SLFS Cuba Trip 2014

SALT LAKE FILM SOCIETY

You Are Invited to Travel With Us Experience the fascinating sights and sounds of Cuba. Interact with the people, view the vibrant art, and partake of the film, music, and food.

Enter a land that moves to an insistent rhythm yet holds firmly to the past.

Join us on this rare opportunity to visit Cuba.

For more information, visit www.slfs.org/cuba-2014 or contact Susan Tive at: susan_tive@slfs.org

Come with us to Cuba i Salt Lake Film Society & Copper Bridge Foundation’s People to People Program December 6-13, 2014

This special trip offers the rare opportunity for Americans to travel legally to Cu of the most interesting cities in the world. We will experience the city, the surrou people. We will spend our days exploring community projects and Havana’s artis art. In addition, we will venture outside the city and experience the rich cultural Matanzas.

The trip is planned by the Copper Bridge Foundation (CBF) whose mission is to br the arts. Our host is Geo Darder (Google him!) he’s an amazing man, born in Hav tours at once, so he will float in and out of our tour, but will have a Copper Bridge

PACKAGE This is a legal trip for Americans.

The dates for the 2014 trip are December 6*-13 (**Note: Early morning departure. You must be in Miami the day prior, on Friday, December 5.)

Cost: DOUBLE OCCUPANCY (two travelers, one room) $3765 per person SINGLE OCCUPANCY (one traveler, one room) $4065 per person The price of our tour package is set by Copper Bridge Foundation. This year, SLFS will be including some tour tipping and airport fees in the tour cost to simplify traveler cash exchange during the trip.

A portion of your per person travel cost can be counted as a tax-deductible donation to SLFS. When our tour operator finalizes all our tour details we will provide you with information about the allowable amount. It is estimated to be $800 per person.

We are each asked to bring up to 5 lbs. of humanitarian aid supplies to be donated to worthy and innovative community programs. More details about this to follow.

What’s Included: • Roundtrip airfare from Miami/Havana (note: YOU pay for SLC-MIA) • OFAC Authorization letter to travel • Cuban Visa • Airport/hotel transfers • Health Insurance • A total of 7 nights’ accommodation in Havana at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba (a marvelous historic site and official hotel of the Havana Film Festival – see side bar) • Breakfast daily • Air-conditioned transportation • Five lunches

• • • •

Five dinner All related Tip for tour $50 per pe

Additional charge • SLC-Miami • Hotel in M • Hotel in M • Departure • Tip money • Art purchas • Phone char • Luggage fe *Note: Each piec weight is $2/lb. H more than 20 lbs!

in December!

Hotel Nacional de Cuba

uba. On December 6, we will arrive in Havana, one unding countryside, the traditions, and the Cuban stic wealth through architecture, film, music and history of Pinar del Rio and pristine beaches of

ridge the divide between Cuba and the US through vana and raised in Miami. Geo will host multiple e representative with us at all times.

E DETAILS

rs cultural events & tours r guide and bus driver erson airport fee

es you may incur: i travel Miami upon arrival on December 5 for our early flight on the 6th Miami upon return (that is optional, most of us leave the same day) tax out of Cuba: approximately $25 per person

ses or other purchases in Cuba rges ees: $20/piece of luggage plus excess weight is $2/lbs.* ce of checked-in luggage pays $20.00. If more than 44lbs, excess Hand luggage (2 pieces maximum) will be weighed and charged if ! Payable in CASH ONLY; no checks or credit cards accepted.

We will stay at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, following in the footsteps of a stunning cast of characters including Nobel Laureates, Heads of State, sports superstars, famed musicians, and the best of Hollywood.

1930s:

Guests of the hotel in this decade included: Johnny Weismuller (Tarzan), Edward VIII (prince of Wales), Jack Dempsey, Tom Mix, Buster Keaton, Errol Flynn, and the mobsters Santos Traficante (father) and Meyer Lansky. The last-mentioned were there to arrange the future business of casinos in Havana.

1940s:

George Raft, Betty Grable, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Carol II of Rumania, Mario Moreno (Cantinflas), Tyrone Power, Lucky Luciano, Rita Hayworth, Ali-Khan, Ernest Hemingway, Fred Astaire, César Romero and Gary Cooper.

1950s:

Nat King Cole, Nelson Rockefeller, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, Pablo Casals, John Wayne, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Leopold and Baudouin of Belgium, Walt Disney, Eartha Kitt, and Vic Damone.

1960s to 1990:

(By the early 1960s the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs, and Cuban Revolution had transformed Cuba into a country Americans were forbidden to visit.) Internationally known guests of the time included Yuri Gagarin, Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Gabriel García Márquez, and Josephine Baker.

The hotel’s history during this period is less well-known. In 1982, Havana’s old town (La Habana Vieja) and the city’s system of fortifications were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the fortifications concerned include the cannons in the hotel’s gardens which formed part of the historic Santa Clara battery.

Eventually the hotel was architecturally and historically restored, recapturing its amazing beauty. It was reopened in 1992.

1990s to Today:

President Jimmy Carter, Geraldine Chaplin, Danielle Mitterrand, Harry Belafonte, Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, Michel Legrand, Robert de Niro, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Francis Ford Coppola, Benicio del Toro, Jonathan Demme, Kevin Costner, Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, Annette Bening, Danny Glover, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Backstreet Boys, Jodie Foster, Oliver Stone, Steven Spielberg, Kool and the Gang, and Soraya, former empress of Iran.

In 1994, the hotel attained recognition as the flagship of the Gran Caribe hotel group. It now routinely wins the World Travel Awards Oscar of the Hotel Industry.

