Architecture in Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad

This program allows for learning about the people, art, history and architectural value of the Cities of Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad. The program starts with a conference by a Cuban architect to learn about the colonial, republican and revolutionary architectural eras, styles and the restoration efforts that makes Havana the most impressive historical city center in the Caribbean and one of the most notable in the American continent as a whole. This will be the foundation for our understanding of the restoration efforts leaded by the Office of the City Historian, and the scientific and technical contributions of the National Center for Conservation, Restoration, and Museum Studies.  The process of architectural restoration in Havana is unique in the way residents are included in the decision-making process needed to implement a plan to recreate spaces and structures to cater for residents as well as visitors. As we interact with Havana’s architects, historians, residents in plazas, churches, museums, communities and institutions we will explore the universal value of Havana’s architecture.

After our experience in Havana we will travel to Cienfuegos and Trinidad to explore the Government Palace (City Hall), San Lorenzo School, the Ferrer Palace, the former Lyceum, and some residential houses. In Trinidad we will visit 16th century palaces, the Museum of Architecture and the valley of Sugar Mills.

Program Dates and Package Fees - 2017
Limited to 10-15 Participants

What is included?

PROGRAM PACKAGE

. Orientation at a Tampa airport hotel the night before departure
. Travel Guide with tips for a safe, fun and informed trip
. Emailed Cuba Info Bytes before the trip to learn about sites to be visited
. Admission fee to museums in the itinerary
. All in-Cuba ground transportation in AC bus
. Six nights at Capri Hotel in Havana with daily breakfast and security box
. Two nights at hotel in Cienfuegos with daily breakfast
. All lunches and dinners
. Conference by Cuban architect
. Experienced Bilingual Cuban Tour Guide, Program Leader and driver
. License to travel to Cuba
. Tips for servers in all meals and Cuban Tour Guide and driver

FLIGHT PACKAGE (Add $450 to Program Package Fee)
(Flight Package prices are subject to change. Please request flights information from us if you are not using our Flight Package or using miles from frequent flyers programs)

• Round trip airfare to Havana from Tampa or Miami 
  
• Cuban tourist visa (not for Cuban-born participants)
  
• Cuban health insurance
  
• Airport tax
  

What is not included?

. Airfare for connecting flight to and from Tampa airport
. Tampa airport hotel the night before departure
. WIFI service in hotel
. Trip interruption and cancellation insurance
. Gratuities for hotel maids and luggage handlers
 
For a Registration Packet

Please visit our  Contact Us  page and provide all required information. As soon as we hear from you, we will email a registration packet with required forms and instructions. You can also call us at 978-998-0039.

Payment Options

The program cost is not guaranteed for payments received after the reservation deadline.

90 days before departure - 50%
45 days before departure - 50%

Cashier's Check - payable to Marcos Carvajal Art Gallery. Please mail check to the address in the Registration Package.

Credit Card - (add a 3% fee)
Click the Buy Now button. Please do not write any comments in the notes section in the Pay Pal windows.

Itinerary

Our program will start at a hotel near Tampa Airport. That evening we will meet for an orientation at a hotel near the Tampa Airport.

DAY 1

Our flight from Tampa or Miami to Havana, Cuba will take 45-50 minutes. Once in Havana a bilingual Cuban Tour Guide who will be with the group every day during the program. As soon as we get to our AC bus we will be on our way to accommodations at NH Capri Hotel in Havana. This evening we will meet for a welcome dinner.

DAY 2  - Colonial Era 1

On day 2 we will begin with a lecture about Havana architectural history. After lunch in Old Havana we will have a walking tour of Old Havana visiting the City of Havana Scale Model. The walk will include three of five plazas. Old Havana, which is define by the extend of the former city walls, has maintained the pattern of the early urban setting with its three large plazas, each with its own architectural character: Plaza de Armas (Arms Plaza), Plaza Vieja (Old Plaza), and  Plaza de San Francisco (Saint Francis of Asis). Around these plazas are many outstanding buildings such as: Convento de San Francisco de Asís (Convent of Saint Francis of Asís), Palacio del Segundo Cabo (Second Lieutenant Palace) and Museum of the City of Havana former Captain Generals Palace.

DAY 3 - Colonial Era 2

Our third day in Havana will consist of a guided tour of the complex system of fortifications that protected Havana. This system is comprised of the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña (Cabaña Fortress), one of the largest colonial fortresses in the Americas and Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro (the Morro Castle), guarding the entrance to the bay, Castillo de la Real Fuerza, (Royal Fortress Castle), one of the oldest colonial fortresses in the Americas (1558), and Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta (San Salvador of the Point Castle). The historic destiny of Havana was the result of the exceptional function of its bay as a obligatory stop on the maritime route from the New World to Europe, which consequently necessitated its military protection. After lunch in Old Havana we will visit Plaza de la Catedral (Cathedral Plaza). Around the plaza we will explore  La Catedral de la Habana (Cathedral of Havana), Museo de Artes Coloniales (Museum of Colonial Arts) former Casa del Conde de Casa Bayona (1720), the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana and the offices of the Master Plan for the Revitalization of the City of Havana in former Palacio de Lombillo (1742), Casa del Marqués de Arcos (1741), and Casa del Marqués de Aguas Claras (1760) now restaurant El Patio. Galería Victor Manuel occupies the former Casa de Baños (public baths).   

DAY 4 - Republican Era 1

Day 4 begins with the exploration of the Republican architectural era (1898 - 1959), with a panoramic tour of the architecture of Havana and the neighborhood of Vedado. We will visit Revolution Square former Civic Center. In the square we will visit the José Martí Memorial Monument and museum. After lunch we will visit and learn about the history and architecture of the Hotel Nacional (National Hotel - 1930), and have a panoramic tour of Vedado.

DAY 5  - Republican Era 2

To continue with our exploration of the republican era of architecture in Havana, we will visit Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón (Colón Cemetery - 1876). It was built by the Galician architect Calixto Arellano de Loira y Cardoso, a graduate from Madrid`s Royal Academy of Arts of San Fernando, and who became Colón Cemetery's  first occupant when he died before his work was completed. After the visit to Colón Cemetery we will travel from Vedado to Old Havana through Avenida del Malecón (Malecón Avenue), and Paseo del Prado to explore Capitolio Nacional (National Capitol - 1929). The Capitolio was the tallest building in Havana until 1950 and houses the world´s third largest indoor statue. Today El Capitolio is undergoing restoration efforts implemented by the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana. After lunch we will visit the Museum of Decorative Arts.

DAY 6  - Post-Revolutionary Era

Our last day in Havana will consist of a visit to the University of the Arts (ISA), representative of the post-revolutionary period of architecture in Havana. Located on the former American-owned country club in the western Havana suburb of Cabanacan, the University of the Arts was founded in 1961. ISA has produced an astounding number of Cuba's leading artists and musicians, and remains a vibrant source of artists' training. Enjoy a guided tour of the school's impressive revolutionary architecture and meet students and faculty with an opportunity to arrange the purchase of paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, and ceramics. After the tour of ISA and lunch we will visit the Instituto Superior Politécnico José Antonio Echeverria (CUJAE) (Polytechnical Superior Institute José Antonio Echeverria for a tour and conversation with architects, professors and students.

Day 7  - Architecture in Cienfuegos

After checkout at NH Capri Hotel in the morning we will travel to the City of Cienfuegos. The colonial town of Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 in the Spanish territory but was initially settled by immigrants of French origin. It became a trading place for sugar cane, tobacco and coffee. Situated on the Caribbean coast of southern-central Cuba at the heart of the country’s sugar cane, mango, tobacco and coffee production area, the town first developed in the neoclassical style. It later became more eclectic but retained a harmonious overall townscape. Among buildings of particular interest are the Government Palace (City Hall), San Lorenzo School, the Bishopric, the Ferrer Palace, the former lyceum, and some residential houses. Cienfuegos is the first, and an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble representing the new ideas of modernity, hygiene and order in urban planning as developed in Latin America from the 19th century.

DAY 8 – Architecture in Trinidad

After breakfast we will travel to the City of Trinidad. Founded in the early 16th century in honor of the Holy Trinity, the city was a bridgehead for the conquest of the American continent. Its 18th – and 19th-century buildings, such as the Palacio Brunet and the Palacio Cantero, were built in its days of prosperity from the sugar trade. After a tour of the main architectural sites in Trinidad and lunch, we will visit el Valle de los Ingenios, (The Valley of Sugar Mills). This 104 square mile area includes three valleys: San Luis, Santa Rosa and Meyer, in an area where the extraordinary development of the Cuban sugar industry began in the 18th century. In that valley still remain the ruins of the numerous sugar refineries that once gave such splendor to the area but which today constitute little more than archaeological artifacts of that industry. In the evening we will enjoy a farewell dinner.

DAY 9 - Departure

Departure from the Santa Clara International Airport

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