Rejecting the derogatory term "Gringos" and the accusatory epithet "Yanquis," Cubans prefer to refer to us, their North American neighbors, as "Yumas." This blog is simply one Yuma's way of sharing his thoughts on all things Cuban, a subject that often generates more heat than light.
If you have never read the John Loomis' book, A Revolution of Forms, I highly recommend it. (Loomis is pictured to the left at last night's opening). It chronicles the birth and premature death of the cultural and architectural marvel of Cuba's National Schools of Art.
Readers are also alerted to Alma Guillermoprieto's fantastic memoir, Dancing with Cuba, which is set during the 6-months she spent teaching at one of the schools back in 1969.
Tonight here in NYC, I'm headed down to Tribeca Cinemas to see the new documentary, Unfinished Spaces, which is also about the Schools. Here's a blurb from the film's website:
Cuba's ambitious National Art Schools project, designed by three young artists in the wake of Castro's Revolution, is neglected, nearly forgotten, then ultimately rediscovered as a visionary architectural masterpiece.
In 1961, three young, visionary architects were commissioned by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara to create Cuba's National Art Schools on the grounds of a former golf course in Havana, Cuba. Construction of their radical designs began immediately and the school's first classes soon followed. Dancers, musicians and artists from all over the country reveled in the beauty of the schools, but as the dream of the Revolution quickly became a reality, construction was abruptly halted and the architects and their designs were deemed irrelevant in the prevailing political climate. Forty years later the schools are in use, but remain unfinished and decaying. Castro has invited the exiled architects back to finish their unrealized dream.
Unfinished Spaces features intimate footage of Fidel Castro, showing his devotion to creating a worldwide showcase for art, and it also documents the struggle and passion of three revolutionary artists.
Directed by Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray
2011 / HD / Color / 16:9 (1.78:1) / 86 min / Stereo
Soy original de Pensacola, Florida - "La Riviera de los Redneck". Ávido de rodar por el mundo escapé a Massachusetts para hacer la universidad. Luego enfilé proa hacia el sur y vine a tirar el ancla en Ecuador, donde enseñé inglés durante 18 meses. De regreso a los EE.UU. hice escala en “La ciudad que el viento se llevó y el gobierno olvidó”: Nueva Orleans, que me acogió como suyo por 7 felices años. Ahora sin embargo soy un orgulloso neoyorquino. Mis ciudades favoritas son Nueva Orleans, Nueva York y La Habana. Actualmente imparto clases en la Universidad y me encanta enseñar. También me place mucho ofrecer hospitalidad a los amigos que llegan de visita a esta ciudad, cuyos mil y un barrios suelo explorar en mi bicicleta. @@@ I'm from the heart of the Redneck Riviera (Pensacola, Florida), escaped to Massachusetts for college (Holy Cross), and again to Ecuador for a few years. I lived for 7 blissful years in "The City that Care Forgot," New Orleans, Louisiana, and am now a proud New Yorker. My favorite cities are NOLA, NYC, & La Habana. I'm a college professor here in NYC, love teaching, hosting friends visiting the city, and exploring the 1,001 different neighborhoods on my bike.
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