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Sculpture Saturday

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Link here to Debbie’s photo challenge

(I’m hoping Debbie is still running this challenge)

Guamá, Cuba:

Just a 30 minute drive from the Bay of Pigs in Cuba is the village of Guamá, a rather touristy reconstruction of a village as inhabited by Cuba’s indigenous people, the Taino.

It had long been thought that these people had been extirpated by the Spanish conquerors in the 15th century but it is now recognised that there are pockets of the descendants of these people still living in remote areas of Cuba.

Apart from the huts, these wooden sculptures of the supposed early inhabitants are what you’ll see there.

If you have time to visit – and it will take most of a day from Havana – the trip is worthwhile as it has to include a boat-ride across a lake they say is crocodile infested. I never saw any but I didn’t trail my hand in the water just in case.

13 thoughts on “Sculpture Saturday”

  1. I like the statues, there’s something intriguing about them. I think I’d fancy exploring Cuba. I love your story in the comments about getting a certificate for helping the revolution. Does it say on there it was for translating? If not, I’m imagining future generations finding it and wondering what on earth you’d been up to!

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    1. No, I shall be forever credited with helping Fidel & Che dislodge Batista! I tell most people what its for when they see it in my flat but for those who lean too far to the right I try to look enigmatic and mysterious!

      It would be nice to explore Cuba now that it’s easier to get around. I’d love to do it again.

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    1. It’s one of those Marmite countries, you love it or hate it. I’ve had friends who’ve returned railing at the unpainted houses, the lack of things in the shops, the sloppy service and more. Others accept these drawbacks are part of what Cuba has to contend with, still suffering a boycott on goods. And yes, the sculptures wouldn’t win any prizes in an art competition!

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    2. I couldn’t see anywhere to comment on our H is for Havana piece which I liked. We were there in the early 70s I think when things were tough for the Cubans. We ate well, but the locals had little. When we went to restaurants with a guide, we always kept half back to give to him to take home to his wife. That said, they made the best of it and enjoyed life to the full and were fiercely loyal to Fidel at that time. I was awarded a certificate for “helping the revolution” when I was roped in one afternoon to translate for visitors in the museum, when the jefe was absent due to illness! It still has pride of place in my kitchen.

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    1. Like most indigenous populations they have been almost wiped out and are still discriminated against but I believe Cuba is now trying to integrate the few groups left into mainstream society. Tourists haven’t ventured much further than Havana and Santiago before now so not a lot was known about them. 

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    1. I’m sure you would like Cuba, the people are fascinating, and the politics can be skirted around if you feel you need to. But comparing the countryside hovels with the mansions that belonged to gangsters like Al Capone, to US Senators, and to Mafia figures and international criminals – encouraged to live there by Batista – it’s easy to see why the revolution happened in the first place. When I think of Cuba I think of music, because dancing in the streets, on the beaches and in the cafes, was a highlight of our time there. I learned to rumba in Cuba, just as I learned to Samba in Brazil, maybe not to ‘Strictly’ standard, but it was made so easy.

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