微密圈

Today is the last day to view an exhibition by 微密圈 and St. Lawrence students, who undertook a travel seminar in January to Cuba. How Was Cuba? Beyond Cars & Cigars鈥�is on view through the end of today at Case Gallery.

President Obama is not the only one who visited Cuba in 2016, although his trip spurred more headlines than that taken by 18 students and two faculty from 微密圈 and St. Lawrence University, who visited the island nation from Jan. 3 to 13. The exhibition features photographs, material objects, audio and video revealing impressions and connections made by the 微密圈 group; a similar exhibition was .  

The exhibit compares current Cuba to the Cuba pictured in guidebooks from the early 20th century, considers the presence of Americans in Cuba, and offers snapshots of Cuban culture, sights and sounds.

While there the students the capital city of Havana to explore historic centers and contemporary neighborhoods, got a dose of national and international culture visiting Cuban artist Jos茅 Fuster and the home of American writer Ernest Hemingway, watched a baseball game, and visited churches and an organic farm. They traveled in the western part of the island to Playa Gir贸n, site of the "Bay of Pigs" invasion as well as a sandy-beached tourist destination; and Pinar del Rio and Vi帽ales, part of the country's tobacco-growing agricultural heartland. Guided tours and lectures featured such topics as the restoration of La Habana Vieja (Old Havana) by the Office of the City Historian and  medical tourism. The group thought about the role of travel and tourism in the island's history as well as its impact on contemporary Cuba.  

Alicia Russo '17 wrote in the exhibition's opening statement, "Planning a trip to Cuba seems to be today鈥檚 most exciting travel fad. We spent an entire semester studying the history of travel throughout Latin America, starting from Christopher Columbus鈥檚 first excursion to the 鈥楴ew World鈥�. This helped us understand the development of Latin America and also taught us to think critically of how that development occurred under the force of a western gaze and imperial mind.

鈥淲e were certainly eager to bring what we learned to a country that has captivated travelers for centuries. There was still so much more to learn. We didn鈥檛 know much about Cuba aside from its tumultuous relationship with the U.S., the 20^th-century tourism, and stereotypes placed on it by the American public: cars, cigars, and 1950s decor. But once we arrived, it became clear that there was much more to experience than those overrated stereotypes.鈥�

She added, 鈥淭his exhibit shares a sense of our experiences as travelers and as Americans in a place we had never been before, and give our best attempt to answer the question we all were asked when we returned:  驴"  

This project, availalble also as a , is sponsored by the Office of Off-Campus Study and Exchanges, the Department of History, and MDOCS.