Havana Art Deco Buenos Aires Art Deco Puerto Rican Art Deco Aracaju, Brazil Art Deco Art Deco ...

112 Pages·2013·7.47 MB·English

March
2013
Special
Issue
A Meeting
in Havana:
A Preview of the
12th World Congress
on Art Deco
Havana
Art Deco
Bacardi
Building
Buenos Aires
Art Deco
Puerto Rican
Art Deco
Aracaju,
Brazil Art Deco
Art Deco
Graphics
Coolidge
Corner-Deco
Theatre

CADS Board of Directors President´s message
Joe Loundy/President
Conrad Miczko/Vice President
Robert Blanford/Secretary The Chicago Art Deco Society is pleased to collaborate with Habana Deco to bring you this
Mary Miller/Treasurer
Ruth Dearborn special World Congress supplement of the Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine. The articles
Amy Keller highlight many of the Art Deco treasures in Havana and other parts of Cuba included on the
Susan Levand
Kevin Palmer itinerary for the 12th World Congress on Art Deco. CADS greatly appreciates Habana Deco’s
Glenn Rogers
commitment to the organization of what promises to be a unique and outstanding conference.
Bill Sandstrom
Joseph Loundy / President, Chicago Art Deco Society.
CADS Advisory Board
Richard Goisman
Katherine Hamilton-Smith INDEX
Seymour Persky
Steve Starr A gift to my country 3 Social, a Pioneer 43
in Cuban Graphic Arts
CADS Magazine
Special World Congress Issue A Meeting in Havana: 4
Chief Editor: Geo Darder A Preview of the 12th World Eusebio Leal: 44
General Editorial Coordinator: Past, Present, and Future
Mónica Palenque Congress on Art Deco
Editor: Kathleen Murphy Skolnik
Copy Editor: Linda Levendusky Art Deco in Havana: 6 The Coolidge Corner Theatre 45
Graphic Designer: Luis Alonso Brookline, Massachusetts
Translations: Vivian Figueredo, An Historical and Cultural Context
Mónica Palenque
Editorial Assistant: Casa de las Américas, 46
The National Museum 9
Joelle Louise Orr a House for all!
of Decorative Arts - Headquarters
Contributing Writers: of Habana Deco
Geo Darder Art Deco Catalog Buenos Aires 48
Gustavo López Architecture
Alejandro Alonso Art Deco in Education 10
Luz Merino and Health Care
María Elena Martín Sociedad Puertorriqueña 52
Adriana Piastrellini de Arquitectura Histórica (SPAH)
María Victoria Zardoya The forgotten glamour of 13
Wilfredo Rodríguez García Cabrera
Eduardo Luis Rodríguez Art Deco in the Ecclesiastical 55
Vivian Figueredo
Architecture of Cuba
Vicki Gold Levi Cuban Art Deco Architecture: 20
Mario Coyula A Heritage of Undeniable Value
Pilar Fernández Locally Universal: 56
Susan Quinn
A Trend in the Art Deco Era
Juan García Art Deco in Havana Housing: 24
Camilo López Tropical Deco and Streamline
Wolney Unes Aracajú, a hidden Art Deco 58
Pepe Menéndez
treasure
Camilo Valls An Art Deco Square in Havana2 8
Honoring a Renowned Cuban
Front cover: Books summary 61
Designed by Luis Alonso from
original sketch García Cabrera. A Pioneer of Modernity 30
Deco Delights 63
Leonardo Morales and the
© Copyright Chicago Art Deco So-
ciety 2013.
The Festival’s House 71
All material is subject to copyright Beginnings of Cuban Art Deco 32
and cannot be reproduced without
Cuba’s Cristóbal Colón Cemetery:
prior written permission from the Come to see, love and save 74
publisher. An Open-Air Museum
The Chicago Art Deco Society
(CADS) is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 Art Deco: Style, Trend, or Fashion? 33 The Argüelles House: 78
tax exempt organizaton chartered A pioneer landmark of
in the State of Illinois in 1982 for the
Cuban Art Deco architecture
purpose of education, perservation The Champagnat School 36
and fellowship. in Camagüey
Art Deco Architecture 80
in Holguín
Catalina Lasa and Juan Pedro Baró, 38
a Havana Legend of Love and
Chicago Art Deco Society Santiago de Cuba 83
P.O. Box 1116 a Story of Two Art Deco Monuments
at the Gates of Modernity
Evanston, IL 60204-16
312-280-9097
Discovering Art Deco in Havana: 40
www.chicagoartdecosociety.com Spanish text 90
A Personal Revelation
1

