Despite little apparent progress in diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States since President Obama took office, according to the New York Times, more members of the Cuban arts community say more musicians, artists, actors and writers are traveling between the two countries than during George Bush’s presidency.

In June, Silvio Rodríguez, the Cuban songwriter, played a concert at Carnegie Hall, 30 years after his last visit to the United States; and Alicia Alonso, the legendary director of the National Ballet of Cuba, visited New York as part of celebrations for her 90th birthday.

Things have picked up, too, in the theater community. Two Cuban theater groups, Teatro Buenida and Teatro El Público, are performing this month in the United States as part of theater festivals in Chicago and Miami. In March, a group of Cuban playwrights and designers attended a Cuban theater conference at the University of Miami.

The exchanges follow a lull in cultural swaps that began around 2003, when the Bush administration tightened restrictions on travel to Cuba.

Lillian Manzor, director of the Cuban Theater Digital Archive at the University of Miami, said visas for cultural purposes were flowing once more. “Cubans from the island are coming to the U.S. easier — not only musicians, but whole theater groups, and academics also,” she said. “It’s a cause for optimism.”

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