Community Activities
Event: Place: Date:
XXVII Annual Miami Book Fair International Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus November 16, 17 and 18, 2011
The eight-day literary event attracts thousands of visitors every year with readings and discussions with noted authors from the United States and around the world. Cuban Cultural Heritage hosted a booth during the main event, a three-day street fair focused on publishers and booksellers. We showcased and sold our publications, books, and Herencia Magazine, as well as books donated by other authors. The booth was decorated with posters of Cuban monuments. The participation allowed us to introduce our organization to the visitors, often to families representing three generations. Event: Place: Date:
Cuba Nostalgia 2012 Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center May 18, 19 and 20, 2012
This year’s theme paid tribute to the 400th Anniversary of Cuba’s patron saint, Our Lady of Charity. As in the past, Cuban Cultural Heritage hosted a 900-square-foot booth co-branded with Florida Crystals. Besides the photographic illustrations of Cuban sugar mills in the prerevolutionary period provided by Florida Crystals, our organization exhibited color illustrations of Birds of Cuba. Among the materials for sale were past issues of Herencia Magazine, and books and literary materials by other authors. The copies of the 1958 Havana Telephone Directory and the 1958 Interior Telephone Directory published by the Cuban Telephone Company proved to be very popular items with the public. We also held the Second Edition of the Herencia Kids art contest which brought entries from individual participants and children and youth from four local schools that had to depict the themes of Our Lady of Charity and the topic “What I know about Cuba”. The contest was judged by three local artists, successful in their fields and world-renowned. The prizes were awarded on the last day of the event. Pianist and versatile composer Daysi Celia Almirall, entertained the public with a vast range of different rhythms and Cuban melodies throughout the three-day event which attracted many visitors to our booth.
Cultural Activities
Book Presentation:
Republican Cuba
Place: Date: Sponsored by:
Presenter:
Casa Bacardi at the University of Miami 23 January 2012 Cuban Cultural Heritage Dupont Circle Editions Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies National Association of Cuban-American Educators Raúl Eduardo Chao, author
Cuban Cultural Heritage co-sponsored the presentation of the book Republican Cuba by Raúl Eduardo Chao. It is an illustrated history of the 57 years of existence of the Republic of Cuba, from 1902 to 1959. The publication includes over 1200 documents and photographs of key people and places in the history of Cuba. It helps the reader to understand the island’s current situation and the events, successes, and failures during the republican era. The panelists were Dr. Eduardo Zayas-Bazán, emeritus professor of East Tennessee State University; Rev. Marcos Antonio Ramos, vice president of Cuban Cultural Heritage; and Juan Manuel Salvat, director of Ediciones Universal. Topic: Place: Date: Sponsored by: Presenter:
Three Greats of the Lyrical Genre Leon Medical Centers Headquarters 6 March 2012 Cuban Cultural Heritage Leon Medical Centers Sociedad Pro-Arte Grateli Rudolph Moreno, AIA
The presentation emphasized Cuba’ contributions to the world of the lyrical genre, highlighting the careers of three great artists: soprano Blanca Varela, tenor Armando Pico, and the late soprano Carolina Segrera. Arquitect Rudolph Moreno, also a Member-at-Large of Cuban Cultural Heritage, produced and audio-visual presentation that included photos, videos and recordings of the three renowned artists. The presenter’s objective was to impart their career paths in Cuba and worldwide. Cuban Cultural Heritage extended to them the organization’s Certificate of Recognition. The family of the late Carolina Segrera accepted on her behalf. They also received the Pro-Arte Grateli Medal. Event: Place: Date: Sponsored by:
Tribute to José Martí San Carlos Institute, Key West May 17-20, 2012 Co-sponsored by Cuban Cultural Heritage
The four-day celebration honored the life of José Martí and the 110th anniversary of Cuba’s independence. The San Carlos Institute, founded in 1871 by Cuban exiles, became the cradle of the fight for the Island’s independence. It is currently a museum and the center of the Cuban cultural patrimony. The organization developed a musical program that included a tribute by Emilio Cueto, a concert by the 40-member La Coral Cubana with Cuban soprano Virginia Alonso, a documentary film on José Marti and his legacy, and an official tour of the premises.
Educational Activities
Topic: Place: Date: Sponsored by: Lecturer:
The Architecture of the City of Havana During the Republican Era (1902 -1940) University of Miami School Of Architecture 30 September 2011 Cuban Cultural Heritage Rodríguez & Quiroga Architecs Chartered School of Architecture of the University of Miami Raúl L. Rodríguez, AIA
Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, a French landscape architect under contract to the city of Paris, was invited to Havana by Secretary of Public Works Carlos Miguel de Céspedes to develop a public works plan of unprecedented proportions. It sought to combine classical built forms with a natural tropical environment. Architect Carlos Alberto Fleitas collaborated with Architect Rodríguez to chronicle the architecture of La Habana from its colonial precedents through the neo-classical aspirations of the young republic. Topic: Place: Date: Sponsored by: Lecturer:
Constitution and Liberty: Ideas to Create a State of Durable Law – First Session Leon Medical Centers Headquarters 23 February 2012 Cuban Cultural Heritage Leon Medical Centers Alberto Luzárraga, Sr.
With a detailed exposé of ideas to adapt and bring to date the Constitution of 1940 of the Republic of Cuba, the lecturer’s objective was to present a document useful in post Castro Cuba. The objective was to exchange ideas with the public. A copy of the Constitution of 1940 was distributed to the attendees. Members of the panel were José Villalobos Esq., Luis Fernández Esq., and Arturo Riera. David J. Cabarrocas, past president of Cuban Cultural Heritage and currently Member-at-Large, served as moderator.
Topic: Date:
Second Session 1 March 2012
The lecturer’s objective for the second session was to enlighten the public on the subject of the Constitution of 1940 as the product of a citizenship of diverse ideologies dictated during an era of great worldwide crisis. ###