancun and Ixtapa, Mexico; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic ; the Bahamas; Turks and Caicos and Martinique. Club Med's all-inclusive vacations -- accommodations, meals and lots of beach-centric activities -- also works if you're taking children along.

Representatives of the International Whaling Commission meeting in Panama this week have approved a controversial proposal extending the Aboriginal and Subsistence Whaling quotas for three countries: the United States, Russia and the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent & the Grenadines.  The vote passed by a three-fourths majority, according to American Cetacean Society Director Cheryl McCormick , who is attending the meeting. The proposal sparked objections from a number of whale conservation groups because it is the first to “bundle” the quotas for three whale species into one request, which can be approved with a single vote.

WASHINGTON - After quietly testing Predator drones over the Bahamas for more than 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security plans to expand the unmanned surveillance flights into the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico to fight drug smuggling, according to U.S. officials. The move would dramatically increase U.S. drone flights in the Western Hemisphere, more than doubling the number of square miles now covered by the department's fleet of nine surveillance drones, which are used primarily on the northern and southwestern U.S. borders.

Broadway is trying to find its sea legs. Two hours into the Tony Awards ceremony broadcast by CBS on Sunday night, actor-writer Harvey Fierstein -- wearing a tuxedo jacket, a blue plastic inflatable inner-tube hugging his stomach, pink swim trunks, and hoisting a cocktail glass sporting a tiny umbrella - waddled on stage. But rather than revealing who would win the next category, Fierstein instead introduced a commercial segment that promoted Royal Caribbean International's cruise lines that offer full-length Broadway shows onboard.

It was a theatrical entrance even for the Tony Awards. Actor Harvey Fierstein -- wearing a tuxedo jacket, a blue plastic inflatable inner-tube hugging his stomach, pink swim trunks, and hoisting a cocktail glass sporting a tiny umbrella - waddled on stage two hours into the awards ceremony telecast Sunday on CBS. But rather than revealing who would win the next category, Fierstein instead introduced a commercial segment that promotedRoyal Caribbean...

Earlier this year, I took Overseas Adventure Travel's trip titled "Colombia'sColonial Jewels & Caribbean Coast. " Colombia is a great travel destination, with a plethora of learning and discovery opportunities for adventurous travelers. We visited Bogotá, Santa Marta and my favorite, Cartagena. We experienced everything from coffee tasting to mud baths on the Totuma volcano to a visit to the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá. Overseas Adventure Travel, (800) 955-1925, http://www.oattravel.com . Eleven-day trip from $2,945, including international airfare and taxes.

Teddy Charles, a jazz vibraphonist who performed with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and other bebop-era jazz greats before becoming a charter boat captain in the Caribbean, died Monday at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead on New York's Long Island. He was 84. Charles died of complications from heart disease, according to a niece, Sally Phillips. Although he was grouped with Milt Jackson and Terry Gibbs as a premier vibraphonist of the bebop years reaching from the late 1940s through the '50s, Charles was also well-regarded as a pianist and composer whose cutting-edge recordings of the mid-1950s were forerunners of the avant-garde jazz of the following decade.

The Disney Fantasy 's first cruise on March 31 is sold out, but fans who want to experience the newest Disney ship can still snag good deals on seven-night Caribbean cruises out of Florida in April. Sample prices: $2,042 for two. The deal: The Disney Fantasy was christened March 1 in New York and arrived Tuesday in its Florida home port at Port Canaveral, Fla. Here are some of the lowest prices I found for those who want to get onboard this spring: -- April 21 sailing from Port Canaveral to the Eastern Caribbean spends three days at sea and stops at St. Maartin, St. Thomas/St.