MN Cuba Committee delegation to Cuba February 1-8 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Minnesota Cuba Committee (mncubagmail.com) | |
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:02:23 -0800 (PST) |
*MINNESOTANS TO CUBA FEBRUARY DELEGATION* We have just received confirmation of the dates and itinerary for our Minnesota-Cuba trip in February! If you're interested in going, you'll have to act quickly; an application and full payment must be received by the Marazul travel agency no later than January 1, and should be submitted as soon as possible to reserve your place. The delegation will leave from Miami the morning of Wednesday, February 1, and return Wednesday morning, February 8. The trip is fully licensed under the people-to-people authorization issued to the Minnesota Cuba Committee on October 31. The schedule is full of events that will appeal both to first-time travelers as well as those who have already been to Cuba. We will stay at the Parkview Hotel which is very close to the center of Old Havana and just steps away from the storied boat, the Granma, on exhibit at the Museum of the Revolution. In Havana, we will visit the town of Regla, a center of Afro-Cuban religion that is sometimes described as the birthplace of the Cuban revolution. There will also be a meeting with Cenesex, the pioneering sex education agency, as well as visits to a trade union, a Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, an organic farm, the international school of medicine (ELAM), the Jose Fuster art studio and one of the art schools featured in the movie "Unfinished Spaces." The itinerary will also include day trips to the cities of Matanzas and Santa Clara. Matanzas is home to the Museum of the Roots of Slavery; Santa Clara is the location of the Che Guevara museum. We will be accompanied on all of the scheduled activities by a bilingual guide, but there will also be plenty of opportunity to get out and explore the city of Havana on your own. If you don't already have a guidebook, the October 2011 edition of the Lonely Planet guide to Cuba is available at bookstores and at Amazon.com. The approximately cost of the trip is $1,600 per person, including airfare between Miami and Havana, hotel accommodations (per person, double room), some meals, transportation to and from the airport in Havana, a guide and full-time programming, tips for the guide and drivers and mandatory Cuban medical insurance. It does not include a $25 Cuban exit fee, meals and entertainment on your own and hotel tips. The cost will be about $200 more for a single room. You will need to be at the airport in Miami at 6:00 am February 1. There are reasonably priced hotels near the airport and we can put you in touch with other travelers if you want to share hotel accommodations. A full itinerary and an application can be found at www.minnesotacubacommittee.org. Please submit the application as soon as possible. Instructions are on the application. (Be sure to select option #12 on the page entitled "Travel Affidavit.") If you want to submit the application electronically, you can fill it out online, save it as a Word document and email it to info [at] marazul.com along with a scanned copy of the information page from your passport. You can also mail application materials to the address on the application. (Don't forget the copy of the information page from your passport.) You can complete the credit card information and authorize a $200 deposit to insure your place or you can leave the payment information blank and be billed later. The final cost of the trip will be available in a couple of days. If you have any questions, send us an email at MNCuba [at] gmail.com. See you in Havana! *WRITERS, ARTISTS, FILMMAKERS AND ART LOVERS APRIL DELEGATION* If you can't make the February trip, please consider going on the Writers, Artists, Filmmakers and Art Lovers delegation. The tentative dates for this trip are April 17-27, with the exact dates to be announced very soon. The focus of this and the preceding two arts trips have been to include working writers, artists, filmmakers, and educators, and now with the Minnesota Cuba Committee's new people-to-people license, all are welcome. The custom-made program includes extensive meetings with Cuban writers, artists, filmmakers, scholars, dancers, musicians, educators, and others. NO CVs needed! The itinerary includes time in Havana, to meet with members of the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC), and the International School of Film and TV nearby (founded by writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez), writers at the Alejo Carpentier Foundation, visual artists, and other vital people in film, literary, visual and performing arts. We'll go to Santiago de Cuba, cradle of Cuban music, rich in all the arts, birthplace of the Revolution, home to immigrants from all over the Caribbean, the beginning of the Sierra Maestra Mountains, and a deep center of Afrocuban culture, where we will connect to many visual artists among others. And to Gibara in Holguin, for activities of the Festival of Poor Cinema, including the awards and closing parties. This international festival of “low-budget”/alternative/independent film includes concerts and exhibitions in all media complementing the film events The trip will be led by Minnesota Cuba Committee member Anya Achtenberg who has been to Cuba five times. This will be the third arts-centered trip she has organized. Contact her at aachtenberg [at] gmail.com if you are interested in this trip.
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