Cuba itinerary

Friday

December 13 

Check in to Miami International Airport, Concourse G, Wilson International.

8:00 am

Afternoon

Meet with historian at Casa del Caribe for a briefing on the city’s history, including its African history and roots in the diaspora.

December 15

Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to the Fernando Ortiz African Cultural Center founded by writer Daisy Rubiera to promote
Meet with writers and artists at the center.

Lunch (included).
Meeting with La Cotumba Frances, performance and discussion about the Haitian presence in Santiago

Breakfast at the hotel. 
The day will be spent in the Baconao National Park, which is both a biosphere and recreation area and also home to two artists’ communities, El Oasis and Los Mamoncillas, which the group will visit.  Lunch will be at the Finca Guijira Rodeo (included), with the opportunity to meet and talk with local people about the rodeos of the area and their lives both before and since the historic Hurricane Sandy.  There will also be visits to local beach areas before returning to Santiago.

Breakfast at the hotel. 
Meet at at the hotel or at UNEAC, the Union of Writers and Artists, with musician, musicologist and Cuban activist Alberto Faya about the U.S.-Cuba jazz connection, his experiences as a member of the Cuban literacy brigade as a youngster, and his life as a musician in Cuba.

Breakfast at the hotel.  
Meet with Esteban Morales, well known economist and sociologist, for a discussion on the recent and ongoing economic changes in Cuba and the opportunities and challenges these changes present to the people of Cuba.

Lunch at the Yoruba Association followed by a screening with Gloria Rolando on her recently 
released film on the history of Cuba’s first Afro-Cuban political party, the Colored Independence Party in the early years of the 20th Century.
Participate in activities of the Jazz Festival.

Optional:  Visit the Opera de la Calle, the eclectic group of opera and popular singers and show performers at El Cabildo in the Playa section of Havana (direct payment).

The program above is coordinated for Global Arts/Media by Common Ground Education & Travel Services 359 Main Street #2A, Easthampton, MA  01027cuba@commongroundtravel.com , telephone 413-203-1125

Note:  Activities above have been requested from Havanatur Celimar, your tour operator in Cuba.  The Tour Operator reserves the right to change accommodations and schedule as local conditions dictate.  We ask you to remain flexible as your hosts in Cuba do their best to ensure your comfort and that the goals of your visit are realized.  Please keep in mind that you are traveling to an embargoed country that shares its scarce resources with its citizens as well as with its visitors.