El arte es parte del día a día en Cuba. La Habana es una gran ciudad con conciertos, galerías y exhibiciones. Los residentes de la Habana son personas que tienen una gran conexión con la arte y la expresión de ello en su vida. Se expresan atreves de palabras, ritmo, color y canto. Todas esas son formas de demostraciones muy importante es en esta ciudad pintoresca. En la Habana, la expresión es vital para balancear la vida. Aquí hay fotografías sobre la expresión artística cubana.
The streets of Havana, Cuba are flooded with art. Music pulses from every building, murals color the walls, street performers pull tourists in for a dance, and galleries cram together down disheveled alleyways.
It is amazing to me that a people who were for so long silenced under repressive government regimes have managed to retain their ability for self-expression. Despite nearly 60 years under Castro and the blockade, and before that the Batista regime, Cuban culture overflows with art, music and dance. In many cases the artists come right up to – but never quite publicly cross – the barrier to free speech. Other times the outpouring of color or movement or rhythm is simply a balancing act for daily life in Cuba. Daily life which is so often mind-numbingly disappointing.
It is perhaps because of this, because of the revolution and the failed promises and the separation from the outside world, that Havana overflows with art and culture. After all, isn’t it natural that a people as intuitive, passionate, disillusioned, flirtatious, impetuous, and disenchanted as the Cubans should find an outlet in art? How else would they ground themselves against the tide waves of history which perpetually wash over their island.
These are of course the thoughts of an outsider, one who has not yet even lived here for two months. But no matter how much time one spends in Havana two things are clear: art is everywhere and so is too disappointment.
These two ingredients make a combustible combination, one which has ignited the fire of many of Cuba’s past revolutions.
Kesia Lee 