A gift to my country collectors, architects and historians from
the United States interested in visiting
this wonderful city. This began a 13-year
By: Geo Darder
quest to reach the dream of international
recognition of this unique Art Deco
heritage. Even though a tough labor, most
I owe my happiness and love of country American playground and home to fashion
of the time anonymous. I suffered my
to a style that was introduced years models, Miami Vice, Versace and me.
family’s incomprehension and some of my
before my creation. I was born in Havana
friend’s rejection, while gaining support
Cuba in1963. Soon after my parents I met Kathy Hausman who introduced me
of others.
left to Miami before I could claim any to the Deco mecca of the world, NYC,
childhood memories. Recollection of my with its skyscrapers Rockefeller, Chrysler
2001 was the next step forward
early years in Miami was visits to see my and Empire Buildings. I participated in Art
toward my dream when a small Cuban
great grandmother Margarita, mother Deco lectures, exhibits and congresses.
delegation, headed by architect Juan
of Abuela Dora, on an island across the I experienced a new understanding and
Garcia and Patricia Semidey assisted
causeway called Miami Beach. These monumental admiration to the deco style.
the Art Deco World Congress held in
trips were always scary for me because
Oklahoma. During this meeting the
I had to stay in the car while my parents But it is was not until my first return
academic exchanges strengthened and
went in for a quick visit. Waiting in the visit to my native Island nation at the age
made possible in 2003, the second Cuba/
car I would observe the old people sitting 30 that I would learn of my passion for
US encounter. Habana Deco Conference
in rocking chairs on porches of funny my country and Habana Deco. This trip
was held at the National Museum of
buildings with odd shapes and neon lights. ignited a new passion to reconnect with
Decorative Arts, which lead to the
This would be my first introduction to my Cuban family, culture and heritage.
forming of Habana Deco Group in 2009.
Art Deco. Little did I know then it would Habana Deco awareness became my
become such a big part of my life. mission: to let the world know of the true
Many conferences followed and it was
treasures my island held.
true progress when deco societies
I spent my teens working at Miami
acknowledged and welcomed Latin
Beach hotels, sunbathing during work In the year 2000 the first conference to
American countries like Brazil, Argentina
breaks and lunches at David’s Café and promote the Deco heritage took place in
and Uruguay. This lead to the new
Puerto Sagua. I fell deeply in love for Cuba and the National Union of Cuban
creation of Deco groups for ICADS
the streamline style and knew someday Writers and Artists (UNEAC) served
and an approval to Rio de Janiero, Brazil
South Beach would be home. I was as the meeting venue. Thanks to the
as the first Latin American country
fortunate to be part of the renaissance collaboration of Dr. Graziela Pogolotti and
to host a World Congress. Now the
of SoBe thanks to Barbara Capitman.I architect Juan Garcia.
Caribbean Island Nation of Cuba will
enjoyed Art Deco weekends with never
finally have the opportunity to share
ending openings and inaugurations of From that moment on I was committed
with the world its Art Deco heritage
renovated deco landmarks. South Beach to help build a bridge of better
with this 12th ICADS Congress, its 250
Art Deco District became the new understanding by organizing groups of
international participants and 15 countries
in attendance. Thank you to so many
that made this World Congress a reality.
This gathering is not just a congress it is a
celebration!
I am positive that this Congress will serve
as a stage to create restoration projects
and resurgence to the interest of the
cultural heritage of Cuba for the world.
I just turned 50 and my commitment to
this Island, which I never gave up, remains
intact. My true cause transcends gods and
borders, governments and laws, family
and friends; because no matter where I
am, I am also Cuba.
I dedicate this issue to my mother María
Teresa Darder López who taught me the
true essence of conviction and the Sacred
Mother of all Cubans, La Caridad del
Cobre, for guiding me back to my home.■
3
A Meeting in Havana: Windsor, film stars Ava Gardner and Frank
Sinatra, crime boss Santo Trafficante,
A Preview of the 12th World singer Nat King Cole, and model Naomi
Campbell.
Congress on Art Deco
The program designed by the Congress
By: Lic. Gustavo López González Organizing Committee features both
Pictures: Arch. Félix Eduardo Borges Ibáñez lectures and visits to Havana’s Art
Deco buildings and monuments. The
Once again, Art Deco scholars and Official headquarters of the Congress will presentations will take place at Hotel
devotees will meet in an exciting venue be the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, a historic Nacional de Cuba with special lectures
for the biennial World Congress on Art institution with a more than eighty-year held at Casa de Las Americas, a Cuban
Deco. The location for the 12th World tradition of hosting visitors to Havana. cultural institution for more than half a
Congress, scheduled to take place March Since 1930, the Nacional has welcomed century and one of the most attractive
14 through 21, 2013, is Havana, Cuba. such diverse guests as the Duke of Art Deco buildings in the city. Papers will
examine such topics as the characteristics
of Art Deco in Havana and other Cuban
cities; the societal influence of Art Deco
and its adaptation to different social
levels; the typology of Havana cinemas
and theaters; the magnificent Art Deco
residences in the neighborhoods of
Vedado and Miramar; and Cuban graphic
arts and films of the Art Deco period.
Other presentations will examine the
impact of Art Deco worldwide. Barbara
Billauer Bailey of the Washington Art
Deco Society will address Art Deco in
Israel; Paula Duffy Baker of the Chicago
Art Deco Society will explore The
Connections between Chicago and Latin
American Muralists; and Peter Sheridan
of Australia will speak on Radio, an
Unacknowledged Art Deco Icon. Noted
speakers Alistar Duncan, Hermes Mallea,
Fabio Grementieri, Wolney Unes and
Mitzi Mogul will be in attending.

