Havana Modern

Havana Modern
Author: Michael Connors
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-10-07
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0847843467

A revealing collection of astonishingly fresh and undiscovered midcentury architecture and interiors in Havana. Caribbean design expert and historian Michael Connors leads the reader on an unprecedented tour in Havana of the stunning and architecturally important private homes and buildings that have been meticulously preserved, previously unphotographed, and mostly inaccessible to visitors. This lavish book represents the modern movement in Cuban architecture, from art nouveau and art deco to the flowering of high modernism just before the Revolution, spanning from the early 1900s to 1965. At a time when travelers are rediscovering Cuba, this volume offers a range of the city’s twentieth-century cultural achievements. The photographs, shot exclusively for the book, show examples from the artsy Vedado neighborhood, the seaside streets of Miramar, Central Havana, and Havana’s posh Country Club Park area. Included are iconic places such as Cuba’s remarkably futuristic National Schools of Art; the art deco landmark Bacardi building; Casa de Alfred von Schulthess by Richard Neutra; the stylish Habana Riviera Hotel, and its original 1957 interiors; the Hotel Nacional de Cuba designed by McKim, Mead & White, on Havana’s seaside drive the Malecón; and the world-famous Tropicana cabaret nightclub by architect Max Borges. Havana Modern is a pioneering book of modern design that shows a corner of the world where modern architecture thrived and has been carefully preserved.

The Havana Guide

The Havana Guide
Author: Eduardo Luis Rodriguez
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2000
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9781568982106

Designed for anyone with an interest in touring major architectural works, the Guidebooks contain historical and descriptive information on key buildings, and practical information including maps, directions, addresses, and references for further reading.

Dictator's Dreamscape

Dictator's Dreamscape
Author: Joseph R. Hartman
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2019-04-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 0822986493

Joseph Hartman focuses on the public works campaign of Cuban president, and later dictator, Gerardo Machado. Political histories often condemn Machado as a US-puppet dictator, overthrown in a labor revolt and popular revolution in 1933. Architectural histories tend to catalogue his regime’s public works as derivatives of US and European models. Dictator’s Dreamscape reassesses the regime’s public works program as a highly nuanced visual project embedded in centuries-old representations of Cuba alongside wider debates on the nature of art and architecture in general, especially in regards to globalization and the spread of US-style consumerism. The cultural production overseen by Machado gives a fresh and greatly broadened perspective on his regime’s accomplishments, failures, and crimes. The book addresses the regime’s architectural program as a visual and architectonic response to debates over Cuban national identity, US imperialism, and Machado’s own cult of personality.

Cuban Revelations

Cuban Revelations
Author: Marc Frank
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Total Pages: 469
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813047846

In Cuban Revelations, Marc Frank offers a first-hand account of daily life in Cuba at the turn of the twenty-first century, the start of a new and dramatic epoch for islanders and the Cuban diaspora. A U.S.-born journalist who has called Havana home for almost a quarter century, Frank observed in person the best days of the revolution, the fall of the Soviet Bloc, the great depression of the 1990s, the stepping aside of Fidel Castro, and the reforms now being devised by his brother. Examining the effects of U.S. policy toward Cuba, Frank analyzes why Cuba has entered an extraordinary, irreversible period of change and considers what the island's future holds. The enormous social engineering project taking place today under Raúl's leadership is fraught with many dangers, and Cuban Revelations follows the new leader's efforts to overcome bureaucratic resistance and the fears of a populace that stand in his way. In addition, Frank offers a colorful chronicle of his travels across the island's many and varied provinces, sharing candid interviews with people from all walks of life. He takes the reader outside the capital to reveal how ordinary Cubans live and what they are thinking and feeling as fifty-year-old social and economic taboos are broken. He shares his honest and unbiased observations on extraordinary positive developments in social matters, like healthcare and education, as well as on the inefficiencies in the Cuban economy.

