UA Welcomes More than 20 Cuban Scholars, Artists for Cuba Week

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama’s Cuba Week kicks off Monday, Oct. 24 at 8:30 a.m. at Bryant-Jordan Hall on the UA campus.

Following an opening ceremony, in which President Stuart R. Bell and others will speak about the success and history of UA’s relationship with Cuba, members of the UA staff will join with more than 20 Cuban artists, musicians, writers, doctors and scholars for a series of panel presentations, readings, lectures, exhibitions and discussions sharing their collaborative and individual work.

The conference presentations, held Oct. 24–28, are free and open to the public, and topics range from engineering, science and health science to history, film, theatre, literature and art.

“UA has worked for years to develop these collaborative relationships,” said Steve Miller, a professor in the school of library and information studies and a co-director of the Center for Cuba Collaboration and Scholarship. “Cuba Week is our opportunity to share that work and create future opportunities for collaborations.”

In addition to the array of scholastic presentations, Cuba Week also includes three cultural events featuring Cuban film, music and artistry.

On Tuesday, Oct. 25, the public is invited to attend a movie gala on campus at ten Hoor hall, room 30, at 7 p.m. for the showing of “Y Sin Embargo,” a film by Cuban cinematographer Rudy Mora.

On Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m., Cuban musicians Marita de los Angeles Rodríguez Correa, Vicente José Monterrey and Niurka González Núñez will join with Osiris Molina, UA associate professor of clarinet, for a concert in the Frank Moody Music Building Concert Hall. Their performance, titled “Cuban Connectivity and Collaboration: Chamber Music Partnerships from UA to ISA,” features the piano, flute and clarinet.

And on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m., Cuban printmakers Alejandro Ramon Sainz Alfonso, Ramón Vargas Artiz and Aliosky García Sosa will visit downtown Tuscaloosa’s Harrison Galleries for an exhibit of their work. The exhibit, “Los Grabados de La Habana,” is on display from Oct. 16–29. The public is welcome to come meet the artists at the opening reception Oct. 27 from 6 to 9 p.m.

For further details on Cuba Week events, visit www.cubaweek.ua.edu.

The Center for Cuba Collaboration and Scholarship at The University of Alabama is a research center which builds on the activities of the Alabama-Cuba Initiative, a 13-year effort to establish educational opportunities in Cuba for UA students and faculty. Both the Center and the initiative efforts have been led by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences.

UA’s College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes and Goldwater scholarships.