The high tourist season has now begun with the first snows in Quebec and here in Cuba, with the end of the hurricane season and the arrival of the first cold fronts (cold fronts). These remnants of arctic air coming from the north bring a slight drop in temperatures – we go from 28 or 29 degrees to 23, 24 degrees – which is nothing for a Quebecer, but for a Cuban, it takes a little wool !
We begin to prepare to joyfully celebrate the Christmas Eve or Christmas Eve. We immediately think of the piece of pork, a leg or any other part of the animal, accompanied, as it should be, with congris (rice and black beans), cassava, plantains and a salad of fresh vegetables. (lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.).
Photo Jacques Lanctôt
But for Quebecers who are preparing to escape winter for a few weeks, those we call “snowbirds”, things are completely different. You can either take the same old beaten paths, Florida, Dominican Republic, Mexico, hoping for the end of the Quebec winter with both feet in the sand and the sea – which is not dishonorable – or you dare another path, full of happy discoveries and far from the routine of buffets, dips at sea and swimming in the pool.
Photo Jacques Lanctôt
There are plenty of interesting things to discover in Cuba right now, starting with its capital, Havana, which is 505 years old. A visit to the heart of the old town will meet all your expectations. Currently, the 15e edition of the Biennale of Arts is in full swing until February 28, 2025. As you stroll through the narrow and shaded streets of La Habana Vieja, expect plenty of visual surprises. Do not hesitate to enter the numerous Art galleries and museums where the most recent creations of modern art are exhibited: paintings, sculptures, installations, photos, etc., works by artists from Cuba and from elsewhere.
Photo Jacques Lanctôt
Speaking of artists from elsewhere, I had the pleasant surprise of meeting the young sculptor Alexis Vaillancourt these days in Havana. Yes, yes, the son of our national Armand Vaillancourt, the famous sculptor almost a hundred years old. This year, the Havana Biennial extended to the neighboring province of Matanzas. For several years, a group of Cuban artists from this province have been collaborating with a group of Quebec creators based in Lanaudière. Its Quebec initiator, Pierre Hivon, set up the Mano a Mano project in collaboration with the Cuban Association of Artisan Artists (ACAA), whose mission is to promote the arts and crafts of the province, on the basis exchanges with other artists and craftsmen. Hivon sent several tons of art materials and other tools to Cuba.
Photo Jacques Lanctôt
Mano a Mano (hand to hand) also organizes month-long artist residencies in both countries. It is in this context that Alexis was invited to participate in the Biennale, by creating a work on site, in the Matanzas workshop, with the materials of his choice. He likes metal, it seems, like his father, and to build his work, he worked with metal from old propane gas tanks that he cut up and welded… between two power outages.
Photo Jacques Lanctôt
I am attaching above some photos of his works, which will be exhibited in the ACAA Art Center. By the time you read these lines, Alexis will have returned to the snowy acres of Quebec, but he plans to return in two years, for the next Havana Arts Biennial.
Photo Jacques Lanctôt