Cuba in Pictures-Part 2

Cuba resembles a vibrant quilt, with patches of brilliant abstract art, soul-touching sounds of Son, Danzon and other music, vast swaths of dense forest reserves, petite organic farms, and urban streets lined with 1950s-era Buicks and Chevys. I've written numerous pieces on Cuba, including for National Geographic Traveler where I discussed bird watching. Now check out my latest video slideshow on YouTube.

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Plenty of Culture on a Budget in Lisbon

For the budget minded, Lisbon is king. Here you can watch your pennies and do it in style, starting with staying at one of many design-focused hostels. And this week, starting today, you can gain entry to a score of venues that are usually either reserved for VIPs or are otherwise unavailable to the general public. Today starts Lisbon Week, an cultural open doors event, that allows you to enjoy history tours of rooms that are normally off limits. A biologist will lead you along the city's newest section of a peaceful greenway. And an art tour will highlight paintings, video installations and sculptures in unusual venues. You'll even be able to step into several embassies that will showcase their relationship with Portugal.

Find out about the art, architecture, history, green, music, gastronomy and other offerings during Lisbon Week in this article I just wrote for the Huffington Post.

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Cuba - Choral Music Video

In the bayside town of Cienfuegos, there's plenty to get excited about, whether the waterfront promenade that's perfect for jogging or the petite sculpture garden across the street featuring contemporary, and sometimes whimsical, works in various media. A giant dragonfly fashioned out of metal wire and a crimson hued rhinoceros are just two of more than a dozen creative pieces that beckon to be inspected. (Curious that so few people visit this artistic enclave.)




But, perhaps the most enthralling thing about Cienfuegos was my visit to the Museo Historico Provincial one evening to attend the performance of Cantores de Cienfuegos, a versatile, 23-member choral group. Under the direction of Honey Moreira Abreu, who became their conductor originally as part of Cuba's required community service and loved it so much that she stayed on, the choir has an eclectic repertoire, singing everything from Renaissance to Japanese fisherman's folk music.

Listening to them even for a few moments, you can't help be impressed. But it's no wonder they can perform at this stellar level: they practice for three hours every day. In fact, singing in the choir is their job -- though some may take on a second job -- with the oldest member performing with them for 20+ years and the youngest, a mere five months. 

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A Young Jazz Ensemble in Cuba

The Korimacao Project in Playa Larga, Cuba is hardly your run-of-the-mill art school. There's no tuition. The students don't need to have any prior art background. The only requirements:  they need only be young and have talent. Oh, and lest I forget: each student that lives at the school 11 months of the year is paid a wage while they are in attendance. (Many students stay on for years and year.)




Founded in 1992, the school takes its name from the indigenous word meaning "to carry something on your back." How appropriate given that every week the students take their art, whether painting, drawing, dance, music or theater, into the surrounding communities where the people  would never have any other opportunities to have art experiences. Every week, the students go into any of 10 different communities in the rural Zapata Swamp area, staying three to four days, putting on plays, recitals, and concerts, and producing art.

The school itself is pretty much a self-contained creative entity, with its own design, makeup, costume construction, and audio-visual departments, as well as a video editor and cameraman, and students studying ballet, acting, fine art, music and much more. With plenty of intimate collaborative efforts, Korimacao, which has an orchestra and choir, can produce movies and plays. Sure, so much of Cuba seems stuck in the 1950s, with the citizenry continuing to suffer from the continued food rationing as well as the difficulty acquiring any sort of new equipment. And yet, the youth in Cuba brim with creativity that refuses to be impeded by these and other barriers. My four-minute video here reveals the stellar talents of a group of jazz musicians studying at Korimacao.

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Reykjavik's All-Day Culture Night

As I stood on a line snaking down a steep set of stairs in a narrow white-washed house and out the front door, and down a curvy path to the sidewalk, I thought that only in Reykjavik, Iceland would the locals and visitors alike be able to hang out in the house of the city councilman who stands over the stove cooking waffles that you could then nibble on with a generous dollop of whipped cream.

