Description:The Cuban Cultural Center of New York is proud to celebrate its 18th consecutive annual conference, this year dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the City of Havana, spanning its development from its founding in 1519 to the present, including its history and urban growth, its preeminence in Cuban architecture, music, and the arts, and its all-encompassing legacy both inside and outside the Island. The commemoration will culminate in a celebratory end-of-season concert featuring Havana’s greatest composers and the golden era of Cuban music.
Through illustrated formal presentations and archival films, the conference will not only highlight Havana’s fundamental role in the cultural development of Cuba, but will also explore the different outside influences that have shaped the city across the centuries since its emergence as a key port in international cross-Atlantic trade in the 16th century. Other topics will include: a journey to 19th century Havana, including its cartography, slave society, and mores; outstanding habaneras, defining the pioneering role played by the women of Havana since colonial times; Havana’s historical link to New York City; an illustrated presentation on Havana’s architecture since its founding, including its neoclassical period, the art deco trend in the early decades of the Republic, and the construction boom and expanding modernity in the 40’s and 50’s; Havana’s legacy as an international artistic, musical, and literary beacon; the city as protagonist in literature, photography and cinema; today’s conservationist movement and its UNESCO Heritage Sites; and much more… The conference will be dedicated to Cuban poet and writer José Lezama Lima.
Invited participants include PBS award-winning journalist Rafael Pi Román, distinguished Harvard professor and keynote speaker Alejandro de la Fuente, scholars Ana María Hernández and Adriana Méndez Rodenas, architects Raúl Rodríguez and Hermes Mallea, poet and essayist Lourdes Gil, sociologist Lisandro Pérez, literary critics Elena Palmero and Perla Rozencvaig, filmmakers Jorge Dalton and Florian Borchmeyer, historians José Moya and Rosa Leonor Whitmarsh, musicians and composers Paquito D’Rivera and Carlos Varela, conservationist Gustavo Araoz, president of the International Council of Monuments and Sites, and other luminaries from the U.S., Cuba, Europe, and Latin America.
The one-day flagship event will include continental breakfast, almuerzo cubano,* and an evening musical reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres.
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BARNARD COLLEGE
Broadway bet. 116th & 117th Sts., NYC
