Sponsoring organizations: The Latin American and Iberian Institute,
University of New Mexico
801 Yale N.E. Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-1016
and
Cuba Research and Analysis Group
Albuquerque, New Mexico
505-277-2961
Organizer:
The Latin American and Iberian Institute (LAII) at the University of New
Mexico and the Cuba Research and Analysis Group are the organizers of the
research seminar. Faculty Guide will be Prof. Nelson P. Valdés. Prof. Valdés
teaches Sociology at UNM. The Latin American and Iberian Institute seminar
guide will be Fernando Maresma. The academic facilitator in Cuba will be the
Centro de Superación para la Cultura of the Ministry of Culture which has
extensive experience with academic seminars.
Who Can Go:
The LAII at UNM has an institutional license for this tour. So you do not
have to apply for permission, if you go with us, you already have the
license.
Cost:
Total Cost of Tour: $1,400 professionals. Student rate: $1,200. The tour
cost does not include US-to-Havana round trip airfare. The tour cost
includes: Hotel accommodations and transportation to all programmed
activities, all breakfasts and dinners; medical insurance; educational
materials, lectures, duplication and workshops. It also includes the Cuban
visa. It does not include airport taxes in Mexico ($15) and Cuba ($25).
Who Might Be Interested:
The seminar should be of interest to university faculty and undergraduate
and graduate students from Fine Arts, Humanities, Journalism, History,
Social Sciences, Religion, Anthropology, Latin American Studies, Public
Administration and Sociology. Journalists, artists, musicians, cultural
critics and promoters will find the seminar of special interest as well.
Level of Research Seminar:
The seminar will be conducted as if it were a university level course,
although a university education is not required. Participants should be
acquainted or interested in Cuban culture, cultural institutions and/or
Latin American culture. Knowledge of Spanish is desirable although not
essential.
Number of Participants:
The group will have between 10 and 25 research participants.
Objectives of the Research Seminar:
1. to offer the participants a general overview of the many aspects of
Cuban culture - including language, beliefs, religion, dance, music,
theater, the arts, culture schools and cultural policy.
2. to discuss the impact that recent international trends (the demise of
the USSR and globalization) and economic and social changes in the island
had on Cuban culture and cultural institutions
3. to discuss the relationship between culture and economic development and
the impact they have on each other
4. to offer a comparison of some aspects of Cuban and American culture and
the mutual influences they have, including some particular aspects related
to U.S-Cuba relations.
5. to establish institutional, professional and personal contacts between
participants and their Cuban counterparts in order to further specific
individual research projects.
6. to explore the possibility of greater collaboration between institutions
in Cuba and in New Mexico on matters related to culture.
7. to help participants to come in contact with a variety of academics,
cultural workers, galleries, museums, social science institutes, policy
advisors, foreign diplomatic personnel who deal with some aspect of culture,
culture promoters and cultural publications.
8. To visit cultural institutions and see numerous performances - including
theater, fine arts, dance schools, music schools, universities and religious
institutions.
Individual Research Agendas:
Individual research needs will be addressed by the tour guides from UNM in
order to assist participants with research design prior to the tour and help
with contacts while in the island. We will be interested in collecting
research papers from participants after the trip in order to distribute the
findings through the Cuba-L listserver (a project of the Latin American and
Iberian Institute). Let us know as soon as possible of your own particular
research interests.
Specific Areas to Be Covered:
Below you will find a tentative list of possible places to go and people to
meet while it might not be possible to include each and every item in the
program, the group will have the experience of at least one activity from
each of the following categories.
