A horse-drawn carriage tour of Martí’s Havana is one of the attractions of this week’s Rutas y Andares project.  The tour starts on Wednesday from his birthplace and makes several stops at places related to the first 17 years of the apostle’s life.

Among the stops along the route are the room where Martí was born, the ruins of the wall that he crossed so many times; the former Plaza de Marte and other small squares and public spaces where he walked as a child and teenager; the area of the Capitol where the Villanueva train station used to be, from where he boarded the train that took him to Batabanó and continued his journey to the Isle of Pines, now the Isle of Youth.  It also includes the Central Park, Zulueta Street and the remains of the Royal Prison of Havana.

In collaboration with the business sector of the Historian’s Office, families will enjoy these rides in colonial carriages, sponsored by San Cristóbal Travel Agency, and will be able to receive prizes at the Historic Center Amphitheater, Maestranza Park and the Oficio de Isla, thanks to the collaboration of the Heritage Management Company.

Special routes

The special route The art of conserving heritage includes a carpentry and ceramics workshop on Wednesday, while the route on José Rosabal’s abstract painting includes a visit to the Experimental Centre for Graphic Art to learn about the history and creative work of the artist at the centre.

On Thursday, Art in Sport and Sport in Art will hold the closing ceremony and the prize-giving ceremony for the families with the greatest number of participants in this route, as well as the winners of the competition.

On the same day, the Hispano-American Cultural Centre will close its exhibition of works and images that pay tribute to the national sporting tradition, its main figures and its most famous events.

On Saturday, the artistic and literary Havana Walk will explore Carpentier’s Havana, combining oral histories, short theatrical productions and musical moments to highlight the places in the Historic Centre where the legacy of the great Cuban intellectual is present.

The event will conclude with the presentation of the book Un camino hacia Carpentier by the bibliographer Araceli García Carranza, published by Ediciones Bachiller of the José Martí National Library.

Walks

The Andares por la huella europea will follow in the footsteps of the French-speaking world to broaden our knowledge of Art Nouveau, starting at the Palacio del Segundo Cabo.

The influence of French traditions and culture has always been present in Cuban life. At the beginning of the 19th century, for example, the criollo contradanza was born, with the rhythms of the danzón, the habanera, the guajira, the waltz and the contradanza.

Paris was one of the first international stages for Cuban music in Europe, and from there the interest in the rhythms of this region of the Americas began, with the son and the conga.

The great cultural and linguistic diversity of the French-speaking countries, spread over the five continents, will be the focus of this Andar con los Andantes.

Among the activities on the 17th of August is an exhibition at the Casa de las Tejas Verdes of the work produced in the workshop Iniciando los caminos de la fotografía, which the photojournalist Raúl Abreu Acuña held over the summer.

As every Friday, the Andar on Cultural Accessibility will be held in the Historic Centre, which means new routes through the senses of smell and touch, with inclusive walks that are also the spirit of the Centro a + Espacios Adolescentes.

This time the theme is Mi Habana, tu Habana, which brings together deaf people and their visual perspective of the city, through different artistic expressions such as dance, painting and photography.  This tour, which starts at the Cultura entre las manos centre, will be interpreted in Cuban sign language.

On Thursday, the virtual walk at the Casa de la Poesía will discuss the film adaptation of The Name of the Rose, based on the book of the same name by the Italian writer Umberto Eco.  The following day, the debate will follow Carpentier’s footsteps between Havana and Santiago de Cuba, while the Marqués de Arcos Palace will analyse the museum from the inside.

Ivette Cepeda

Youth route and music

This summer, the Creative Route, organised by Habana Espacios Creativos in collaboration with the local development project Habana DKY, will showcase the cultural development of this area of the Historic Centre. Friday’s itinerary includes a guided visit to the Oficio de Isla warehouse, the Gorría workshop gallery, the San Isidro municipal sports complex and the Jakera house.

The concert by Ivette Cepeda will begin on Saturday evening with the firing of the cannon, and tickets are available at the Maestranza Children’s Park ticket office from Wednesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 17:00, or through the online ticket platform.

Photos: Taken from the Internet

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez