Cuban Architecture

The transformative ethos underpinning the Cuban Revolution aimed at the creation of the New Socialist Man as conceived by Che Guevara. This was to be achieved through the expansion of culture and education and the instillation of Marxist–Leninist ideology and philosophy of history. As a materialisation of history, monuments were considered as key devices for the reification and public spread of the official ideology. This paper explores how the Cuban Revolution generated a new public monumental aesthetic resulting from the competing demands of political commissioners and artists. It argues that artists sustained a hidden transcript of resistance by promoting abstract art, under the increasing pressure of the regime to develop a monumental public symbolic and material space following Soviet realist models. The paper focuses in the period of higher socio-cultural repression between the mid-1970s and the start of the Special Period in 1990.

The purpose of this study was to document and define symbolic imagery found within the grounds of the Colon Cemetery in Havana, Cuba. Memorials erected to the dead use symbology to tell stories about the departed, giving us clues to the deceased’s values and philosophies, as well as their religion, ethnicity, social memberships, occupations, education, level of wealth, and thoughts on the afterlife (Keister, 2004). Using images of Colon Cemetery from a photographic documentary series, Havana: Behind the Facade, architectural and cemetery symbology was grouped into categories, researched for meaning, and sought for interpretations to reveal clues about Cuban culture and beliefs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In general, these symbols revealed that this society believed in religious fervor, an afterlife, and a merciful God. This study serves to guide anyone who wants to interpret cemetery symbology. It opens the door to future studies on specific Cuban families and tombs. Most importantly, it visually preserves the symbology found on architecture and monuments within Colon Cemetery.

Il contributo (IT/ING) fornisce alcune indicazioni sul progetto di cooperazione internazionale Italia-Cuba denominato ¡Que no baje el telón! Conservación, Gestión y Puesta en Valor del Patrimonio Cultural del Instituto Superior de Arte de La Habana (ISA): Capacitación y Monitoreo, che ha come fine principale quello di valorizzare il patrimonio materiale delle architetture dell’ISA e del territorio del Municipio de Playa. Il DIDA, Dipartimento di Architettura dell'Università di Firenze, è responsabile della Componente B (direttore, Saverio Mecca; codirettore, Alessandro Merlo) volta a fornire le experties necessarie a restaurare e consolidare la Facultad de Arte Teatral (FAT).

The contribution (IT / ING) provides some indications on the Italy-Cuba international cooperation project called ¡Que no baje el telón! Conservación, Gestión y Puesta en Valor del Patrimonio Cultural del Instituto Superior de Arte de La Habana (ISA): Capacitación y Monitoreo, whose main purpose is to enhance the material heritage of the architecture of the ISA and the territory of the Municipio de Playa. The DIDA, Department of Architecture of the University of Florence, is responsible for Component B (director, Saverio Mecca; co-director, Alessandro Merlo) aimed at providing the experties necessary to restore and consolidate the Facultad de Arte Teatral (FAT).