*Plastic Arts:
- Visit the Foundation of Cultural Resources - Fondo de Bienes Culturales
- Visit Center for the Visual Arts - Centro Artes Visuales
- Visit Lithography Workshop - Taller Grabado de la Habana Vieja (the Cuban
Tamarind Institute)
- Visit the Huron Azul (the home of painter Carlos Enriquez)
*Architecture
- Visit Office in Charge of National Preservation (Dirección de
Patrimonio)
- Visit Office of the City Historian (Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad
de La Habana) - Project to restore Old Havana - Habaguanex)
- Visit Center to Train in Conservation, Restoration and Museum
Administration - CENCREM (Centro Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y
Museología)
- Meet with Group for the Integral Transformation of the City - GDIC
Grupo para el Desarrollo Integral de la Ciudad), preserves neighborhoods
*Community Organization and Culture
- Meet with the Martin Luther King Center and its community projects
- Meet with Norwegian Assistance Project - APN
- Visit Las Terrazas Community
- Meet with Laura Alonso's Community Ballet for Children
- Meet with Fundacion La Naturaleza y el Hombre
- Visit Children's Theater Group "La Colmenita"
*Scenic Arts
- Visit to the Cuban National Ballet and performance
- Visita to the National Theater and its projects
- Visit to the National Folklore Group and performance
- Visit to the New Latin American Film Foundation and meet with faculty and
students
- Visit to the Film School at San Antonio de los Baños and see a film
- Visit to Cuban Film Institute and meet at its café-bar with leading film
directors, producers and actors
*Teaching the Arts:
- Visit to the Instituto Superior del Arte
- University of Habana
*Cultural Promotion Centers
- Meet with researchers from the Centro de Investigación Juan Marinello
- Meet with personnel from the Centro Wifredo Lam, non profit organization
promoting art
- Meet with personnel from the Centro Alejo Carpentier, non profit
organization promoting literature
- Visit the Asociación Cultural Española - funded by Spain, non profit
organization promoting Spanish culture in Cuba
*Institutional
- Visit the Ministry of Culture and meet with some high officials
- Visit Cuban Book Institute to discuss book industry
- Visit the Union Nacional de Escritores y Artistas (UNEAC) to meet with
artists and writers
- Meet with US and Canadian Cultural Attaches
Cultural products and sales
- Visit to Institute of Music - presentation of the production and sale of
Cuban music
- Visit to ARTEX - presentation of the legal aspects in the promotion and
sale of Cuban cultural products
Research Seminar Format:
Daily formal lectures by invited guests from academia, the public and
private sectors will be given. Visits will be made to cultural institutions,
research centers, mixed enterprises, foreign embassies, museums,
neighborhoods and rural communities
Duration of Tour:
June 27 - July 6, 1999: Participants will stay 9 nights in Cuba.
Arrangements can be made for participants who need to stay for a longer
period of time in order to conclude their personal research project. We will
be willing to provide assistance in extending the Cuban visa. (You will need
to request an extension of the US license. See U.S. License Requirements)
Location of Seminar:
The ten-day day field research seminar will be conducted in Havana, Pinar
del Río, and Varadero. Visits will be made throughout the city of Havana,
the rural community of Las Terrazas in Pinar del Río province and Varadero.
Tentative Calendar of Activities:
? June 27: arrive in Havana.
? June 28: sight-see city of Havana, particularly Old Havana.
? June 29: academic activities in the city of Havana, programmed visits in
the afternoons.
? June 30: academic activities in the city of Havana, programmed visits in
the afternoons
? July 1 : academic activities in the city of Havana, programmed visits in
the afternoons
? July 2 : visit to Las Terrazas
? July 3 : academic activities in the city of Havana, travel to city of
Matanzas and Varadero. Night in Varadero.
? July 4 : Night at Varadero
? July 5 : return to Havana
? July 6 : depart from Cuba
Airfare to Cuba from the United States via Mexico:
Participants will be responsible for arranging their respective airfares to
and from Cancún, Mexico. The whole group should gather in Cancún. You should
arrive in Cancún on June 26, if possible. We can help you make the hotel
arrangements, if necessary.
