Polishing up my Cuban history... (Appreciating Ed Grover W/O)
Written: Sep 03 '05 (Updated May 29 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fascinating and beautiful museum.
Cons: None for me.
The Bottom Line: I know Cuban furniture doesn't sound that exciting... but it is - trust me on this one!
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| cr01's Full Review: Museum of Cuban History |
He stiffened slightly at the question:
“No, it is not at all surprising that the belongings of the rich have survived for so long. The bourgeois always know the value of the things they own and look after them. The poor by contrast often don’t realise what they have and throw away, lose, or sell valuable items, but the rich…
The rich are rich because they know how to keep a tight hold of their wealth. The rich don’t let go without a fight.
So, in my opinion, no, it is not at all surprising that these beautiful things have survived for so long”
Our guide turned on his heels and strode into the next room beckoning us to follow.
We were mid way through our guided tour of the Museo de Ambiente Historico Cubana in Santiago de Cuba. The Museum is housed in Cuba’s oldest building still standing today, dating from an incredible 1522. Even by British standards this is a seriously old house, and built some time before the colonization of the US. The house was originally the trading house and gold foundry of a Spanish merchant, with his private quarters upstairs.
The house
Even without its furnishings the house is an architectural treasure, built in the Spanish Moorish style with its ornate dark shuttered windows, enclosed balcony with its arches, central courtyard, and square but ornate design. Upstairs, I loved the way its timbers had sagged and aged. Downstairs, I loved the slightly more open and airy design.
The museum covers both the wonderfully restored original house, and the more modern property next door. This dates from the 1800’s and is painted in a shimmering and vibrant blue and white, with its wonderful arched windows intact. The Cuban government founded the museum in 1970. Unfortunately, the fabric of the house means that the museum isn’t wheelchair friendly.
Our guide explained how the older house, although built in a style very familiar to its original Spanish owner, passed a wink to the different weather conditions of the Caribbean. The downstairs rooms have larger ceilings and bigger shuttered windows, to allow the breeze to circulate. The upstairs and the dark wooden shutters enabled the owner to block out the heat of the sun.
The wonderful old foot trod terracotta floor tiles were imported from Spain. Considering Columbus had only set foot on Cuba some thirty years previous, I was staggered at just how established and rich Spanish life had become on this tropical island so far from the motherland.
The Contents
The museum of Cuban History tells its tale in an oblique way. The museum houses a display of Cuban furniture and household effects from the sixteenth to nineteenth century. From this, the visitor can get a picture of how the rich lived in Cuba.
Most of the rooms were made into period displays, from the early furniture upstairs, to mid 1800’s dining chic in the extended display in the house next door.
Our guide was a rare treasure too – a man who can breathe life into dry history, and make it real and living. He patiently explained that the first Spanish into Cuba were rough explorers, mainly after gold. After they discovered that Cuba had little natural gold, the Spanish sent in the ruling classes to maintain Cuba as a colony. By then, Cuba was important to Spain for its agriculture, cattle ranching, tobacco and sugar, as well a being a strategic foothold in the new world. These early administrators arrived with their own creature comforts and their own furniture was shipped in.
Unfortunately, in the extremes of Cuban heat and humidity, the owners soon discovered that the imported Spanish furniture was not up to the job as it warped and rotted away in double quick time. Rather than have the poor dears risk getting a splint in their derrières from the rough-hewn locally produced furniture, the Spanish arranged for indigenous wood to be exported back to Spain. Master craft workers then fashioned it into furniture fit for gentlemen, and exported it all the way back to Cuba for use. Each of these early pieces of furniture must have its own heroic tale about its creation and journey across the mysterious Atlantic Ocean. While quite a proportion of that heavy dark chunky furniture was not quite to my taste, the craftwork of the carving and the putting together stood out.
