The internet was down yesterday, so my long walk to the business center in Hotel Libre was a bit of a waste of time. With all the walking we are doing every day, I'm slowly realizing how out of shape I am! But anyways...
Yesterday was quite an event. We went to the San Francisco market which is essentially a massive indoor flea market down in Havana Viejo by the waterfront. It was amazing. There were hundreds of stalls that had the most interesting things: wooden cars, musical instruments, food, clothes, leather bags, jewelry, etc. My favorite part by far however, was the artwork.
In Cuba, there are a lot of artists. Some of them are just people who happen to be good with a paintbrush. Their work is repetitive and made for mass distribution. Then there are some artists who are truely talented. I fell in love with a piece and might just go back and get it. It was a collage of old newspaper clippings on a piece of canvas. On top of the newspaper clippings was an oil painting of an old man. I'm not sure what it is down here, but all the old men remind me of my grandfather. Quiet, sitting around staring off into space, big old wrinkly hands that look like leather... It makes me just a tad homesick.
Today was our first legitimate critique of our work so far. It is very interesting to see each person's individual style start to show through their photos. Still crossing my fingers that I'll get one of my pictures up soon, but no promisses.
This weekend will also be very exciting. The Havana Biennal will run all weekend. It is essentially a huge contemporary art festival that brings artists from all over the world together. The fun part is that the festival has completely taken over Havana. There is art being installed all along the Malecon, in the old city, etc. There are make-shift art studios being set up on street corners and in people's front porches. I can't wait to spend the whole weekend searching all the corners of the city to find interesting artwork.
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