Cuba Solidarity Trip Update: Day 3

By Emily Carle (she/her), Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary​

Our theme for yesterday must have been political history because we got a large dose of it! We began our day with a guided tour of the Fidel Castro Center (Centro Fidel Castro Ruz - CFCR). Castro was clear that he did not want any idolatry created in his memory after he passed, so the Center is not necessarily a museum. (It is also because of this request that there are no statues of Castro in Cuba or schools named after him, etc). At the CFCR, we learned about Castro’s life, saw pictures of him from childhood to his elder years, watched clips of his speeches, learned about Cuban international affairs, and even saw the car he used to drive around the country with. While we were there, a Russian diplomatic delegation was visiting as well! Popular place. 

Before we stopped for lunch, we visited the city of Miramar to find the childhood home of WSCF delegate Emerson’s grandfather (Papi). He was born in Havana and lived in nearby Miramar until age 13. We found the house, and it was so special to experience this moment with Emerson

After lunch we went to the Memorial de la Denuncia which showcased and memorialized the tragedies against Cubans that occurred over the last 60 years from foreign powers. Over 3000 Cubans have been killed. We learned about Operation Peter Pan, biomedical warfare, assassination attempts against Castro, and media manipulation against Cuba. It was a very emotionally heavy but important visit. 

After, we swung by the Muraleando, which reminded me of The Heidelberg Project in Detroit or the Hundertwasser in Vienna Austria. It is an artist space that used to be a dump, and before that, a water tower. In 2009, the original muralists transformed it into a beautiful building covered in paintings and sculptures. It is now a collective for artistic folks to teach free classes on ceramics, theater, music, drawing, painting, and more. We had the opportunity to purchase art by some of the artists! I got a painted cigar box :). Charles Shultz’s son came once and painted a portrait of Snoopy on the wall! 

Today was also the day we packaged up our medical donations for the Cuban people, and the Movimiento Estudiantil Cristiano de Cuba (MEC-C) was blown away by how much we brought. The items will be distributed to Cuban people by MEC-C.

For dinner, we had classic rice and beans, and I think it was everyone’s favorite meal of the day. Can’t go wrong with comfort food! 

Our delegation visiting the Fidel Castro Center in Havana

Musical performance by artists at Muraleando

Muraleando, a community art and cultural center in Havana

Depiction of Mother Mary holding Christ while wearing a Cuban flag dress (Muraleando)