The seminar group will depart from Cancún to Havana on June 27th using a
Mexicana de Aviaci6n air plane. Mexicana begins check-in at 6:25pm from
the AeroCaribe counter. The carrier will collect $17 airport taxes at
check-in time. Departure time is 8:25pm. Arrival time at the José Martí
international airport is 10:15pm (Havana time). You should arrive in Cancún
at about 2:00pm. Fernando Maresma, from the Latin American and Iberian
Institute, will be waiting for you at the Cancún airport. Nelson Valdés
will meet you at the Havana airport.
The group will depart from Havana to Cancún on July 6th, 1999 using a Cubana
de Aviación plane. Cubana begins check-in at 1:20pm at the José Martí
International Airport (terminal 3). Carrier will collect a $25 airport tax.
Departure at 3:20pm. Arrival in Cancún will be 3:20pm (Mexico time).
Airport taxes are not covered by the tour.
The total airfare Cancun-Havana-Cancún will be $252. Participants will
arrange their own travel to and from Cancun. You can make your reservations
to Mexico and also to Cuba through Marazul Travel - which can be reached at
1-800-223-5334. Ask for Bob Guild. Mention to Bob that you will be traveling
with the group organized by the Latin American and Iberian Institute of the
University of New Mexico.
Cuban Visa:
The Latin American and Iberian Institute will make your visa arrangements
for Cuba. If you are thinking of going but you have not decided yet, submit
your papers to us so that we can request your visa as quickly as possible.
The cost of your Cuban visa will be covered by the tour. The visa will cost
$25, but will covered by the tour package. If you get a visa but you do not
go on the tour, you will have to pay the LAII for the visa. Please note
that almost anyone may freely visit Cuba using the easily obtainable Tourist
Card (Visa). This is a small two-page document provided by the travel agent,
the airline, or upon arrival in Cuba. In the case of the U.S. neither a
travel agent nor a U.S. airline can do so. In your case, however, you will
not be traveling to Cuba as a tourist but as a researcher. There is an
important difference - both from the standpoint of U.S. law. Americans
cannot go to Cuba as tourists, and from the Cuban side, tourists do not do
research. The cost of the tourist document and of the research visa is the
same $25 USD.
Application for the Latin American and Iberian Institute
Cuban Research Seminar Tour
[to be used by the LAII]
Name (as it appears on passport):
Social Security Number:
Passport Number:
Location and Date where Passport was issued:
Home Telephone:
Home Address:
Work Address:
Fax Number
E-Mail:
Profession:
Current Employment:
Highest Academic Degree, University and Year:
List Professional Interest Relevant to Seminar:
Level of Spanish Proficiency:
None____ Beginning_____ Intermediate____ Advanced_____
Have you visited Cuba before?
Reason for the previous visit:
Attach small passport photo with the application
Send application to: Cuba Research Seminar Tour
c/o Fernando Maresma
Latin American and Iberian Institute
University of New Mexico
801 Yale N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
87131-1016 USA
Payment and Other Deadlines:
June 10th, 1999: Send your visa applications and all other materials to us
before this date. You should also send a xerox copy of your passport along
with a passport photograph. DO NOT SEND YOUR PASSPORT.
June 10th, 1999: Please send a deposit in the amount of 10% of your quoted
rate (professional or student). Please make your check or money order
payable to the Latin American and Iberian Institute.
The Final Payment of 90% of your quoted rate will be due on June 15th, 1999.
If you decide not to go but you have paid 10% of the tour, 5% will be
returned to you if we are informed before June 20th. No deposits will be
returned if we are informed after June 20th that you will not go on the
tour.
Make checks or money order payable to: Latin American and Iberian
Institute - Cuba Research Seminar Tour".
Mail your payment to: Cuba Research Seminar
c/o Fernando Maresma
Latin American and Iberian Institute
University of New Mexico
801 Yale N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
87131-1016 USA
If you have any questions, please call: Fernando Maresma at 505-277-6191 or
505-277-2961 or send us email to: nvaldes@unm.edu. Our fax number is:
505-277-5989.