Tupoc on the wall in Cuba and other beautiful images, beautifully painted on a rather drab crumbling walls in la Habana Vieja (old town Havana). I didn’t see graffiti in Cuba (no spray paint?) but I did marvel at many expertly painted wall murals that were adorning streetside walls and near doorways. Occasionally political, often quite beautiful, sometimes even tragic – but always profoundly contrasting with the gray stone walls; they stood out like butterflies on often depressing disintegrating buildings. I would have dearly loved to have met the artists who crafted such delightful surprises, but I didn’t see any works in progress, unfortunately. The creative arts will always find a way to express themselves!
Here is a sampling of Cuba for Mama: A Daughter’s Journey 2016
I especially loved the two toned models of cars in Cuba – so colorful and fun. Keeping these classics running is an incredible feat, given the restrictions Cubans face. The mechanics have utilized about everything imaginable to keep them on the road. Candy colored paint jobs, gleaming chrome, plush upholstery – these beauties are truly a work of art.
of people’s ground level homes. While walking through a little marketplace outdoors, every shopkeeper loudly beckoned me to stop and see their wonderful goods, 
The neighborhood kids played with nearly anything in Cuba. Looking down on the stoop, I saw a children’s toy box (literally a battered cardboard box with its sad selection of broken dolls, bits of plastic and orphaned Lego blocks and I cringed thinking of the incredible abundance of toys and games that my own children had had. As I watched a trio of musicians strike up the familiar Cuban beat, a pair of young boys played contentedly in the street with two small plastic army men, tossing them up and down the street, chasing them and delighting in their wild acrobatics. Simple pleasures. When I go back, I’m bringing a case of plastic parachute jumpers to give away.
Now, this is a cool idea for portable art – taking a little mint tin and hot gluing it to an old watchband. Combine it with a water pen and there you have it! I’ll be making one of these…
At every turn on La Habana Vieja’s streets adorning the crumbling buildings, expressions of incredibly detailed and often colorful artwork abound. Thankfully, spray paint would not be easy to get here (and I would imagine, expensive) so graffiti wasn’t a big problem as it is in many other countries and cities. This was a wonderful painting seen on a Havana street of Tupac. Paintings and wall murals were seen down many streets; and like a bouquet of flowers they caught your eye and made the black & white broken buildings come alive.
To the right is another image that I loved, staring out from this tumble down building. Such beauty!
Havana’s Folk Art Museum had an exhibition of folk art dolls from Latin America on display, and this beauty from Mexico caught my eye.
