Havana says bonjour
The 2017 edition of the Francophonie Week will be developed from March 18 to 26. Coordinated by the Hispanic-American Center for Culture, the Victor Hugo House, the Napoleonic Museum, the Pius Work House and the Goldsmith Museum; films and documentaries on the great European fashion houses will be exhibited.
Program
March 16 (5:00 p.m.) – Victor Hugo House
Anniversary of the institution. Presentation and debate about the documentary Chocolat, une histoire de rire (Chocolate, a story of laughs). The Cuban comedian Kike Quiñones will be invited.
March 20 (11:00 a.m.) – Victor Hugo House
Illustrated lecture Victor Hugo Houses around the world, taught by Gérard Pouchain, specialist on the French writer, PhD, professor in the University of Shaoxing (China) and researcher of the University of Rouen (France).
From the 21st to the 31st of March (3:00 p.m.) – Victor Hugo House
Inauguration of the exhibition Victor Hugo Houses around the world (France, Guernesey, Spain and Grand-Duché of Luxembourg), organized by Gérard Pouchain and made up of posters and photographs about the cultural houses and museums dedicated to Victor Hugo in the world.
March 21 (2:00 p.m.) – Victor Hugo House
Show of the movie Coco Channel, the legend.
March 22 (10:00 a.m.) – Napoleonic Museum
Guided visit through the French goldsmith and silverware’s excellent exponents from the Julio Lobo collection, shown by the museum in its permanent rooms.
March 22 (2:00 p.m.) – Perfumery Havana 1791
Specialized visit to appreciate the processes of making perfumes, odor soaps and other products related to perfumery. A documentary about the Museum of the Perfume of Grasse, city known as the mecca of the perfumery, will be projected in the Victor Hugo House; commented by Yanelda Mendoza, manager and perfumer of Perfumery Habana 1791.
March 23 (2:00 p.m.) – Hispanic-American Center for Culture
Talk of the specialists from the Goldsmith Museum on the French influence in Latin American gold works, with a special note for Cuban jewelry. Fashion show in charge of goldsmith Rosana Vargas with its brand Rox950.
March 24 (10:00 a.m.) – Pius Work House
Talk about the influence of French fashion in Cuba by Janet Quiroga, director of the museum.
March 24 (10:00 a.m.) – Napoleonic Museum
An evening with French classical music, played by high school students of from the Manuel Saumell School of Art.
March 24 (5:00 p.m.)) – Walloon showcase
Inauguration of a personal exhibition by the artist Alexander Izquierdo.
March 25 (10:00 a.m.) – Walloon Showcase
Guided visit through the exhibition of the artist Alexander Izquierdo with the presence of the artist.
Cuban film still in theaters
The premiere of the Cuban film Ya no es antes (Now is not before), directed by Lester Hamlet and performances by and Isabel Santos and Luis Alberto García, continues in the cinemas of the Cuban capital.
2nd stop of the BBC in the Cuban Cinematheque
The projections of the 100 best films of the 21st century, according to a BBC poll, continue in the 23 y 12 Cinema, home of the Cuban Cinematheque. The places from 21 to 28 will be projected from Wednesday, March 22, always at 6:00 pm, made up by the following sample:
Wednesday 22
THE GRAND HOTEL BUDAPEST (2014) / Wes Anderson /
Thursday 23
LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003) / Sofia Coppola
Friday 24
CACHÉ (2005) / Michael Haneke
Saturday 25
THE MASTER (2012) / Paul Thomas Anderson
Sunday 26
MEMENTO (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
Wednesday 29
25TH HOUR (2002) Spike Lee
Thursday 30
THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010) / David Fincher
Friday 31
HABLE CON ELLA (Talk to her, Pedro Almodóvar, 2002)
Synopsis
THE GRAND HOTEL BUDAPEST / The Grand Budapest Hotel / Wes Anderson (100 ‘) USA, 2014 / Subt. in Spanish / Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Mathieu Amalric, Jason Schwartzman, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray, Léa Seydoux. In colors. Gustave H., a legendary concierge of a famous European inter-war hotel, befriends Zero Moustafa, a young employee who becomes his protégé. The story is about the theft and recovery of a Renaissance painting of incalculable value and about the battle that faces the members of a family for an immense fortune. Place 21.
