We learned that Cuba is trying to protect its cultural heritage, but that does not mean that all artists are supported by the state. It does pay people professional performers such as those who sing in the choir we heard in Cienfuegos, and to teach dance, singing, painting, and the like, but it doesn’t pay them just to create art. And, while it supports some cultural projects for children, they don’t reach everyone.
In a very low income barrio of Havana a group of artists got together to bring art to the neighborhood and its children and provide a place for artists to work. We visited the project, called Muraleando, to learn about its programs. In the beginning, the woman who teaches art told us, the after school and weekend classes were held on the street, and, of course, were suspended when it rained. Murals were painted and sculptures created and installed on the surrounding streets by the artists in the group to beautify the neighborhood.
Here’s an owl family and its nest made of cast off springs
An elderly lady, whose name was Elena, came to the corner upon which the artists were concentrating and sat on a stump every day. When asked what she was doing, she replied “I am looking for my lover.” When she died (I think in her eighties) the artists created a bench in her memory.
Many of the artists had grown up in the neighborhood, and they knew that there was an abandoned concrete water tank in the midst of a vacant lot used as a dump. After some time, and many negotiations, they convinced the government to give them the tank and the lot. The community got together to remove all the garbage that had been dumped there. The government provided a backhoe for half a day – all the rest of the work was done by hand.
Then with a borrowed jackhammer a hole was opened in the tank itself, and after the stagnant smelly water rushed out, they spent many days removing the trash that had accumulated in the tank and enlarging the entrance. Next electricity and lighting were installed, and the interior painted. They now had a space in which the artists could work and to which the children could come after school and on weekends to take classes.
Over time, various terraces and patios have been added, and a paladar (private restaurant and bar) is on top the tank. All of this has been done with donated materials and volunteer labor.
Classes in painting, sculpture and other visual arts, dance and music are offered, as well as movie making. We watched a video that the kids had created that shows the history of the project. And we listened to a band made up of young adults who had graduated from the program (and danced with the students and teachers).
We had a chance to buy from the artists, of course. I bought a bracelet from Orlando
and a painting from Rafael.
The evening ended with dinner on top the tank and music by another band. Many of us just got up and danced, caught up in the joy that we felt from the community who had made so much out of so little.
Havana, Cuba 4/5/18
Posted from Delta Flight 648 somewhere west of Tallahassee 4/15/18
Mary's Travel Blog 