The exhibition will gather photographs of the three famous Latin American photographers: Raul Ortega (Mexico), Raul Cañibano (Cuba), Arien Chang Castan (Cuba). All of them are honoured with prestigious international awards. Expressive artistic works will display the front and backstage life of Havana – the city which attracts tourists and dreamers from all around the world.
On November 16, 1519, the Spanish conquistador Diego Velazquez founded one of the first European settlements in the New World, San Cristobal de la Abana, on the northwestern coast of Cuba. Later, Havana received the modern name and status of the capital of the island of Cuba. By the middle of the XVI century, the city had acquired strategic importance, becoming the gateway to the New World. At the photo exhibition, the metropolis will appear in its ethnic and aesthetic diversity, at the crossroads of time and space.
The exhibition ¡Viva Cuba Viva? – is a reflection on a new identity of transforming Cuba, which is understood differently by the photographers of two generations and two countries. Some of the presented photos will proclaim ¡Viva Cuba!, while the others, in contrast, will be full of suggestions on the fate of the post-Castro “Freedom Island,” asking ¿Cuba Viva? – “Is Cuba alive?”.
An important part of the exhibition will be the Russian premiere of the documentary “Latin America – the giant in turmoil,” directed by Rodrigo Vazquez. The film will show how the Chilean politician (who ran for President of the Chile three times), cinematographer and philosopher Marco Enriquez-Ominami interviews both the dignitaries – Nicolas Maduro, Evo Morales, Dilma Rousseff, Rafael Correa – and ordinary people in the Latin American streets, including in Cuba. Through the prism of these two views – the rulers and those, who are ruled – Marco Enriquez-Ominami attempts to analyze the reality of left movements, what are their results and what future do they have?
The exhibition will feature experts in the field of culture, history, politics and the auto industry. The philosopher Marco Enriquez-Ominami, photographer Kirill Ovchinnikov, doctor of historical sciences, director of the Center for Ibero-American Studies Victor Jeifets, American historian, journalist, author of the podcast about the post-Soviet space Pietro Shakaryan, Director of LACRUS communicative project Oxana Katysheva, historian of Latin American art, employee of the State Hermitage Museum Olga Yudina, auto expert, observer of Business Petersburg Vitaly Novikov will tell about the special place of Cuba and Latin America on the world stage.
Anastasia Mikulchina, actress and poet, wrote an anthem for the exhibition. The anthem was turned into a video masterpiece, directed by Polina Soshnikova, who works with Mumiy Troll and Little Big. This video anthem has become a highlight of the exhibition.
An agreement on the photo exhibition “¡Viva Cuba Viva? 500 Years of Havana” was signed on November 16, the birthday of Havana, on the business venue of St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The document was signed by LACRUS and ARCHCLUB/“Sevcable Port”.
The exposition will be held in the ARCHCLUB in the public and business space “Sevcable Port” (Kozhevennaya St., 40, St. Petersburg).
Partner of the project – Center for Ibero-American Studies of St. Petersburg University.