That's exactly what I did recently on one of the most special Saturdays of the year in this petite city. The capital's Culture Night -- it should really be renamed Culture Day & Night since the multitude of events go on from early morning to after 11 pm -- is a 15-year-old annual festival of art, music, dance, crafts, design, food (and more) that attracts thousands of people.

This year saw the inauguration of Harpa, Reykjavik's architecturally-noteworthy concert hall and conference center that glistens along the old harbor. After Iceland's economic collapse in 2008, this cultural center is bringing new life to the waterfront, especially given the curiosity factor the building provides: Some 1,000 hexagon-shaped glass bricks reflect and refract the ever-changing light and the landscape of sky and sea.

Culture Night always starts with the marathon that attracts participants from all over -- on my flight from JFK, I sat next to two women runners from San Francisco. (Many of the city streets are closed to vehicles because of the marathon route.) Children can participate in their own 1.1 km or 700-meter runs and, from the crowds of parents with toddlers in tow, it was very popular.

With a massive three-page Culture Night schedule in hand, I packed in as many cultural events as possible within 14 hours or so. And that included stopping at the city councilman's house for waffles and cream. I joined a handful of others sitting in his living room enjoying the sun pouring through the windows of the second floor, checking out his CD collection and admiring the artwork hung on the walls. (And, of course, the cloud-like waffles and sweet cream.)

At the Reykjavik Museum Harbor House -- one of many museums that wave the admission fee and extend their normal hours on this Saturday -- I watched children attempting to solve a giant jigsaw puzzle from one of Erro's (a pop artist) paintings.

At another branch of this museum, I explored an exhibition dedicated to the Icelandic horse, which has long played a significant role in the life of the nation. Interestingly, a few paintings showed a mythological sensibility while one was quite apocalyptic

Outside the pond-side City Hall, children played chess at a row of tables.

As I rounded a corner, I ran into a clutch of people who are part of a historical walking tour of the city.

Then it was on to the National Museum of Iceland where I had the opportunity to embroider my name on a table cloth using a traditional stitch.

I strolled down the street to the lawn adjacent to the National Gallery where I found Sola, the storyteller, dressed in a long crimson dress, and her story mobile, a van displaying a boldly-colored image of a young girl reading a book as she reclines in a dragon's paw.

The day (and night) was packed with activity after activity: Bollywood dance classes, calligraphy workshops, flea markets, violin recitals, jazz and rock bands, Tai Chi demonstrations, photo exhibitions.

At 10:45 pm, LED strips that line the glass blocks in Harpa lit the facade for the first time with myriad colors that will keep the building glowing through the long Icelandic winters. And then the sky brightened with a stellar fireworks display at 11pm along the harbor.

Even though I visit Reykjavik almost every year, I think I'll most miss the city this year because of Culture Night. It's an event that intimately connects you with the life of the city and its people -- something I'd like to experience year after year.

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More Travels in Lapland, Finland

It may have been March but in Northern Lapland, the temperatures still hovered in the minus category -- centigrade, that is, but still frigid enough that I couldn't wait to snuggle near a fire. Luckily, my group and I were able to bail out from the frigid temperatures at the family-owned Inari Reindeer Farm. There, Jani invited us into one of several teepee-like structures or kotas where we found a stone fireplace with a blazing fire smack in the center of the circular space where we gathered, drinking tea or coffee from our birch cups and listening to what it means to be a member of a Sámi tribe, the indigenous people that settled in, among other places, Northern Finland.

Last week I blogged about our many reindeer adventures and the reindeer facts we all learned.

Now, Jani's tales are interrupted by his mother who is dressed in a traditional outfit and carries a drum made of reindeer skin and birch wood towards the fireplace. He tells us that a drum, which the musician uses to tell stories, must always be heated before playing: it actually improves the sound quality. His mom treats us to several deep-throated songs or joiks that all seem to have a mournful or melancholy quality. The first revolves around tales of their family, the second is dedicated to a bear hunt -- see the video (below). Another is a song to the fire, which is central to the life of the Sámi people.

