Martí monument at the Plaza de la Revolucion |
The most prominent monument in Havana, Cuba, is not for
Fidel Castro, nor Che Guevara. The 109-meter tower honors José Martí, the
intellectual hero of Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain. The poet,
essayist, journalist, professor and philosopher died in action in 1895 at the
age of 42.
At the base of the tower an 18-meter statue of Martí
overlooks the Plaza de la Revolución.
When Fidel Castro was healthier, he delivered his hours-long speeches to
hundreds of thousands of Cubans gathered in the plaza. Castro was born in 1926,
more than 30 years after Martí's death.
One can learn much about a nation's core values by studying
its monuments and how it treats its own history. When the Bolsheviks took power
in 1917, they deliberately tried to erase as much of Czarist Russia as they
could by destroying and denying centuries of cultural history.
Castro's revolution was inspired in part by the same economic issues that fueled the Bolsheviks, but his regime enthusiastically embraced Cuba's
pre-revolutionary culture. The Martí monument was started and completed during
the regime of the hated dictator
Fulgencio Batista, but it became the geographic centerpiece of the new regime. Across
the Plaza de la Revolución, images of
Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, two heroes of Castro's revolution, look back
and up toward Martí.
Monument to Maximo Gomez |
Most of the statues in Havana honor other heroes of the 19th
century War for Independence. A huge and ornate monument to Gen. Maximo Gomez,
for example, anchors the east end of the Malecon,
Havana's famous sea wall.
Che Guavara poster |
Che Guevara is the most prominently honored of the Castro
revolutionaries. His iconic visage based on a famous photograph by the Cuban
photographer Korda adorns t-shirts, hallways, murals, virtually any surface on
which an image can be imprinted.
And
while Cubans do not enjoy the same freedom of expression as Americans do,
parodies of even Guevara exist, such as the poster of his face on a bare torso
painted red with the Nike slogan "Just Do It" across the top.
Almost entirely absent from the iconography of modern
socialist Cuba is the leader of the revolution himself, Fidel Castro. Our guide
explained that this was because Castro has ordered that no statues or monuments
to him be built while he lives. His image will no doubt be ubiquitous when he dies.
Conspicuously absent from Cuban roadsides is any form of
commercial advertising. There are scattered billboards and signs, and even
those whose Spanish is limited to "Hola" and "Gracias" will
have no trouble understanding "Socialismo Siempre" and "Viva la
Revolucion."
Hemingway bust at Cojimar |
One other individual is strongly represented in statues and
monuments: the American writer Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway's corner room in the
Hotel Ambos Munos in Havana is now a one-room museum. His farm outside Havana, Finca
de la Vigía, is now a museum that probably looks just as it did when he lived
there until 1960 (and one can't help but wonder if it isn't also a reminder of
capitalist decadence). And there is a sculpted bust of the writer overlooking
the harbor at Cojimar, the fishing village that inspired "The Old Man and the Sea." The
"old man" was based on a fisherman from the village.
The Black Virgin in Santeria Church |
Beyond iconography, Cuba has always embraced the arts and
creative people in general, and that did not change with the revolution. As in
many Latin American countries, much art is based in religion. Churches and
cathedrals abound in sacred paintings and sculpture.
Statue on the Gran Teatro |
The Gran Teatro de la
Habana is home to an internationally renowned ballet company and regularly
hosts concerts and opera performances (which I could hear from my hotel room at
night after the son band on the patio
finished for the evening).
While Cuba strives to remain a classless society, many
artists enjoy special privileges and above average housing, often in the villas
of Cuba's wealthiest people who were displaced by the revolution.
Some of these artists are as important domestically as they
are to Cuba's reputation abroad. José Fuster,
for example, is a ceramic artist whose work can be found world-wide (except in
the U.S., of course), transformed his Havana neighborhood into "Fusterlandia."
Fuster's colorful, sometimes quirky sculptures and mosaics stretch for blocks
on roofs, walls, doorways and benches in
the vicinity of his studio (which also serves as a paladar, or private
restaurant). More than 80 of his neighbors have allowed Fuster to adorn their
homes.
Chichi at work in his studio |
Other artists work on a smaller scale but with similar
artistic freedom. The potter Chichi
throws pots daily in his studio that is open to the public in the 500-year old
city of Trinidad on the south coast. Chichi and his apprentices and assistants
work tirelessly with their wheels, sanding stations and kiln to produce
gorgeous pots for sale in Trinidad's markets, all while visitors stroll
through, taking photos and occasionally buying a pot.
Other than the image of Che Guevara looking over Chichi's
shoulder, there is no sign of revolutionary propaganda in his work. His pots
are traditional, meticulously created and typically Caribbean.
What I take away from all of this is that Cuba honors all of
its history, and its values are rooted in traditions and events that are
centuries old, re-shaped, but not destroyed, by the revolution that transformed
the economy of the island nation more than 50 years ago.
Perhaps one day soon, the U.S. government will again allow
its citizens to travel freely and see Cuba for themselves.
(For more images of Cuban monuments and other art, please visit my Web site:
http://www.finsfeathersfoto.com/p160919884)
http://www.finsfeathersfoto.com/p160919884)
George, I am saving your blogs on the Cuba trip as you express your observations about Cuba so eloquently. One small correction. While trying to map the various places we visited, in googling Jose Fuster Gallery, Google maps actually showed me 4 places in the US that his work is being shown.
ReplyDeleteJim H
Thanks for another great installment of our adventures in Cuba. Reading through your 3 posts brought back memories and helped put names to some of the people and places I didn’t catch. Also, your photos are, of course, stunning.
ReplyDeleteClaudia
Jose Marti...my childhood hero...great article! This one touched my heart.
ReplyDelete~M.