While Barack Obama pledged to fight hard to advance his agenda in his final year in office, the two-term president had decided to take yet another break from work to attend the South by Southwest Music and Film Festival (SXSW).
The annual event that takes place in Austin, Texas is the edgy American version of the Cannes Film Festival.
Days after his appearance at SXSW, the president will be heading to Cuba for the first visit by a president since 1928.
Obama has developed a cozy relationship with Cuban President Raul Castro (Fidel Castro’s brother), and will be able to meet with the “Cuban dissident movement,” during his time in the new and growing vacation spot for liberal celebrities.
In 2013, Obama pals, Beyonce Knowles and Jay Z vacationed in Cuba. The visit, which appeared to be a violation of U.S. law, and subsequently triggered a nine-page investigation by the Treasury Department, was eventually deemed legal as part of an “educational exchange program.”
While Beyonce’s education for the Cuban people may have included a new dance move, the benefit (and cost) of Obama’s visit to the communist nation is unknown.
