Havana Arts Bienal Begins Friday
HAVANA TIMES — The eleventh “Bienal de La Habana” arts festival, which opens on Friday and will run through June 11, is involving 180 artists from 43 countries. In addition, hundreds of thousands of art lovers are expected to turn out – including more than 1,000 US citizens, reported AP.
Among the guests will be the controversial Austrian performance artist Hermann Nitsch, Argentina’s Monica Millan, Gabriel Orozco from Mexico, US artist Andres Serrano, the Russian-American project of Ilya and Emilia Kabakov and T.V. Santhosh from India.
The artists from Cuba include Roberto Fabelo, Los Carpinteros, Sandra Ramos, Juan Roberto Diago, Manuel Mendive and Carlos Garaicoa.
In addition, many creative projects and independent artists plan to present their works off the event’s official program.
(First to call it a Bienal is a joke because it happens not every 2 years but 4 or 3 or 7 or 5 whatever. ) That said, the concept of the Bielnal is so important especially if the theme crosses boundaries and instigates fresh poking into tender wounds, as does the art that is shown proudly… The art and events of the Bienal are seen by a varied audience and continue long after it is over, witness the human/ cockroaches that crawled up the museum that were left until they , like real cucaracha carapaces began to be picked apart and disintegrate. Or the installation of Kcho at el Teatro Garcia Lorca, the figurative boats, with clothing for sails and the items of everyday life propped up with oars for stilt like legs was seen by thousands this last winter and spring. The bienal is for everyone not just the elite who get the first rum and appetizer at each opening. When I am there I with all my artist friends go opening to opening each week to meet and share, the Bienal only fuels our fire.
ok yes I will tangent. Habana Vieja is its own tourist destination not like NOLA’s Bourbon Street , it may be HabanaClub St-like but it is much more. Jazz is more specificly Vedado jajaaja. And YES convcerts would be most awesome but for Habaneros y todos Cubanos, impossible to pay for and would have to be free, and that might make the tourists not feel so good about spending, although , certainly to get there, stay and eat/drink alone would be /is a huge economy… Here in the US the lions share of the $ goes to the vultures that are “licensed travel providers” and the broken system that squeezes those who want to travel from here like we were oranges, in a box only wanting to return to our orchard for a brief time to nourish our families and our own still- hungry souls… So again, si senor, concerts, we love them, especially when someone like Juanes, ( colombiano) comes and brings together so many amazing artists,to give us , the thousands who went , standing all day in the sun because the government was too afraid of the dark, MUSICA < POR LA PAZ.. Music for Peace…. a dream made real yet still a dream.
Backpackers? They come from everywhere to Cuba, and their money is green, red, yellow and black. It's even purple, gay people visit Cuba as do every other community interest, religious and proyectos culturales benefit from the world of people who want to know her. Our people to people casa particulars are the frontline interface, its only too bad that each is so regulated by a government with a stranglehold on the purse. When Americans demand their rights be returned and can freely travel and trade the economy will change on both sides, till then the rare Rock concert will barely happen.. Where is Pearl Jam when you need them? Marilyn Manson, Korn, and Slipknot , your fans are stlll there waiting..
this is for culture vultures. a rock and roll concert every 3 months would be a money spinner. and jazz has limited appeal so habaguenex making habana vieja into a copy of bourbon street, new orleans is O.K. but what if the tourists are younger and have taste? is the government afraid that backpacker tourists could be subversive? subversive of what? the country is neo-liberal capitalist. like thailand, there´s $10 billion to be made from backpacker tourists who spend more than chinese and they tolerate more, like koreans are tougher than japanese. india is hard traveling and has lots of koreans, and backpackers but few soft japanese. hotel lido could be the first backpacker hotel in cuba.