Susan https://www.flickr.com/gp/36079648%40N04/48a53q
Dan https://www.flickr.com/gp/36079648%40N04/8V61x8
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We're back from Cuba. Another great trip. I'll be adding details here and on the other pages, but in the meanwhile, here are direct links to our pictures (I seem to have had an ongoing focus problem).
Susan https://www.flickr.com/gp/36079648%40N04/48a53q Dan https://www.flickr.com/gp/36079648%40N04/8V61x8
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The evening prior to Esterio's show opening, MOLAA hosted a party for their board and donors at Troika. No surprise - it was a great party. Between the space, the food & drinks and Esterio's art, how could it not be? picture from MOLAA Facebook page (I need to get something from Dan)!
Not only was Goodbye My Love proudly on display, but both the prints and the plates (as in dishes) of the erotic series showing Fidel Castro and the island of Cuba represented as a woman were also hung at Troika (and sadly enough, not up any longer - it's a long story). The highlight has to be the original chalk drawing that Esterio did on the chalkboard wall. It is meant to be erased, but hasn't yet... stand by... let's see what happens. It will be a tough thing for anyone to do! The show runs until February 22, 2015. Well worth seeing. Check it out.
Our submarine car drawing is in the show. Kind of exciting ;) I'm way behind on this! Esterio came to LA to do the install at Troika in December of 2013 - ahead of Troika's new space opening at the beginning of 2014. Thanks so much to Carla and Suzanne from SaltFineArt. Here are some pictures from the installation on their website. And here's a great video that Troika put together during the installation. There are also videos about the other art and artists displayed at Troika - all worth taking a look at. I'm sharing Peggy's list (hope she doesn't mind). So glad to have it so I'll be better prepared this time!
Travel Guides: There are many guidebooks these days but one that I like is CUBA HANDBOOK by Christopher Baker. He regularly runs trips to Cuba for National Geographic and I see him “on the ground” frequently, so you know that his information is current. Books - Historical, Political and Cultural Background: THE CUBA WARS by Daniel Erickson US policy towards Cuba CUBA-WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW (2nd Edition) by Julia Sweig US policy towards Cuba HAVANA NOCTURNE by T.J.English History of the Mafia era in Cuba leading up to the Revolution THE HISTORY OF HAVANA by Dick Cluster and Rafael Hernandez Written by an American and a Cuban with their blended perspectives. Hernandez is often a lecturer for our groups in Havana. THE CUBA READER: History, Culture, Politics edited by Aviva Chomsky, Barry Carr and Pamela Maria Smorkaloff CUBA CONFIDENTIAL by Ann Louise Burdach On the policies of the exile community in Miami JOSE MARTI: SELECTED WRITINGS edited by Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, Penguin Classics CUBA, THE PURSUIT OF FREEDOM by Hugh Thomas Novels: OUR MAN IN HAVANA by Graham Greene THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest Hemingway OUR HOUSE IN THE LAST WORLD by Oscar Hijuelos Articles: Written at the beginning of the Obama administration in 2009, this piece by Julia Sweig is a concise and insightful read on Cuba/US relations (or the lack thereof). http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/Cover-Memo-to-President-Obama_9133 JOSE FUSTER, whom we will meet and work with while in Cuba. http://www.havana-cultura.com/en/int/visual-art/jose-fuster/cuban-artist-painter-and-sculpture HEMINGWAY IN CUBA, from the Wall Street Journal, Dec. 2013 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304439804579206022406525070 Film – most available on Netflix or Amazon: UNFINISHED SPACES - PBS 2012 Award winning documentary on the building of Cuba’s most prestigious art school, Instituto Superior de Arte. Built on the grounds of the old Havana Country Club, beginning in 1964, the school’s history is an insightful look at many aspects of Cuban society and its more recent history. HELLO HEMINGWAY by Fernando Perez, 1990 Cuba in the 50’s and a young girl’s coming of age in a time of social upheaval. EL OJO DEL CANARIO by Fernando Perez, 2010 Story of Cuba’s national hero, Jose Marti. VIVA CUBA by Juan Carlos Cremata, 2004 Two friends’ journey from Havana to Maisi in Eastern Cuba. CHICO Y RITA by Fernando Trueba, 2010 Academy Award nominated feature length animated film CONDUCTA by Ernesto Daranas, 2014 Recent winner, Best Film at the Havana Film Festival of New York, contemporary look at life in Havana from the perspective of an 11 year old boy, struggling to make ends meet. What we thought was a once in a lifetime thing has become a twice in a lifetime opportunity. Several of the people who were on our trip had already signed up to go again with MOLAA in May - a trip which includes attending Havana's Art Biennial. It was actually sold out, but there were cancellations and we filled the gaps! Both Stuart and Peggy will be leading this trip and it's looking like it will be great.
Note: we booked this before all the new events between Cuba and the US. It should be fascinating to talk to Cubans and see how this has effected travel in Cuba already. We're feeling very lucky that we were able to go the first time ahead of any changes and then go again on the cusp of who-knows-what! Mojitos here we come... I haven't even finished the book yet, but I love it - despite some awful reviews and negative comments on goodreads. I don't know how accurate it is, but it feels real to me. It takes place in the early 90s. The author lived in Cuba for 4 years and this is written like a diary, not a novel. I have learned a lot so far and it has given me more background to see how far things in Cuba have come along (for the better) and to know that there are many things about Cuba that we didn't really see while on our trip. It's the esplanade and seawall that stretches along the coast of Havana. It was built to protect the city but has become the place to hang out as well as the best fishing access. We didn't have an opportunity to experience a weekend night there in Havana but we did get a chance to walk along the malecón in Cienfuegos on a Saturday night. That was a party! Hundreds of people of all ages hanging out. No pictures - didn't want to look like tourists ;) The malecón in Havana (and its huge streetlights arching over it) are a very common theme in a lot of Cuban art. It was also the site of Juanito's "Behind the Wall" exhibition (see the Art page and be sure to click on the link to the video trailer) Photos: Dan Didn't want to leave Frank off the site since we did buy some beautiful art from him. He has partnered with 3 other young artists to open up 7ma y 60 Visual Arts Studio to display their work. He has made over 600 of these small pencil drawings. He tries to do one a day (they can take from 20 minutes to over 2 hours) and he considers them a journal. The notebook shows how he tracks his sales - since these are generally neither named nor numbered. The actual purchase process was pretty interesting. We set a time and he came to our hotel with the drawings. We met in the lobby and sat at the bar, checked the art and exchanged a big handful of cash (US dollars). We did this with another artist and other people on the trip also had exchanges going on at the same time. Struck me as very capitalistic, to say the least. |