An arc that unites Quebec and Cuba

Cuban society often offers pleasant surprises that one discovers either by pure chance or through a friend, a commodity that must be particularly pampered in Cuba if one is part of the restricted club of expatriates.

This is the case with Jean Fugère, a former literary critic on - radio, who has been visiting Cuba for a very long time. After having hosted for several years a private house (a room rental house for tourists) in Centro Habana – I say “lively” because Jean did more than rent rooms to Quebec tourists passing through the capital, he extolled to them all the merits of this “wonderful city with thousand columns”, according to the expression of the writer Alejo Carpentier and even served as their guide on occasion -, now the intrepid journalist is embarking on another audacious project: building a modern center for the followers of Qi Gong, a Chinese martial art based on the control of breath. By modern center I mean not a closed place made of concrete and metal beams, but an open place, without partitions, under the open sky, lit by daylight. The only structure will be made of a material little used in construction, but abundant in Cuba as in Asian countries: bamboo, a “grass” which grows without fertilizers, without pesticides and which combines suppleness, resistance, strength and flexibility. This project, called “arc of changes/Arc of Changes”, will be owned by the Cuban School of Wushu and Qi Gong for Health, which has existed for around thirty years and manages around sixty schools throughout the Cuban archipelago.

This bamboo structure has the function of supporting a dozen high-density polyethylene canvases to protect school participants from the strong rays of the sun and the blinding brightness during their morning practice between 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Currently, around fifty people, 90% of whom are women, attend classes; but by improving the conditions of the school, with a good play of shadow, a more welcoming patio, a refreshed decoration, we intend to attract new followers, especially among young people.

Jean sought out two young Cuban architect-designers, a woman and a man, who proposed a structure in perfect harmony with the movements and spirit of Qi Gong. The challenge was to operate at lower costs – hello, Roger Taillibert – without touching existing heritage walls to avoid requesting authorizations and other costly and tedious permits. According to the two architects, it was not so much an architectural project as asettingthat is to say “to invent an architectural design that respects the needs of practitioners”.

The two architects therefore set out in search of the best bamboo, since there are several dozen varieties. And the one they discovered in the Botanical Garden of the city of Cienfuegos perfectly suited the needs of the project. It was therefore necessary to cut this bamboo, transport it by truck to Havana and give it treatment against mold.

But with what money? Jean was not short of ammunition. This noble project to which he was so keen was paired with the Qi Gong Institute of Quebec which agreed, following fundraising and various donations, to pay eight thousand American dollars to its Cuban counterpart, a very modest sum, but which made it possible to complete the first phase of the project. A beautiful gesture of solidarity. For Jean, it was his way of giving back to Cuba what Cuba had given him, a life support that he never found elsewhere, while everything seemed to be collapsing around him.

Why a bow? The arc is a meeting point between two pillars, between Quebec and Cuba, for example. Moreover, the arch is omnipresent both in Havana and in the very place where the school is located. It is with this in mind that the architects favored an arched structure rather than a flat structure. It is also a form of elevation to which the students who come to recharge their batteries and heal themselves as a family aspire.

(To be continued)