LOST IN TRANSLATION / Sofia Coppola (97 ‘) USA-Japan, 2003 / Subt. in Spanish / Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Fumihiro Hayashi, Akiko Takeshita. In colors. Bob Harris, an American actor in low hours, accepts an offer to make an announcement in Tokyo. He is going through an acute crisis and spends much of his free time in the hotel bar. There he meets Charlotte, a young woman married to a photographer who has gone to Tokyo to cover a story; but while he works, she gets bored. Bob and Charlotte also share the emptiness of their lives, they gradually become friends, and they begin to wonder if their friendship could become something more… Place 22.
CACHÉ / Michael Haneke (118 ‘) France-Austria-Germany-Italy, 2005 / Subt. in Spanish / Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Maurice Bénichou, Annie Girardot, Bernard Le Coq. In colors. Georges, who conducts a literary space on TV, receives packages containing video tapes in which he and his family appear, filmed secretly from the street, and warning drawings of obscure meaning. He has no idea who may be the one who sends them, but little by little the images are more personal, suggesting that the sender knows him. Georges feels a danger hangs over him and his family … Place 23.
THE MASTER / Paul Thomas Anderson (137 ‘) 2012 / Subt. in Spanish / Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Rami Malek, Laura Dern, Ambyr Childers, Jesse Plemons. In colors. A drama about the Church of Scientology. Lancaster Dodd, a brilliant intellectual with strong convictions, creates a religious organization that began to become popular in the United States around 1952. Freddie Quell, a young vagabond, becomes his right hand. However, when the sect triumphs and succeeds in attracting numerous and fervent followers, Freddie will have doubts. Place 24.
MEMENTO / Christopher Nolan (113 ‘) USA, 2000 / Subt. in Spanish / Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior, Stephen Tobolowsky. In colors. An empty room in an anonymous hotel, Polaroid photos, handwritten notes, tattoos as reminders, a murder … Leonard Shelby, a former insurance agent, tried to arrest the individual who entered his house and raped his wife, receiving an injury that allows him to remember only the events of his life before the incident. He does not remember the immediate things, and notes in his Polaroid photos what he must keep in mind about each of the people who stand behind the shutter of his camera. Chase the guy, John G., but who is it? This complex film moves on two levels: a black-and-white flash-back, linear development, and a central frame that starts from the end and goes back, sequence after sequence. A certainly curious, formal experiment, and an enigmatic film, based on a story by Jonathan Nolan. Place 25.
25TH HOUR / Spike Lee (135 ‘) USA, 2002 / Subt. in Spanish / Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox. In colors. After being sentenced to seven years for drug trafficking, Monty Brogan has only 24 hours of freedom left before entering prison. After being the king of Manhattan, Monty is about to say goodbye to his dreams of grandeur and the crazy train of life that took him away from those who really wanted him. In these last hours of freedom he tries to recover the relationship with his father and his two best friends from youth. And also with his girlfriend, who could be the one who betrayed him to the police. It is based on the novel by David Benioff. Place 26.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK / David Fincher (120 ‘) 2010 / Subt. in Spanish / Jesse Eisenberg, Rooney Mara, Bryan Barter, Brenda Song, Dustin Fitzimons. In colors. In 2003, Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg, a programming genius, develops a new idea that will soon be transformed into a global social network, Facebook. Six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history. But success gave great complications to this young man… Written by Aaron Sorkin, and based on the book The Accidental Billionaires of Ben Mezrich. “Splendidly well done” (Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times). Place 27.
HABLE CON ELLA (TALK TO HER) / Pedro Almodóvar (112 ‘) Spain, 2002 / Javier Cámara, Leonor Watling, Darío Grandinetti, Rosario Flores, Geraldine Chaplin, Mariola Fuentes, Ana Fernández, Cecilia Roth, Paz Vega, José Sancho, Loles León, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes. In colors. Two men, who do not know each other, are sitting together by chance among the spectators of a theatrical play: Benigno, a young nurse and Marco, a forty-year-old writer. The piece provokes such emotion that Marco breaks down to cry, and Benigno notices of it. Months later, the two meet again in a private clinic where Benigno works. Lydia, Marco’s girlfriend, a torero by profession, has suffered a wound and is in a coma. Benigno just takes care of another woman in a coma, Alicia, a young ballet student. When Marco walks by Alice’s door, Benigno does not hesitate to address him. It is the beginning of an intense friendship… Place 28.
Espacio Irreverente (Irreverent Space) replays The Dictionary
Espacio Irreverente replaces the play The dictionary, by Manuel Calzada (National Prize for Spanish Dramatic Arts 2016). The play, inspired by the figure of María Moliner; author of the Dictionary of Spanish Use, shows the story of a woman who at her 70 years discovers symptoms of cerebral arteriosclerosis and, in conversations with her doctor, husband and the public, revives the difficult crossroads in the stubborn and misunderstood development of their work.
