Cuba

An unforgettable experience visiting the island of Cuba on a Road Scholar photographic tour with a people to people connection. Please feel free to comment on the photos and add place names if you have them!
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Although it is not encouraged to give money to children and beggars, there are certain situations when you know it is the right thing to do.
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Although it is not encouraged to give money to children and beggars, there are certain situations when you know it is the right thing to do.

2016cubahavana

  • There is only one tomb at the Colon cemetery that is always covered by flowers. The legend that surrounds Amelia Goyri de la Hoz, “La Milagrosa” (The Miraculous One), tradition and faith have turned the site into a place of worship.<br /> The tomb is now a symbol of motherhood, love to children, and eternal passion between two lovers, and it is located a few meters from the chapel of the cemetery and there every day comes a procession of the faithful, which is multiplied exponentially every Mother’s Day.<br /> The story has transcended time with its ritual and respect from a people, believers and non-believers, to the spiritual greatness of tradition.<br /> It is said that Amelia was born on January 29, 1877, daughter of Francisco Goyri and Magdalena de la Hoz, but together with her three brothers she lived with her aunt in the Palace of the Marquis de Balboa located in Egido 14. She grew up in this place, where she fell in love with a second cousin named Jose Vicente Adot Rabell.<br /> Separated by social prejudices and the participation of José Vicente in the 1895 Independence war, the couple finally fulfilled their dream of being together with a wedding on June 25, 1900. Not long after they were brimming with happiness as they prepared for the birth of a child. But their  happiness would turn into sorrow. When she was eight months pregnant, Amelia suffered a high blood pressure episode and both mother and daughter died. They were buried in a vault and the baby was placed between her legs, as was the custom at that time. For José Vicente this was a hard blow, and for forty years until his death he visited the grave of his wife and child. José Vicente used to hit the tomb with one of the four rings from the top of the crypt, as knocking at a door, always the one closer to the heart of Amelia, to wake her up so she could hear the things he had to say.<br /> Later, the famed sculptor José Vilalta Saavedra gave José Vicente a work in white marble that recreated the image of Amelia carrying a child on her left arm and this was placed on top of the tomb.<br /> In front of the sculpture ensemble, José Vicente added other actions to his daily ritual: after talking with his beloved, he removed his hat and placed it on his chest; he walked around the sculpture and walked away without ever turning his back to it. You never turn your back on a lady, least of all to my beloved Amelia!, he used to say, according to the legend. Thus, the legend of such a fervent love grew, people started talking about supernatural powers, and all efforts José Vicente made to keep Amelia to himself were in vain. Something happened that threw this love story into the realm of real-wonderful stories. When in 1914 the grave was opened so that José Vicente could see his beloved one last time, the story goes that she was intact and carrying the child in her left arm, just as sculptor Vilalta had designed his sculpture.<br /> The tomb of La Milagrosa is full of flowers over a hundred years after the death of Amelia Goyri de la Hoz. The charm of this faith is that it is not governed by any institution, political or religious; that it is the product of the belief of the people; it was born on a path of flowers, ring blows, and prayers, and a walking away without turning the back to the beloved image. 
  • Named for Christopher Columbus, the 140 acre cemetery is noted for its many elaborately sculpted memorials. It is estimated that today the cemetery has more than 500 major mausoleums, chapels, and family vaults.
  • Also known as the Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus) Cemetery, a funeral in the Central Chapel is about to begin.
  • Central Chapel. Two wide avenues - known as Cristóbal Colón and Obispo Espada (from north to south) and Fray Jacinto (from east to west) - radiate from the chapel and are the major markers to divide the cemetery into four areas called quarters.
  • Door knocker on the Central Chapel.
  • Broken Glass
  • Broken glass. Decorative iron work.
  • Light and shadows at a tomb.
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  • The angel gate.
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  • Although it is not encouraged to give money to children and beggars, there are certain situations when you know it is the right thing to do.
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  • Revolution Square
  • Shuttered window.
  • Looking at the porch through wooden slats of the window.
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  • We were offered a complimentary Cuban rum drink before every lunch and dinner.
  • Fusterlandia. Roofs, walls, doorways and benches, stretching for blocks around the epicenter of Jose Fuster's studio enclave, are adorned with his brightly colored sculptures and mosaics : mermaids, fish, palm trees, roosters and Santería saints. More than 80 neighbors have allowed Fuster to use their homes as his canvas.
  • Some of our group in Fusterlandia. Fuster says he puts his own money, — money he makes from selling his paintings and sculptures, — back into the community, redecorating his neighbor's houses, incorporating them into Fusterlandia. "This project is not only about my house. It's about my neighbor's houses. My neighbors are great people."
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