NEW ORLEANS– This year’s cultural exchange at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival promises to be special.

As festival producer Quint Davis put it, Cuba comes to Jazz Fest!

Davis says it’s a project that has taken time and resources.

“We been working on this for two years,” he explained. “We went to Senator Landrieu’s office in Washington to say we want to do this. We’re gonna need to get through the state department, the treasury department. She hooked us up to go to the Cuban Embassy in Washington and meet with the American Ambassador to Cuba. We’re bringing 150 people from Cuba. That means 150 visas and interviews, which has never been done.”

Those 150 folks include artists, musicians, and cultural ambassadors. In past years Jazz Fest has featured South Africa, Belize, and Martinique.