Directed by the Spanish actress Eva González, the functions will take place on Sundays and Mondays at 7:30 p.m. in the home of the project Irreverente, located in 11 St. # 1152 between 16 St. and 18 St., in Vedado.
Grand Tour in Galiano Gallery
Since March 16, Galiano Gallery has opened its doors to the personal exhibition Grand Tour, by the artist Marlon Portales and curated by Gladys Garrote.
HABANA interactive exhibition
On the occasion of the 11th anniversary of the Walloon showcase continues the permanent exhibition, made up of representatives of the Belgian and Cuban schools of comics, and the interactive exhibition Habana, dedicated to the most recent publication of the contemporary Cuban comic strip.
This album was published in April 2016 by Maison Autrique in French and Dutch thanks to the Brussels-Capital Region. Through a playful experience, the public will have the possibility to explore the infinite narrative possibilities of the ninth art.
FAC in french
Cuban Art Factory (FAC) continues this Friday at 9:00 p.m. with the presentation of the dancers and filmmakers Beatriz García and Raúl Reinoso, who will talk about their experience in the language of genre and will offer a live show accompanied by the musician José Víctor Gavilondo. Two hours later in the concert hall will be presented Tesis de Menta, a group of Cuban music that fundamentally defends alternative rock with influences of blues, funk, and jazz.
On Saturday, at 9:00 pm, goldsmith Jorge Oliva will exhibit his collection Nautile in the theater hall, with the collaboration of designers Guido Asenjo and Pavel López and for which he has reused watches, machinery, locksmith and other metallic elements, mostly antiques. That same day at 11:00 p.m., Yissy & Bandancha, a quintet that follows the routes of Latin jazz, funk, electronic and Cuban music, will be in concert in Nave 4.
On Sunday 19 the lovers of the performing arts will continue to enjoy the staging of El otro cuarto (The other room) by Teatro El Público, directed by Carlos Díaz. A young couple lives in “the other room” of a house inhabited by a lady; who they try to kill to be left alone and solve the eternal problem of housing and independence.
At 11:00 pm, Chio Allin, a pianist, singer and songwriter born in Tokyo, accompanied by percussionist Rodney Barreto and saxophonist Regis Molina, will exhibit a part of her musical work inspired by genres such as hard core, free jazz, afro cuban, postapocaliptic, japanese pop and classical music.
La oveja tiene un primo (The sheep has a cousin)
The comedy group The Black Sheep will perform this weekend at the Mella Theater with the show La oveja tiene un primo. The functions will be on Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
This is another story
This is another story, comedy show with performances by Luis Silva (Pánfilo), Mario Sardiñas (Chequera), Andy Vazquez (Facundo) and Kike Quiñones, continues on the stages of Karl Marx Theater during this March. The functions will be on Friday and Saturday at 9:00 pm and Sunday at 5:00 pm.
What does that black woman Amalia Batista have?
Amalia Batista, Cuban zarzuela in two acts is presented this weekend at the Great Theater of Havana Alicia Alonso. With the music by master Rodrigo Prats and original book by Agustín Rodríguez, the world premiere of this zarzuela was in August 21, 1936, at the Martí Theater in Havana. This time, it will be offered in a new dramaturgical version, with artistic direction by Humberto Lara.
The functions will be Friday 17 and Saturday 18 at 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 19 at 5:00 p.m.
Trova Festival sets rhythm to Santiago
The Pepe Sánchez Trova Festival, dedicated to the 150 anniversary of Sindo Garay and to the 55 editions of this festival, will take place in the province of Santiago de Cuba until next March 19, in the context of anniversary of the birth of José Pepe Sánchez, father of the troubadour song.
The festival will have as main stages the Céspedes Park and the Marte Square(opening and closing ceremonies, respectively), the Trova House, the Dolores Hall, the Dranguet Café (Peña Trova sin Traba), Sindo Garay Bar, Martí Theater and the headquarters of UNEAC (Union of Writers and Artist from Cuba), where the theoretical event will be held.
Other spaces will be the Trova House from San Luis, the Trova House from Palma Soriano, the East University, the Vocational School of Art, the Santa Ifigenia cemetery (Route of the Trovador on March 19) and the Esteban Salas conservatory.