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Corsica's Artisan Route

I always enjoy reading books or articles on places I've traveled and perusing the recent article on Corsica in Travel & Leisure was no exception. It's always great to see a country through the eyes of someone who has roots in the land, as the author does. As you know, I've posted on Corsica a couple of times already and have written many magazine articles, all focusing in on the off-the-beaten-track travel and hidden treasures that are my specialty. Since I noticed the T + L article didn't deal with one of my favorite haunts in Corsica, I wanted to share this unforgettable region with you.
The Balagne region of Corsica may be France's best-kept secret. This mountainous area in the north of this island is dotted with hilltop villages that snuggle against the backdrop of jagged peaks. In fact, detouring from the much-loved coastal resorts is a must for those who want to find the Corsica of centuries ago. Many of these villages date back more than 1,000 years and yet these are active communities where artisans and crafts people thrive.


Driving the Routes de Artisans along the wiggly roads that wind through this land of olives and vines, I met an array of personalities producing glassware, pottery, wine, olive oil, honey, almond biscuits, chestnut cakes, knives and aromatic oils. For example, Helene Cancela, a jeweler near the seaside town of Ile Rousse, etches bronze and sets semiprecious stones with healing properties in silver, creating organic works. Outside Calenzana, Rony Annick weaves olive branches, myrtle and bamboo into all manner of traditional baskets. Calvi’s knife maker, Patrick Martin, originally a sculptor, forges knives that are works of art. Don't be surprised when you enter his shop and see it decorated with animal skulls, since he delicately fashions the handles from antelope, goat and even boar horns or skulls. Carole Fanet, a potter in Algajola, produces contemporary works that are influenced by her travels in Asia.
But, probably the heart of this artisanal area is Pigna, the music town, as it's known. No wonder, considering this hamlet became the center to resurrect Corsican traditions, including paghjella singing, and playing the cetera, a lute-like instrument that people from all over Europe now order from Pigna. Every July during the Estivoce festival that virtually takes over this hamlet, visitors can experience five days of theatrical and musical productions.

I wandered the narrow cobbled lanes and met women making wooden music boxes that play traditional Corsican lullabies; in another shop, Mr. Quilichini produces earthenware works that are inspired by Genoan pottery, which divers found off Corsica’s coast.
Herve specializes in contemporary Asian-inspired, etchings as well as 18th century copper prints that he collects from antique shops. Among the most interesting items you can buy is one of Ugo Casalonga's ceteras made from walnut and cypress or Corsican flutes from goat horns.Among the most interesting items you can buy is one of Ugo Casalonga's ceteras made from walnut and cypress or Corsican flutes from goat horns. In Casa Savelli, Dominique Giantini sells locally made items, such as clementine marmalade, myrtle vinegar and chestnut flour cakes.


The hamlet has three restaurants, all serving local products. Casa Musicale is a stone dwelling that combines a thriving music center and a lovely inn that's decorated with an array of authentic items, including a handmade harpsichord. Lunch and dinner is served in the barrel-ceilinged stone dining rooms that are housed in the original olive oil mill. The terrace perched on the hillside is much sought after during mealtime to catch views of the Algajola Bay. U Palazzu is a 400-year-old villa that's been in the Franceschini family for generations. Their fine restaurant, serving dishes that include grilled sea bass with risotto and artichokes and prawns with pumpkin sauce, is also housed in a former olive oil mill, where two centuries-old presses are still present. Finally, A Casarella serves up organic cuisine that focuses in on tapas, such as anchovy filets, sheep's milk cheese and mashed chickpeas with olive oil. Their dining room, dating from the late 1700, was once an animal shelter. But most guests opt for the terrace seats to glimpse the fabulous sunsets.

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