Cuban Modernism

Cuban Modernism
Author: Victor Deupi
Publisher: Birkhäuser
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2021-02-08
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 3035616442

In the 20th century, modern architecture thrived in Cuba and a wealth of buildings was realized prior to the revolution 1959 and in its wake. The designs comprise luxurious nightclubs and stylish hotels, sports facilities, elegant private homes and apartment complexes. Drawing on the vernacular, their architects defined a way to be modern and Cuban at the same time – creating an architecture oscillating between tradition and avantgarde. Audacious concrete shells, curving ramps, elegant brises-soleils and a fluidity of interior and exterior spaces are characteristic of an airy, often colorful architecture well-suited to life in the tropics. New photographs and drawings were specially prepared for this publication. A biographical survey portraits the 40 most important Cuban architects of the era.

Havana Deco

Havana Deco
Author: Alejandro G. Alonso
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2007
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780393732320

An unparalleled tour of the Art Deco-style architecture, interiors, decoration, and art objects of Havana, this colorful book shows the work of Cuban artists, open to the winds of change and to outside influences, who filtered the movement born in Paris through the dazzling beauty of Caribbean nature and made the art their own.

Havana

Havana
Author: Joseph L. Scarpaci
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780807853696

Newly revised and redesigned, this book assesses nearly 500 years of urban development and planning in Havana, paying particular attention to the city's rich blend of Spanish-Cuban-Latin American-North American architecture and design.

A Contemporary Cuba Reader

A Contemporary Cuba Reader
Author: Philip Brenner
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 430
Release: 2008
Genre: Cuba
ISBN: 0742555062

A collection of essays that explore a wide range of topics related to Cuban politics, economics, foreign policy, social transformation, and culture in the post-Soviet era.

Havana Before Castro

Havana Before Castro
Author: Peter Moruzzi
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2008-07-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 142360993X

Take a trip to the golden age of Havana in this gorgeously illustrated volume of vintage photographs, postcards, brochures, and other ephemera. Featuring hundreds of historic images and cultural artifacts, Havana Before Castro documents how the Cuban capital evolved from a Prohibition Era getaway destination to a heady blend of glittering nightclubs, outrageous cabarets, all-night bars, and backstreet brothels. Here, captured in one amazing book, is the drama, passion, intrigue, and opulence of a legendary city during its heyday—before the Castro regime took over and Americans were banned from travel to this tropical paradise. In chapters covering such topics as Cuban rum and cigars, the world-famous Tropicana Club, and Havana’s association with the mob, author Peter Moruzzi provides essential historical context for the many fascinating and evocative images.

Cuban Cocktails

Cuban Cocktails
Author: Ravi DeRossi
Publisher: Union Square + ORM
Total Pages: 516
Release: 2019-04-25
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1454936177

“Their drinks celebrate the island’s culinary heritage and bring new flavors into the mix . . . A stylish and timely collection of recipes.” —Library Journal (starred review) From the renowned Cuban rum bar Cienfuegos—owned by the co-owner of Death & Co., named Best American Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail® in 2010—comes this spirited collection of 100 recipes that tap into Cuba’s rich history and culture. This collection features timeless classics, such as the Cuba Libre, El Floridita Daiquirí, and Mojito; a bevy of punch recipes to share with friends and family; new takes on familiar favorites, such as the Isla Tea, Por Avion, and Rum Old Fashioned; and modern craft concoctions, including the Havana Harbor Special, Imperial Fizz, and One Hundred Fires. But Cuban Cocktails offers more than just a collection of delectable recipes. It captures the tropical elegance and unfiltered energy of old Cuba, brimming with beautiful, evocative images of the drinks and the places where they came to life. Features shed fascinating light on the country’s cocktail history, its legendary bars, and the famous cantineros who ran them, while notes, tips, and tricks make it easy to create a tantalizing taste of the once-forbidden Caribbean island. ¡Bienvenidos a Cienfuegos! “Part of their exploration, which yielded more than a few Hemingway-inspired sips, involved celebrating the Cuban punch bowl, filled with rum-soaked elixirs and flavored with citrus and tropical fruits.” —The Palm Beach Post “Welcome to the tropics! . . . Full of punches, sours, and daiquiris, you can escape to Cuba just like Hemingway did and elude Prohibition entirely.” —Book Riot