Arte de Cuba

Cuba's art, dance and music is one of the most well known things about Cuba. Whenever I thought of Cuba before I went, I pictured tons of dancing and music everywhere. There is a huge variety of music playing everywhere, the type depends on where you are--in taxis pop music plays, in tourist zones you can hear traditional music being played, in neighborhoods and homes it might be anything from Cuban rap or pop  to American rock or salsa. Art has received strong government support since the revolution, leading to a flourishing art scene, although there has been censorship over the  years. Throughout our travels we checked out several different art scenes in Cuba.


Nearing the end of our stay at Marko's Casa in Havana, we went to the Centro Cultural El Gran Palenque. There was live rumba dance and music that we watched for awhile. They did several different dances, including a little bit of salsa and cha-cha-cha. After the dancing, they switched to just singing, but unfortunately, the mic wasn't working very well, so we decided to go. This was one of their many weekly Saturday gatherings, where tourists and locals alike go to enjoy the music, dance and bar.

While we were in Havana, we switched apartments for our last night. The neighborhood where our 2nd apartment was located was not ideal; however, we were close to what seemed to be the only really bakery in Havana, as well as Callejon de Hamel, a cool art alley. The artist who made Callejon de Hamel an important art attraction and tourist stop is named Salvador Gonzales Escalona. Escalona is a painter who spent over two decades in Italy, Venezuela, Norway, Cuba, and America. Callejon de Hamel is the result of Escalona painting the alley outside of his apartment in central Havana. He painted abstract images of humans, as well as put in tons of bathtub benches, and sculptures. Along with Escalona's art, every Sunday at around noon, rumba music starts. Callejon de Hamel is a very unique part of Havana, because there doesn't seem to be a lot of street art.

On our second to last night in Trinidad, we went to Casa de la Musica, a nightly music and drinks event. They were playing rumba music, and there were several different types of dances being performed. We got some drinks and watched for a bit. Rumba originated from African slaves who brought their traditional music to Cuba. Rumba first started to take shape in the 1890s when ex-slaves would drum on packing cases on the docks in Havana and Matanzas. They started with more traditional music, but through outside influences, started to make more complex patterns and soon enough vocals were added into the mix along with dances. Rumba dance has three different forms, guaguanco, yambu and columbia. A new genre emerged in the 1940s, called son montuno, which was part of the start of salsa. This Afro-Cuban dance was transported back to Africa after WWII, and a new genre of rumba was formed, soukous. Rumba music is usually performed by a group of 12, with a lead singer, chorus, and several people on drums, claves, marugas (iron shakers), palitos (sticks), and cajones (packing cases). The rumba we saw in Trinidad was a large group performing in this style.

In Trinidad, there are tons of art galleries. We looked inside several, and bought one piece of art from a studio new to the area. A young couple purchased an old building and renovated it into a gallery as well as a community art space. The woman we bought the artwork from is an architect who is designing the place, and her partner is the artist who painted the piece we bought. Along with modern paintings in galleries, there are many small sculptures and common art found in the tourist markets. A popular theme is Cubans smoking cigars; however, I over heard a tour guide saying that most Cubans don't smoke cigars, but cigarettes instead. I can definetely front the tour guides statement, because everyone smokes cigarettes in Cuba, and I haven't seen anywhere that an average Cuban would even buy cigars. There are also lots of portraits of people not smoking cigars. There are portaits of women wearing head wraps, the Cuban flag, old cars. You don't have to look far to find images of Che, as there are giant images and posters of his face all over Cuba.

On the last day of our trip we were in Havana and we went to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes-Arte Cubano. The museum has a wide range of paintings and sculptures all featuring Cuban artists. There are several floors, each with different styles of art. My favorite floor had a bunch of hyper-realistic portraits and some landscapes. One of my favorite pieces was a portrait of Jose Marti painted by Jorge Arche in 1943. Jose Marti was an important figure in Cuba's history and the War of Independence in the late 1800's. He was a poet and journalist who died in battle in 1895. His quotes and name are still seen throughout Cuba. Jorge Arche was an artist born in 1905 in Santo Domingo, Las Villas. He died in 1956 in Cadiz, Spain. His paintings are very realistic. Another floor featured post revolution art, there are a lot of weird, and some creepy, paintings. My favorite was El gran fascista, by Rafael Zarza. He was born in Havana in 1944, and painted this piece in 1973. Besides the paintings, there were also some sculptures. They didn't seem to be the center of attention at the art museum, but there was a sculpture of a big saw, and a small castle like structure made of french presses.

Portrait of  Jose Marti

El gran fascista

I think that art is important everywhere, and I appreciated the art Cuba has to offer.