The Teatro Nacional, a 2,056-seat theater on the Plaza de la Revolución, was sold out. Two dozen photographers and videographers swarmed the aisles. The Minnesota Orchestra’s concert here Friday night was greeted not only as a rare chance to hear an orchestra from overseas, but as a symbol of the rapprochement between the United States and Cuba.

Back in December, the United States and Cuba announced major steps to end their 50 years of hostility. And some researchers think that Americans could reap an unexpected benefit — better access to Cuban medical innovations.

Planning a trip to Cuba? These days, Americans who want to visit the island can book a room on Airbnb.com, the home-stay website, and browse flights on CheapAir.com. These are options unimaginable six months ago, and they reflect the growing range of travel choices borne of the détente between the two countries.

The first thing Kevin Smith did was call Amy Klobuchar. Could the senator help if Smith pursued this wild idea he had in January, to take the Minnesota Orchestra to Cuba and become the first major U.S. orchestra to play there since President Obama announced his desire to normalize relations? Klobuchar, of course, said yes. The Minnesota Democrat is leading legislation that would lift the 53-year U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba.

The US State Department is asking for more than $6 million to convert its Interests Section in Havana to an embassy and $528,000 for a new program called “Cuba Outreach Initiative,” budget documents show.

Havana-born Cueto’s permanent domicile is two connected apartments in Northwest Washington that he has transformed into a private museum and archive of all things Cuban. Visiting scholars and diplomats come away stunned by one of the most significant personal collections of Cuban culture in the world. 

West Africa’s medical system was brought within an inch of its life by a devastating epidemic. But Cuba could nurse it back to health.What follows is a modest proposal. It endeavors to solve three crucial problems all at once: U.S.-Cuba relations; the post-Ebola human resources deficits in physicians for Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia; and the scarcity of skilled nurses in those same countries.

The move is part of President Barack Obama’s strategy to normalize relations with Cuba by engaging in direct talks with the government of President Raúl Castro. Reviving a mode of travel between the two countries that was common in the 1950s would ease the people-to-people contact that is a cornerstone of Mr. Obama’s policy of engagement.