Hola Havana   

Tracey Eaton prepares to open up the Dallas Morning News' Havana bureau.

Like a fine cigar, it's been years in the making. The Dallas Morning News scores a coup of sorts by getting the nod as one of four U.S. media organizations to open a bureau in Havana. Mexico City Bureau Chief Tracey Eaton , who's been to Cuba 27 times, will serve in the same position in Havana. Eaton, 41, says he's thrilled with the assignment. "It's been cut off from the U.S. for the most part for 40 years, and there's a lot about Cuba we're not aware of," Eaton says. "People are very down to earth." Morning News International Editor Kerry Gunnels says the paper has been trying to get permission from Cuban authorities to establish the bureau since the mid-1990s. "We have designs on being the premier paper covering Latin America, and if you're going to do it, Cuba has to be part of the picture." The Associated Press, CNN and the Chicago Tribune are also establishing Cuban presences.