Take the Hotel Tour The remarkable history of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, of its guests and its staff, is the subject of a historical guided tour that’s available to guests six days a week, two times per day.

sample

TRIP ITINERARY based on a previous SLFS Cuba Trip

Why go to

by Jim MacNeil

Cuba?

Well, why not!! It is on most travelers’ bucket lists and not the easiest to check off, unless you know about the Salt Lake Film Society and their yearly trip to Havana. It has always been a dream of ours to go there. I could have gone as a professor, but not with my wife, so we put it off. That is until December, 2013. We made the commitment in mid-summer and could not wait for December 7th.

If you are interested in the arts, -- not just film, but dance, music, pottery, painting, sculpture -- you simply must go. The art scene is exploding in Cuba and it is fantastic art. The dancers are comparable to Alvin Ailey and some have actually come to the U.S. to dance with them. That is to say nothing of the old cars and the characters who drive them. Prior to 1960, Cuba was the largest importer of U.S. cars and many of them are still there being used as taxis or private vehicles.

Staying at the Hotel Nacional is like walking back in time; the service was incredible as well as the mojitos! You must have at least one mojito out on the veranda overlooking the Malecon (seaside promenade) and the ocean.

DAY 1: TRAVEL TO MIAMI*

Travel to Miami. Please note that the charter flight to Cuba takes off early in the morning of the following day, so travelers must arrive in Miami a day prior. Flight to Miami and Miami hotel accommodations are not included in the trip package.

DAY 2: HAVANA WELCOME*

A Miami/Havana morning flight. Private coach transfer to the famous Hotel Nacional, a 5-star neoclassical gem overlooking the Malecon, Havana’s romantic seaside promenade. Welcome reception at the beautiful patio and gardens of the Nacional, official host hotel of The Havana Film Festival. Registration for festival credentials.

DAYS 3 & 4: EXPLORE HAVANA*

We will offer a series of guided opportunities to explore the vibrant culture around Havana. These may include but are no means restricted to the following: Visit dance companies and experience the cultivation of future stars. Journey to La Finca, the primary home of Ernest Hemingway from 1939 to 1960. Visit the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes for a survey of Cuban Art. Go on an architectural tour of Havana’s most important deco theaters, residential buildings and homes. Visit artist studios and community projects. Witness unique live musical performances.

DAY 5: PINAR DEL RÍO - LAS TERRAZA*

Travel by bus to Las Terrazas, an eco-village situated in Cuba’s verdant Pinar del Río region. This stunning nature reserve features streams, a biosphere, and wildlife unique to the region. Lunch will be served at one of the area’s historic coffee plantations, and we will also have the opportunity to visit the local artists’ community.

DAY 6: HAVANA*

A walking tour reveals some of the most famous locations in Old Havana, which have been declared a heritage site by UNESCO. We’ll visit The Capital Building and stroll down Obispo Blvd, passing landmarks Moderna Poesia, Floridita, Hotel Ambos Mundos, the Bacardi Building, and end up in Old Havana’s main squares. In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to attend Havana Film Festival screenings.

DAY 7: MATANZAS AND VARADERO*

Travel by bus to Matanzas, a port settlement that played major role in Cuba’s oncethriving sugar industry. A walking tour of this scenic city includes stops at historic theaters and sugar mills. In the afternoon, we will have the opportunity to visit Varadero, a popular resort area that plays host to one of the country’s most beautiful beaches.

DAY 8: HAVANA*

The day begins with a visit to artist José Fuster’s community project. Fuster is considered Cuba’s Gaudí, and this is a rare and special opportunity to view his art gallery and workshop. After a lunch prepared by local fisherman, we will make our way over to the dance company of Narcisco Medina for a private performance by this troupe of talented dancers. Medina’s community work has been recognized throughout the world, and his choreography has earned him countless awards.

*Sample itinerary based on a previous SLFS Cuba Trip at the bottom

Jim and Jody MacNeil in Havana’s Revolution Square.

You may be concerned about safety, but you need not. We walked on the Malecon at night without concern and talked with many natives of Havana.

This particular tour company, Copper Bridge, arranges for a personable expert at every stop along the way whether it is an art museum, a school, a dance company, or even a visit with an economist.

Food is typical Cuban and very good. Many of the meals are eaten in Paladars, which are fairly new to Cuba. These are family-run restaurants in private homes. The food is as good as many boutique restaurants in the states.

We’ve always lived by the motto carpe diem. Make that your motto this time seize and the opportunity! How many times are you truly going to get the chance to see Havana and other parts of Cuba, especially in a small group of 20 or so. You will make new friends that may last a lifetime.

All too often we put off until tomorrow what we should do today. Do not put this trip off; Cuba is changing and you want to say you saw the real Cuba, the Old Cuba.

Editor’s Note: SLFS thanks the MacNeils for writing about their experience traveling with us last year. Why not join us this December we’d love to travel with you!

o M t i j o e Th A Little Something Wet to Counteract the Cuban Sun

Mojito is translated as, “something a little wet.”

Traditionally, a mojito is a cocktail that consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, sparkling water, and mint. The original Cuban recipe uses spearmint or yerba buena, a mint variety very popular on the island. Its combination of sweetness, refreshing citrus, and mint flavors is intended to complement the potent kick of the rum, and have made this clear highball a popular summer drink. The cocktail has a relatively low alcohol content (about 10 percent alcohol by volume).

When preparing a mojito, lime juice is added to sugar (or syrup) and mint leaves. The mixture is then gently mashed with a muddler. The mint leaves should only be bruised to release the essential oils and should not be shredded. Then rum is added and the mixture is briefly stirred to dissolve the sugar and to lift the mint leaves up from the bottom for better presentation. Finally, the drink is topped with whole ice cubes and sparkling soda water. Mint leaves and lime wedges are used to garnish the glass.

From Wikipedia