Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Dreaming in Cuban


I took a trip of a lifetime to Cuba this spring. For eight days from March 22 through March 30, I lived and breathed the beauty of this small island of 11 million people.
I went with a group of faculty and staff from Merritt College in Oakland, California where I am employed working with curriculum. This was an educational field research trip which included visiting primary schools, the University of Havana, the medical school a polyclinic. BUT, we also immersed ourselves in the culture of the country.
Cuban live and breath their art and there was art everywhere. Music, dance, literature,visual and performing art. The children come out of the womb dancing salsa and rhumba. I got to see the world famous Cuba Internationa Ballet perform "Giselle". We danced in the streets in the Trininad Province at a block party in our honor. We walked through the marketplace and viewed the artistry, the crafts, the paints, oh my. I brought home two pieces of art. We danced at the Havana Club, learning the meringue. Pablo Menendez staged a concert for us at his rooftop home.