Discover Cuba 2024(A)

  Ballet holds a special place in my life, having grown up immersed in and adoring the art form. Although I left the world of dance behind many years ago, I continue to appreciate and enjoy watching ballet in my free time. From my early years, I was aware of Russia's reputation for producing some of the world's best dancers, with the Vaganova Academy known for its harsh yet highly technical training. For many, disciplines like ballet, along with other arts such as ice skating and gymnastics, served as a means of escaping the USSR for individuals, and this trend continues in contemporary Russia. Historically speaking, ballet in Soviet Russia was also used as a political tool to help form and influence public/cultural opinions of the state.  For this module, I was particularly drawn to learning about Carlos Acosta and Cuban ballet. Socialist states, including Cuba under the Communist Party's leadership, have a history of investing in the education and training of artists alon...

Prior to this course, most of my understanding of Cuba's history was synonymous with casual comments in conversations about Castro's rule, how traveling to Cuba was illegal for Americans, and a case study regarding McKinley's decision to send the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba. It wasn't until these readings and brief newsreels that I was able to understand a little more of the nuance in Cuba's history, particularly with the involvement of the U.S. and the colonial influence of Spain. Cuba's role as the "crown jewel" of the Spanish empire in the Americas was mainly due to its geographical location, acting as a vital stopping point between Spain and the Americas, as well as a hub for the transatlantic slave trade (of which Spain was a major player). Additionally, Cuba, with its fertile soil, played a crucial role in growing crops. After the collapse of Haiti as a major sugar producer, Cuba quickly filled the void and met the demand for sugar. Leading up to the Cu...

      There are quite an assortment of interesting places in Cuba. Many have important cultural, political, or social connections and are certainly worth a visit. Here are a few places on my bucket list for the trip:     Jose Marti Monument: a place with highly relevant and interesting political social and cultural relevance to the Cuban people. It is a place with the same national importance as say the Lincoln Memorial in our country. I feel it would give an interesting perspective into the Cuban Revolution and their fight for freedom from various spheres of influence, and for this reason, I would like to visit.     Fusterlandia: a neighborhood consumed by surrealist art. The entire neighborhood has color and has been renovated in this style, bringing a unique vibe to the environment that I am unlikely to experience outside Cuba. This place is very culturally relevant as it allows direct insight into Cuban artistic expression, something I would like t...

 Muraleando is a community art installation on the outskirts of Havanna. It was formerly a garbage dump, but beginning in 2001 artists have renovated the area and dubbed it the "Muraleando Community Art Project. Not only is there much creative art to see here, but professional artist volunteer their time to educate the youth about the arts from dancing to painting.     The project was started at the beginning of the Special Period, a 10-year-long economic recession in the 1990s when the Soviet Union collapsed and Cuba's economy began to experience serious problems. Industries collapsed and experienced radical change. On average, Cubans lost 20 pounds per person. The average person was experiencing dire and desperate economic circumstances, and for most goods there was not enough to go around. Muraleando grew as a way for Cubans to express this group's trauma through artistic expression and cope with their unavoidable circumstances.     Founded in a poor neighbor...

  The three places that I would like to visit in Cuba are Fusterlandia, the Wilfredo Lam Art Center, and the Jose Martí Monument. the reason why I want to visit Fusterlandia is because it looks cool. I like being able to walk around and just look at art that was done with some amount of passion. that's also why I like visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. that's also the main reason why I  also want to visit the Wilfredo Lam Art Center. I am hoping that they have some of his art up on display because while watching the videos I found his art to be pretty cool. I like the African mask paintings the most and I'm hoping to buy either a copy or something that is inspired by it in Cuba. I want to visit the Jose Marti Monument due to its cultural significance to Cuba. I also am interested in the history of Cuba and being able to be somewhere where a legitimate Monument was put off someone will be very cool. In other words, I want to be in the country where the...