This edition will honor the 90th anniversary of the National Septet Ignacio Piñeiro and the one of the Estudiantina Invasora, and will have the researcher Lino Betancourt, the singer Annie Garcés, the troubadour Erik Sánchez, Lyn Milanés and his group, Pedro Luis Ferrer and his group, Pancho Amat and his group, Eliades Ochoa and the Septeto Ignacio Piñeiro as guests.
Hatuey sings in the Arenal
Hatuey: Memories of Fire, Cuban-Yiddish Opera continues its premiere at the Arenal Theater in Havana. With functions on Friday and Saturday at 9:00 pm and Sundays at 5:00 pm, the piece is based on a poem about the Taino chief who resisted the invaders from Spain in the colonial period and which was written in Yiddish, more than 80 years ago, by Oscar Pinis, a Ukrainian refugee in Cuba.
Dancing in La Piragua
As part of the dancing parties returning to the well-known place La Piragua, the orchestra of El niño y la verdad (The Child and the Truth) will perform this Saturday, starting at 10:00 p.m.
Musical proposal of the week
Yellow Submarine
Monday, 9:00 p.m. Presentation of the artistic unit The Shepal
Sundays, 5:00 p.m. Presentation of the artistic unit Eddy Escobar and his group, and the presentation of the pop rock group The Kent at 9:00 p.m.
Cultural Alba House
Friday 17, 6:00 p.m. Concert of the Mariana de Gonitch Singing Academy in honor of Viengsay Valdés for his 20 years of artistic life.
Saturday 18, 6:00 p.m. Concert of the troubadour Celestino Esquerré.
Sunday 19, 5:00 p.m. Musical Space Lyric Evenings.
Cabaret Las Vegas
Friday, 5:00 p.m. Community party Bohemian Evenings. Host by composer and speaker Olga Navarro and with José Manuel Hernández Fernández as a guest.
Palace of the Rumba
Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. Presentation of the Septeto Habanero
Sundays, 6:00 p.m. Presentation of the Timbalaye group
Story sation for a Spring
On Monday, March 20, on the occasion of the International Day of Oral Narration, the Spring Festival of Short Stories 2017 will be inaugurated.
Prominent oral narrators from Cuba, Uruguay, Mexico, Colombia, Kenya, Scotland, Spain, Canada, Poland, Martinique, Chile, Panama and Peru will attend the grand event of the word that, in this edition, will have its headquarters in cultural institutions of the Historic Center of Havana and other spaces of the Cuban capital.
Tania González, Rosa María Teruel, Blanca Isabel Pérez and Rodolfo Camacho, from Cuba, Marcela Sabio, from Argentina; Jacobo Villa, from Colombia; Renée Saravia of Uruguay and Szymon Góralczyk of Poland will perform at the opening ceremony, scheduled to take place at the Cinema-Theater in Regla.
On Tuesday 21, at 7:00 p.m., in the Lecuona Hall of the Great Theater of Havana Alicia Alonso will be held the international gala as part of which the Honorary Juglar Awards, conferred by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, will be awarded.
Spring of Tales 2017 will develop an ambitious program whose actions will have kindergartens, primary schools, the El Arca Theater-Museum, the Public Library Rubén Martínez Villena, the Gaia House, the Convents of Bethlehem and St. Augustine, the House of Mexico Benito Juárez, the Literary Lyceum of Havana and the House of Poetry as scenarios.
The French Alliance of Havana, the Bertolt Brecht Café, the Cultural Complex In Guayabera, the Martínez Villena Hall of UNEAC, the Alejo Carpentier French School and the Castilla-León Society will be other venues of the event.
As part of the program, the theoretical event will be held in the Lecuona Hall in which will also be presented the number 28 of the Journal of Storytelling and Oral Narrative Contante and soñante. Also on Friday, March 24 it will pay homage to the teacher Haydee Arteaga, known as The Lady of the Tales.
The Oral Storytelling Festival Spring of Tales 2017 will extend its actions until Sunday, March 26.
Galas de Primavera (Spring Galas)
The school Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba (LADC) will be presented on Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5:00 p.m. in the Avellaneda Hall of the Cuban National Theater. With three shows under the title Galas de Primavera, Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba will celebrate 25 years that have become thousands of children and young people passionate about dance.
Latino Show to Turquino
Danzario Nataly project and its Latino Show presents the show Verano Tropical (Tropical summer) from Tuesday to Sunday starting at 10:30 pm in the Turquino cabaret from the Habana Libre Hotel.
On Saturday, March 18 at 5:00 p.m. it will be at the Mariana Grajales Theater as a guest in the concert of group Vocal Renacer.
Authors
OnCuba Staff,
OnCuba editorial staff