As we passed through the museum upstairs to downstairs, we also travelled through the ages of furniture, until we got to a more recent French American influenced room. As the Spanish empire started to wane, many traders and plantation owners started links with like-minded folk from the south of America. Furniture and effects began to be imported from manufacturers from the deep south of America. We also discovered some English influence in styles; of course, the English had a big interest in the plantations of the Caribbean.
The regrets
We complimented our guide on both his command of English and his extensive knowledge of furniture history. As we chatted, he sadly explained that his abilities in the language were both a cause for positive thought and regret. His abilities in English had enabled him to establish some professional links with American furniture historians, and he had completed three tours of the US and Canada in the past, to explain and learn more about Cuban furniture.
Unfortunately, he believed that these links and his fluent English meant that he could no longer travel abroad, as the Cuban government now considered him an asylum risk. He had deep regret for losing the opportunity to share knowledge. He was also very envious of the British National Trust, who he perceived as having considerable budgets with which they could preserve history. Although the National Trust would probably beg to differ, everything is relative. In Cuba, the budget for preserving history is small, and museum development is slow going.
While I couldn’t imagine losing my freedom to travel to foreign lands and no longer experiencing and sharing different cultures, I was also surprised at the openness of his gently negative comments about Castro’s Cuba, which belie some of the tales I had heard about the strict repression of free speech in Cuba.
Location, costs and other essentials
The Museo de Ambiente Historico Cubano stands on one of the four sides of buildings facing onto Parque Cespedes in the centre of Santiago de Cuba. The Parque itself is little more than a hot square, occupied by hustlers looking to make a few dollars out of the hoards of tourists who find their way here. Don’t panic too much, these hustlers know the meaning of the word “no”, and are fairly sunny and well mannered. Just smile and walk on.
The museum with guide costs around 5 CUC (convertible Cuban pesos) ($5.50). You can take photos inside the museum, but the curator will expect a donation to the museum restoration fund (I cannot claim any real knowledge of whether the money moves out of his pocket, but he seemed genuine enough).
One “must do”, while you are around the park is to take a break in the Hotel Casa Grande and enjoy its fantastic views from the rooftop bar. The bar itself is large and a little windswept, but the views over the centre of the city are fantastic.
I just love watching people go about their daily lives and looking over city roofs, and I wasn’t to be disappointed. I could see just how patched together many of these city properties are from my vantage point. I even got a distant view of the docks and coast from here.
A small can of strong and tasty Bucanero, Cuba’s best lager cost 2 CUC ($2.20), which is fairly standard for many of the government run bars & restaurants. Service too was reasonably fast and friendly.
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You might consider a Cuba travel review a strange vehicle to preface an appreciation to our very dear Ed Grover. However, Ed has terminal cancer, and embarking on a big personal journey of his own. Now is the time to let Ed know just how much we appreciate him. I count Ed as one of a small handful of reviewers at Epinions who are truly writers. Most of us are wannabe’s, but not Ed.
I know Ed didn’t get too much opportunity to travel, but I always thought he would make an excellent travel reviewer given his eagle eye for detail and love of sharing tales. While he hasn’t written too many travel reviews, one of my favourites from Ed is about his experiences of Mexico City almost 50 years ago, and its companion review of Mexico itself. While I am spouting about Ed’s writing, I love this one too.
Ed Grover was one of the first review writers I read on the evening I discovered Epinions. His gentle humour struck me, and while reading, Ed made me appreciate that I didn’t simply need to replicate a list of facts to produce a very helpful review.
Although I had written a few music articles that were published in UK magazines about 15 years previously, I hadn’t really thought of sharing my thoughts on the internet until that evening. I’m always very grateful for finding Ed, as I’m not sure I would have got hooked on Epinions without him. I have also appreciated the heap of comments he has dropped my way, along with the occasional encouraging e-mail.
Anyone wanting to join the Ed Grover Appreciation Write Off should go and see Peter
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cr01 asserts his right to be associated as the author of this review -2005-
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Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
cr01
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Member: Chris
Location: Yorkshire, England
Reviews written: 439
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In snowy Yorkshire. Dusting down the Sledge.
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