  Address: 458 P.º de Martí, La Habana 10600, Cuba Capacity: 1,500 (García Lorca Auditorium) Opened: 1915 Phone: +53 7 8613077 Entrance fee: 120 Pesos Hours:  Friday 8:30–10 PM Saturday 8:30–10 PM Sunday Open 24 hours Monday 8:30–10 PM Tuesday Closed Wednesday Closed Thursday Closed The Grand Theater of Havana was designed by the Belgian architect Paul Belau and built by Purdy and Henderson, Engineers in 1914 at the site of the former Teatro Tacón. it is also home to the Cuban National Ballet. the construction was paid for by Gallatin immigrants of Havana to act as a community social center.  the facility has multiple theaters, a concert hall, a video screening room, a conference room, a coral center, an art gallery, and rehearsal halls. Every two years it also hosts the International Ballet Festival of Havana.  The building is very large and it looks amazing both day and night. it is very easy to find and observe shows at the theater. many types of s...

  The first place I would like to visit is Ernest Hemingway's house. Primarily I would like to visit his old residence because I am curious to see how he lived and what his daily life was like.  The second place I am looking to visit is Fusterlandia. The crazy array of colors present in the neighborhood looks astonishing, and I am very curious to see what the inhabitants of the neighborhood think of the art. The third and final place I am going to visit is El Capitolio. I am very curious to see the Cuban government so there is no better place to go than the state capital. Along with this I am eager to see what the architecture of the capital is like first hand.

Places I'd like to visit: 1. Valle de Viñales     This is a UNESCO World Heritage site and looks absolutely gorgeous in pictures. 2. Fusterlandia     This neighborhood is incredibly unique and has crazy artwork around every corner. 3. Finca Vigía     I learned all about Hemmingway in high school and I'm intrigued to see where the author spent much of his life.

 Started by José Fuster in 1975, Fusterlandia is a reclamation of an impoverished neighborhood. The style of Fuster's art is similar to Picasso's; crude child-like drawings and murals litter the walls, floor, and rooftops of his and his neighbor's houses. The neighborhood where Fusterlandia is located, called Jaimanitas, is open to the public and it's totally free to wander through the streets. Fuster says he was struck by Gaudi's public works in Barcelona while abroad and wanted to do something similar. Fusterlandia will absolutely be worth the visit. It's a prime example of what one artist's involvement can do for a community in Cuba - it's places like Fusterlandia that show how special and important art is on the island. Because it's just a neighborhood and technically an unofficially recognized location, it's free to go in any time - just don't be disruptive of the inhabitants! Ugc. “Fusterlandia.” Atlas Obscura , Atlas Obscura, 5 Dec. 20...

 After reading through some of the places my peers wrote about and a few more on the module list on Canvas some attractions and significant historical markers definitely piqued my interest. My top three places:  - The Wilfredo Lam Art Center: I enjoy art and based on the description provided in the discussion there are many contemporary pieces with international influences. There are also very affordable admissions. - The Finca Vigía Museum (Hemingway's House): I did the research for this one myself and I became very very interested in going. I enjoy going to the houses of authors (we have many in New England).  - The Jose Martí Monument: A very important figure in Cuban history; I think the attraction is worth seeing An honorable mention: Floridita Bar, where Hemingway would go for drinks and it was very popular in the 50s-60s.

https://amlatina.contemporaryand.com/places/centro-wilfredo-lam/ The Wilfredo Lam Art Center is named after the Cuban surrealist painter who is often referred to as the "Cuban Picasso". Open Monday-Saturday 10 to 5 with  an admission cost of $3, the gallery is located behind the Catedral de la Habana inside the 18th century Casa del Obispo Penalver. On display in the center are exhibits of Lam's etchings and lithographs, as well as temporary shows of contemporary works by Cuban and South American artists. Lam was heavily influenced by Picasso, Baroque and the poet Andre Breton as a result of his time in France in the early 1900s. The mission of the Center is to  " investigate and promote contemporary visual arts of Africa, Middle East, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and to study and promote the work of Wifredo Lam, the celebrated Cuban painter."( https://amlatina.contemporaryand.com/places/centro-wilfredo-lam/)

