MONDAY, JAN. 28
Art in a storm
Last night was more of an adventure than we anticipated. As scheduled, we arrived at the Cuban Art Factory, a repurposed cooking oil factory with exhibit galleries, a movie theater, and performance space, for a tour by a young staff member. He explained that the factory had been empty for more than 30 years and that they had to renovate it before opening several years ago. They now offer programming every evening from Thursday to Sunday and draw 2500 guests. There are nine bars scattered about and a private restaurant on the top floor.
We toured two levels of art and were impressed by the range of photography and paintings, much of it focusing on social issues.
It had begun to rain and on the way upstairs to Tierra for dinner, we were briefly outside in the rain. We walked through one area of tables and then through a glass door to our table. We ordered drinks and then watched the teeming rain cascade off the plastic covering of the space next to us. It streamed down repeatedly and suddenly everything went dark. The tables all had candles, and most everyone around had a smartphone with a flashlight for reading the menu. Meanwhile I watched more rain pour off the plastic tarp roofing in the next room and hoped that there would be no dire consequences.
Our drinks eventually arrived and we ordered the rest of our meal. Although there were no salads to be had, surprisingly, this kitchen and waitstaff working by flashlight and candles, were able to produce fish and chips and a chicken Thai dish that was very good! Despite the pounding rain and the lack of illumination, no one left the dining room prematurely. Joining us at the table was William Acosta, an up and coming young painter, who is doing very well. He previously did sculpture, but found painting to be easier to create (supplies have to be ordered from abroad in advance) and more salable. He is represented by art dealers in New York and San Francisco and other cities and will be a part of the Havana Biennial (big art show) in April.
It was still raining hard and dark as we left the restaurant and carefully picked our way down the several levels of stairs, iPhone flashlights in hand, to board our bus back. It was dark all the way and the hotel too was dark. The rain was so heavy that we had puddles on our stone floor from the wind and heavy rain that came through one window and under the door. With no light (it was already 10:30 pm), we went to bed and were reassured when the ceiling fan whirred to life around 2:30 am.
Insights from a Journalist
On Monday morning, we had awonderful talk on Cuba from the perspective of an American journalist Marc Frank, now with Reuters who previously worked as a reporter for ABC News. Author of Cuban Revelations, he has lived in Havana for more than 20 years, is married to a Cuban woman, and has both a daughter and a stepdaughter. Instead of PowerPoint, he had props or toys, as he called them, to illustrate his talk: a water bottle for the U. S., its cap to represent Cuba, and a small red funnel with line markings he used to describe different periods in Cuba’s history.
Initially he told us that he had been awakened at 3:30 am by a phone call from someone in the Dominican Republic informing him about the tornado in Havana. He didn’t believe it at first, but other calls followed. This was the first most of us knew that last night’s weather had been a particularly strong and destructive tornado and the first one in Havana since 1940. Mr. Frank was a fount of information and insights, amusing, and easy to listen to. We had several morning presentations during our trip, and since we were a small group, these were easily accommodated in the hotel’s outdoor garden area.
Architectural tour
The rest of the morning was devoted to a walking tour with noted Cuban architect, Universo Garcia Lorenzo, who is also a professor of design.
Passionate about his calling, he led us on a delightful stroll down the Paseo del Prada describing the architectural styles and history of the buildings on either side of the promenade and also took us into the lobbies of two hotels. He and his architect wife renovated the Hotel Telegrafo named for the first telegraph station.
They retained the style of the original façade and added two stories which have a simpler more contemporary look to them. The lobby inside was gorgeous, on one side very modern and on the other more traditional with the original stone arches and a lovely soft toned mural. The other hotel, Hotel Sevilla, was also grand and beautiful, but totally different in style. It was a great presentation!
Lunch and afternoon touring
Lunch was at the famous and old restaurant, Paladar La Guarida, in a building that, although in need of repair, has an impressive winding staircase. The dining rooms have ochre walls covered with historic photos and memorabilia. We got several small appetizers—squash soup, tiny fish taco, eggplant caviar in a cream sauce, and a spinach crepe filled with chicken in a mild raspberry coulis.
These were followed by a choice of entree: baked lemon chicken, grilled fish, pork, or lobster. I had the chicken and the Chief Penguin the fish, and both were very good. On the table for all were bowls of white rice, Moors & Christians (black beans and rice), boiled yucca, and fried plantains. Dessert was a tiny taste of lemon pudding and crumbled cookie and a small mound of chocolate pudding. Mojitos to start as usual. Very tasty lunch and again plenty of food! Those who know me well know I’m a foodie so I’m always ready to describe what we ate!
After lunch we visited the famous Revolution Square, a wide-open paved space surrounded by government buildings and monuments. It is here that in January 1998 one million Cubans came to hear Pope John Paul II say mass and here also that Fidel Castro delivered a six-hour speech. There is something to see in all directions: next to a tall tower a statue of Jose San Marti, philosopher and poet and probably the most famous person all Cubans relate to, and black outlines of the faces of Che Guevara and another revolutionary, Camilo Ciengfuegos, on the Ministry of the Interior and the telecommunications buildings.
The next stop was lighter in mood as we stepped back in time to the historic Hotel Nacional. Dating to the 1930’s, it attracted international visitors and performers from around the world. In the lounge are large posters, one for each decade from the 1930’s to the present, with photographs of some of these personages. Everyone from Churchill and Obama to Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra.
Our last stop of the day was a huge arts and crafts warehouse on the Malecon with stall after stall of t-shirts, leather handbags and wallets, cigars, and the like, plus at the back, rows and rows of Cuban drawings and paintings.
Percussion, anyone?
In the evening two teachers from the Havana Music School demonstrated several different percussion instruments. Then they taught us the techniques for playing them: clava, washboard gourd, and maracas. Having mastered these, or not, we then tried to incorporate salsa dance steps with the instruments. Several of us were very adept at one or the other, but only one person seemed able to do two things at once—play and dance simultaneously!
Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)
