Organised and promoted by the Embassy of Italy in Havana, in collaboration with the Cuban Ministry of Culture and the Oficina del Historiador de La Habana, and with the support of various Italian and Cuban companies and institutions, the 26th Week of Italian Culture in Cuba has come to an end.
The programme proposed a series of activities to offer the Cuban public a journey through Italian culture and Italian-Cuban cultural relations. With 18 events that spanned cinema, historical research, visual arts, theatre, dance and music, the 26th Week of Italian Culture confirmed itself as one of the reference events in the Cuban cultural landscape. A number of events had as their main theme the commemoration of the centenary of the death of composer Giacomo Puccini.
Cinema was represented by the tribute to Marcello Mastroianni, while historical research by the opening workshop on Italian emigration to Cuba. Visual arts featured prominently in many initiatives, including the graphics exhibition “Puccini 100 años”, guided tours of the Italian statuary in the Cristóbal Colón Necropolis, the comics exhibition “10 años de Pistoletto en Cuba” with the “Terzo Paradiso’” project, and the photography exhibition “Miradas compartidas”. Within the framework of La Habana Biennial, two highlights were the Conference curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Cecilia Alemani and the inauguration of the sound installation “Voces Sumergidas” by Alessandro Librio.
With reference to performing arts, the show ‘Vivir por amor, morir de amor’ was presented. Music had a significant presence with a concert by accordionist Marco Lo Russo, with the company Danza Teatro Retazos, and with a concert by pianist Ludovico Troncanetti. The great closing concert, with the participation of the conductor and soloists of the National Opera Theatre of Cuba and the Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso, was entirely composed of the most famous arias from Puccini’s operas.
