Not to be political, but I don't think the US viewpoint is going to improve with our current administration. Somehow, I'm not seeing any poetry jams being held at the White House any time soon. Not to mention live presentation of the Arts. Nope, bowling and pizza parties coming up.
But I digress....
Music is prevalent in Cuba--classical, jazz (of course, jazz!), modern, Caribbean, you name it. Walking down the streets of Havana you hear it pouring from every door of houses, paladares, bars and street performers performing on a assortment of handmade instruments.
Some of the best preserved buildings are the ones that have to do with the arts- we saw the
School of Dance (classical dance, modern dance), a film school and others.
Even the graffiti on buildings has a level of artistry to it, and we were fascinated when we came across a particularly unique piece. They are just tagging a building, they are creating art. Maybe they are encourage to help take away from the decay. I'm not sure.
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| School of dance run by former ballerina |
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| Wall art. |
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| Political graffiti |
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| Film studio. |
We were taken to what is referred to as the 'Free Market' in the former train depot. I was hoping more for a locals artisan market (they are around), but the Free Market is basically several hundred booths all selling the same version of things made in China. There were some artists there with paintings, but the rest was jewelry, Panama hats, Che/Castro hats, Tshirts, etc.
And its a bartering set up--groovy. I've never been one to dicker, Tim gave it a shot and we bought a few things to be nice.
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| View of the Free Market (former railway station) |
The rest of the pictures were from the New Year's Eve celebration that the hotel held. Ballerina, salsa dancers, water ballet, drummers from a more modern pop band and old guy who walked into the pool to take pictures and then wondered later how his shoes and pants got wet.
Did Tim shoes dry out? Just kidding!
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