INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE & INTENSIVE FIELD STUDY
Matanzas, Jovellanos, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Havana, Pinar del Rio
Session: January 03 - 10 or 17, 1999
Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Ciego de Avila, Las Tunas, Santiago, Guantanamo
Session: June 22 - July 06, 1998
A comprehensive overview of AfroCuban Religion, Culture, History and the Arts, focusing
on the contemporary cultures of Cuba's central and western (winter session) / eastern
(summer session) regions. Included are personal interviews with believers of various
religious traditions, including Santeria, Palo Monte, Spiritism, Vodou, and expressions
of these beliefs in everyday lives, art and music. There will be public and private
ceremonies, lectures, visits to artists galleries, studios and temple houses and
meetings with community leaders.
Areas of study include Cuban°Yoruba, Cuban°Kongo, Cuban°Haitian and Cuban°West Indian
traditions. Emphasis will be placed upon the differences that give each belief and
community its unique voice, and the traditional symbiotic relationships of ritual,
music, dance and art. In Santiago (summers session), the participants may draw upon
their experiences during discussion of papers presented at the African Religions
Conference.
SERIES OF WORKSHOPS & INTENSIVE FIELD RESEARCH
Santiago and Guantanamo
Sessions: December 27, 1998 - January 03 or 10, 1999 : June 22 - July 06, 1998 (includes
Fiesta del Fuego)
A comprehensive program of study in AfroCuban music, dance and history of the eastern
region (Santiago/Guantanamo) of Cuba. Coursework will include studio study (technique
classes), lecture, viewing performances, optional participation in performance events,
and field trips addressing the respective contexts and historical backgrounds. Course
instructors are members of CUTUMBA folklore ensemble.
Areas of study include folkloric/religious (Cuban°Haitian, Cuban°Kongo/Bantu, and
Cuban°Yoruba) and popular/secular (son, rumba, conga, changui, neng¢n). Emphasis
will be placed upon the stylistic differences that give each idiom its unique voice
and the traditional symbiotic relationship of music, dance and song. Participants
are invited to perform in the opening procession of Fiesta del Fuego (summer session).
Note: Eleggua will arrange sessions for 8 or more participants for other dates
on request)
ANNUAL INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE & FIELD STUDY
Matanzas, Jovellanos, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Havana, Pinar del Rio
Session: January 02 - 09, 1999
A comprehensive overview of the dynamic relationship between culture and social transformation,
with emphasis on the contemporary expressions of history, art, music and AfroCuban
religion of the western regions of the country. Program participants will explore
Cuban elements of culture and social transformation through conferences, professional
exchanges and field observations. This includes access to important sites of contact
between Cuba's Indigenous Nations and European as well as personal interviews with
practitioners of African derived religious traditions with demonstrations of their
influences on Cuban life, art and music. Although of 14 days duration, special arrangements
have been made for a return flight after 7 days for those unable to attend all the
activities.
INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE & FIELD STUDY OF CUBA'S FIRST NATION PEOPLES
Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Baracoa (presentation of papers welcomed)
Session: January 02 - 09, 1999
This international encounter will explore and celebrate the legacy of indigenous
peoples of the Caribbean. Participants will examine elements of indigenous culture
and history through conferences, professional exchanges, workshops and field observations.
The conference also features an historic opportunity for a gathering of Taino culture
from the eastern region of Cuba as well as Puerto Rico and the North American diaspora.
Topics include: Taino Self°Interpretation, Sustainable Agriculture and Herbal Medicine,
Native Studies -° Athropology/Archeaology, Music and Dance and the Indian in Cuban
Arts.
GRADUATE COURSE ON CUBAN°CARIBBEAN CULTURAL LIFE, SOCIETY,
AND NATURAL ENVIRONNENT
Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Baracoa, Holguin
Session: June 15 - July 06, 1998 (Cuban Academic Credit)
A comprehensive graduate course encompassing the Cuban°Caribbean dimension, that
includes Literature and Cinematography, History and the Natural Enironment, Spirituality
and Society, Music and Popular Festivities. A total of 60 hours of study, including
lectures, film exhibitions and field study. This is a special Eleggua Project ° Casa
del Caribe link that is presented by highly-qualified Professors and investigators
from Eastern Cuba. Course work will be complemented by a 6-day expedition that will
circumvoyage Eastern Cuba, including the Atlantic coast°line of Columbus' route,
the Windward Passage and the Caribbean seaboard. The course includes the opening
days of Fiesta del Fuego and optional participation in the African Religions Workshop.
A ONE-WEEK WORKSHOP
Santiago de Cuba or Havana
Session: Eleggua Project will arrange sessions for 10 or more participants on, any
dates requested
The objective of this one-week workshop is to study the development of the Cuban
cinema during the period from 1980 to the present, and to venture a reflection with
regards to the relationship between art, society, political practice and the population.
The workshop participants will explore the subject through conferences, professional
exchanges, as well as viewing and debating the most important Cuban films of the
period. Organized in association with Casa del Caribe.
Havana, Casa de las Americas
Session: June 14 to 21, 1998
The Fine Arts Section of Casa de las Americas is convening creators, curators, researchers
and interested individuals to a meeting aimed at the assesment of the region's forseeable
production on the threshold of the 21st century.
Havana, Casa de las Americas (presentation of papers welcomed)
Session: September 13 to 20, 1998
This international encounter will explore and celebrate the oral traditions and literature
of the Caribbean. Topics include: The Sea as a Point of Fusion, Multilingualism and
Literary Production, Disglosia and Alternative Literature, Geographical Borders and
Literature, The Continental Caribbean Topic in Insular Literature, Marginality, Discrimination,
Social Polarization and Denunciation in the Literature of the Continental Caribbean
Santiago de Cuba
Session: (Eleggua Project will arrange sessions for 10 or more participants on any
dates requested.)
This univerisity-level course is offered in association with the Center for Applied
Lingustics of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Classes are Monday to Friday,
9:00 ° 12:00, afternoon classes can also be arranged. Housing can be arranged in
area hotels or the foreign students residence at the Insitute. Topics include:
1. Spanish Phonetics and Grammer (75 hours)
2. Text Composition and Writing (45 hours)
3. Lexicology and Semantics (30 hours)
4. Cuban Literature (45 hours)
5. [XX?]th Century Latin American Literary Items (30 hours)
Havana, Casa de las Americas
Session: August 16 - 30, 1998 (presentation of papers, panelists welcomed)
This international seminar offers a panoramic view of AfroCuban religions and/or
partcipation in associated panels. The 40 hour seminar will be devided into two parts.
First part: Santeria, Palo Monte and Abakua, ranking Cuban specialists will deliver
lectures on belief systems, forms of expressions, cosmogonies, representational corpus
and the interrelationship with social development. Second part: panels and presentations
of papers on the established topics. In addition there are field trips, visits to
museums, art galleries and temple houses.