There is a very special house in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood. According to what renowned historian and visual arts researcher Lillian Llanes says, it is the first mansion in Havana which we have bibliographical evidence about that has an indoor pool.
Tony Cragg, an important English sculptor living in Germany, traveled to Cuba to open his personal exhibition: Toni Cragg. Sculptures and drawings, at Havana’s National Fine Arts Museum.
Every Friday, on my way to the National Bus Station from my workplace, I usually wait for something to surprise me, as the journey is always monotonous and boring. Today I could hear a different sound from a distance, which my ear couldn’t make out: it was less powerful than a clarinet and sweeter.
Satisfying the most demanding tastes of the French and European market, lover of exclusive fragrances, the French perfume house Guerlain has returned to the same place in Havana it once founded in 1917.
From the French who founded the city of Cienfuegos, Lourdes Maria Trigo Bermudez took the tradition of decorative ribbons, a craft which requires a lot of work but fascinates this fashion designer. She was previously a Spanish and Literature teacher but as many Cubans had to redirect their careers towards one which would give them better earnings and the chance to express themselves artistically.
Octavio Irving Hernandez Jimenez is a Cuban artist who enjoys great national and international acclaim. He has worked as a cultural promoter, teacher and art methodologist. He has taken part in over 40 group exhibitions and has unveiled eight personal displays.
Over the past 25 years, the Mella Theater in Havana has become my second home. Here, I have witnessed unique and once-in-a-lifetime moments in Cuban culture.
In Cuba today, in response to the start of reestablishing diplomatic ties with the US, we’re beginning to talk about the interaction between art, culture and economy in a coherent way.
“My mother has been a very important person in my life because I grew up watching ballerinas and going to ballet performances. Even though I never step onto the stage, I also have this art form in my blood,” claims the young composer and pianist Pepe Gavilondo.
The name “Failde Orchestra” is just beginning to be heard regularly on the Cuban music scene. Founded in April, 2012 by the young flutist Ethiel Failde, the great-great-grandson of Miguel Failde, the musician who, two decades ago, got everyone in Matanzas dancing to his danzón called Las Alturas de Simpson.