The Finca Vigía Museum also known as the Hemingway House was designed and lived in by the American classics author Ernest Hemingway. The house is located a little distance outside of Havana and is known for its beautiful view of the city from the terrace. In the historical house, Hemingway endured two of his four marriages, a divorce, and wrote two very successful novels, "For Whom the Bells Ring" and "The Old Man and the Sea." Throughout his time at Finca la Vigía, Hemingway made friends, a very important one being the fisherman Gregorio Fuentes who served as the first mate of Hemingway's yacht, Pilar. In addition to making lifelong friends during his frequent and lengthy stays at the estate, Hemingway cared for many cats and dogs, leaving behind a sort of pet cemetery for all of his beloved creatures who lived with him there.  Despite the Cuban Revolution, Hemingway remained amiable with Castro and the Cuban government and was granted several exceptions to s...

  3 Places I want to visit: Fusterlandia: This place looks very artistic and very colorful. El Capitolio: I’d like to visit this place because it's pretty much the capitol building of Cuba. Grand Theatre of Havana: I think this building looks incredible architecturally and I want to experience that first hand.

  The National Capitol Building of Cuba is known as "El Capitolio " in Spanish. It is a prominent landmark located in Havana, the capital city of Cuba. The construction of El Capitolio was completed in 1929, and it served as the seat of the Cuban government until the Cuban Revolution in 1959.   The central hall of El Capitolio holds a remarkable replica of the Statue of the Republic, a symbol of the ideals and values that influenced the structure's design. This space was originally intended to house the Cuban Congress and Senate, emphasizing its significance as a center of political activity during a pivotal period in Cuban history. The building's lavish interior, adorned with intricate detailing and opulent furnishings, further underscores its historical importance. The building is renowned for its neoclassical architecture and grandiose design, inspired by the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. El Capitolio features a large dome and a central hall with a replica of...

       Despite the depth of content and many interesting stories about Cuban music and dance in this module, I was drawn the most to the works of Cuban street artists. In particular I found the story of Yulier Rodriguez to be the most interesting. Yulier Rodriguez is a street artist in Cuba who has completed multiple different projects on dilapidated buildings throughout Cuba, as well as using debris as his canvas for his work. As I mentioned in my last discussion, art is commonly used as a vehicle for self expression and commentary on societal and cultural issues in a country. In Rodriguez’s case, it is no different. In one of the videos about Rodriguez, he puts forth the argument that his work on the many debris piles in Havana is symbolic, because the trash and debris represents the decay of Cuban society which forces many to seek dishonest ways of life to earn a living. When creating illustrations on buildings or debris, Rodriguez says he questions and creates ...

   I had two main ideas come out to me while reading the modules for this assignment. The first one was how important music is in Cuban culture to the point where they invest so much money into the infrastructure of teaching kids from an early age. The second one was how the music in Cuba has an exceptionally diverse background similar to the diversity of the people living in Cuba itself Before I get into those two main points I just wanted to give my secondary thoughts on things I decided to mainly focus on the music aspect instead of the art aspect of these modules because I focused on the art aspect in the last discussion. It was very interesting to see how different people expressed themselves in Cuban art. The person that I think was the coolest was the artist who took rubble painted on it and then returned it. The fact that he says that his art is free and that you have to find it is cool and it also is very interesting because he doesn’t suffer from the material problem...

  I think that the Jose Martí monument is definitely worth visiting on our trip to Cuba. I think it is worth visiting because of the historical significance of the figure of Jose Martí. He has been an inspiration to many people in Cuba and throughout Latin America. I believe it would be important to go to this monument because he played a big part in the independence from Spain in the late 1800’s. He had a huge impact culturally because of his art and his poetry and that inspired a lot of people to make art and to include him in their art. It has social importance because it highlights the struggles that Cuba has had over the last couple centuries. I think that it shows the spirit of the Cuban people because of his intellectual diversity that included art, poetry, and nationalism. I think that these characteristics from Jose Martí have transferred into the people of Cuba. Cuba doesn’t have a huge or long history like other countries such as England or Italy. That makes this monum...