Cuba’s support for its arts should make us weep with envy

[Mika]

Cuba’s support for its arts should make us weep with envy

No artistic freedom in Cuba? Really (Havana artist sets up ‘haven for free speech’, 11 April)? Thanks to its rigorous arts education system, free to students including at graduate level, Cuba has a diverse and brilliant cultural life which engages with the wide spectrum of social and political issues in the country. Anyone who has visited the island will know that. The fact is that support for the arts would make educators in the UK weep with envy. Cuba has brought the world outstanding music (Chucho Valdés, Gente de Zona, X Alfonso), challenging film-makers (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Fernando Pérez, Pavel Giroud) and groundbreaking visual artists (Kcho, Lázaro Saavedra, René Francisco).

It is simply not credible that this artistic flowering is the product of “57 years of cultural repression”. This October, London will host an exhibition, ¡Presente! Contemporary Art from Cuba, to showcase their vibrant visual arts scene. Some of the 30 artists involved will also be here to discuss artistic creativity on the island at a range of associated public events.
Professor Helen Colley
Dr Doreen Weppler-Grogan
¡Presente! exhibition coordinating team

No more @ link --> here.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Also, known all over the world, Cuba's own incredible Ballet Nacional de Cuba,

which was started by this amazing Cuban woman, whom President Obama met on his trip to Cuba, Alicia Alonso!

[center] - click for image -

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef01538f1a0972970b-350wi [/center]
Images of this spectacular ballet which has trained other world's best dancers who have gone on to famous dance companies outside Cuba:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1247&bih=562&q=ballet+nacional+de+cuba&oq=ballet+nacional+de+cuba&gs_l=img.3..0j0i30j0i5i30j0i24l7.590.5422.0.5682.23.18.0.5.5.0.194.2696.0j16.16.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..2.21.2779.bvZd1twYV6Q#imgrc=_

Also, Cuba's amazing contemporary dance:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1247&bih=562&q=ballet+nacional+de+cuba&oq=ballet+nacional+de+cuba&gs_l=img.3..0j0i30j0i5i30j0i24l7.590.5422.0.5682.23.18.0.5.5.0.194.2696.0j16.16.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..2.21.2779.bvZd1twYV6Q#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=Cuba+contemporary+dance