Snite celebrates Cuban culture
By Maribel Morey
News writer
Music, passion, politics and food are all depicted in the Snite's Cuban Arts Celebration this week.
The Snite Museum, the Kellogg Institute and the new Institute for Latino Studies are working together to bring a broader awareness of art in this week's celebration.
"The Snite would like to celebrate ethnic diversities of world cultures on campus," said Gina Costa, public relations and marketing specialist at the Snite.
The Snite now presents "A Celebration of Cuban Arts," a series of special events scheduled in conjunction with the exhibition currently on view called Breaking Barriers: Selections from the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The main goal of this Cuban Arts exhibit is to expose campus to Cuban artists and to "give an awareness that there's this rich and textured culture," said Costa.
The Celebration will open with a free showing of "The Buena Vista Social Club" at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Annenberg Auditor- ium. The viewing is a unique opportunity for people of South Bend because this movie has not been shown here before. "The Buena Vista Social Club" is about older Cuban musicians in Havana.
This will be followed by a poetry reading on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Exhibition Galleries, headed by Orlando Menes, son of Cuban parents and assistant English professor at the University of Dayton, Ohio. A reception will follow in the museum atrium.
The lecture-gallery talk at 4 p.m. Friday is co-sponsored by the Institute for Latino Studies. Food will be served and Cuban music will flow throughout the museum. Rafael Tarrago, specialist in Latin and Iberian-American studies at the University of Minne-sota, will speak on Friday night at 4 p.m.
Born in Holguin, Cuba, Tarrago fled to the United States when he was 14 years old and focused his studies on Latin Amer-ican history and culture. This closing event will follow with a reception in the museum atrium.
This week's celebration is a great opportunity for students to learn and appreciate a different Caribbean culture, according to Costa.
"No where on campus has anybody brought this type of exhibit yet," said Costa, "We hope to do these types of shows that explore the history of art — not just Western European art."
All News Stories for Monday, February 28, 2000