Tours in Havana will include such buildings
as the Bacardí, Havana’s first skyscraper
and the most significant example of Cuban
Art Deco, and important residences,
such as the home of Catalina Lasa and
Juan Pedro Baró, the Francisco Argüelles
house, Cuba’s first Art Deco building, and
the Manuel López Chávez house. Visits
to Art Deco cinemas and theaters—the
America, Arenal, Fausto, and Ludgardita;
Art Deco hospitals, including the
Maternidad Obrera and América Arias;
monuments such as the superb obelisk
honoring Dr. Carlos J. Finlay, in Marianao;
and the amazing marble, stone, and
Lobby of the López Serrano Building in Vedado.
4
Exterior view of Maternidad Obrera Hospital.
bronze mausoleums of the Cementerio participants will travel to the beautiful
de Colón. Topes de Collantes nature reserve to
visit the Art Deco sanatorium built in the
Delegates will also participate in mountains in the 1940s. In Santiago, they
receptions, dinners, luncheons, and will walk the central street of Enramada
social events at venues such as the Hotel and visit the sanctuary of the Virgen de la
Nacional, Havana Club, the DuPont Caridad del Cobre, Cuba’s patron saint,
house in Varadero beach and will enjoy with its magnificent view of the landscape
a performance by the Ballet Nacional of the eastern region.
de Cuba, led by Alicia Alonso as well
as visits to museums and exhibitions in The opportunity to learn more about Art
Havana. Deco in Cuba and other parts of the world
from an international panel of specialists,
The post-Congress tours (March 21 to combined with visits to areas of Cuba
27) will explore other Cuban cities to known for their beauty, architecture,
learn about the Art Deco and colonial Exterior view of the López Serrano Building. culture, and history, promises to make
architecture in the central and eastern the 12th World Congress of Art Deco a
areas of the island. In historic Trinidad, memorable experience.■
5
Art Deco in Havana:
An Historical and Cultural
Context
By: Lic. Alejandro G. Alonso
This article is excerpted from the book Deco in Old Havana to be published by Boloña
Publishing House, Office of the Historian of the City.
Current research based on geographic,
temporal, and stylistic considerations
suggests that Art Deco in Old Havana
arose within two clearly defined poles.
The Bacardí Building (1930), an Art Deco
jewel in Monserrate Street at the former
boundary of the defensive wall, marks the
first; the Navy Building (1951) at 102 San
Pedro Street, the second. Stylistically, a
profusion of ornament associated with the
variant known as “Zigzag” distinguishes
the Bacardi, while the Navy Building
represents the simpler, more functional
“nautical” variant. Separated by twenty
years, the two buildings demonstrate
Art Deco’s longevity among those who
financed such projects and, of course, the
architects.
The early phase of Art Deco in Cuba,
manifested by the Bacardí Building,
developed during the first term (1925-
1929) of General Gerardo Machado,
who initially served as president but later
became a sanguinary dictator reluctant
to abandon power and determined to be
elected. The later pole, represented by
the Navy Building, occurred during the
final term of the military leader Fulgencio
Batista, who regained control of the
country through a 1952 coup d’état. The
years between the construction of these
two landmark buildings was marked
by fraudulent elections and politicians
in the magistrate who were totally
uninterested in solving the great needs
of the nation. Two economic crises, two
Interior lobby of Bacardí building.
world wars, the nationalist revolution of
1933 and the frustrations it precipitated, States government, and the widespread In spite of this turbulence, Cuba readily
adoption of the Second Constitution of influence of North American culture into accepted Art Deco. The island’s
the Republic, interventions by the United national life also characterized this period. fundamental cosmopolitan nature,
6
of the tycoon Serra’s
daughter or the splendid
house of Catalina Lasa,
a woman who would
become a living legend
and who commissioned
the best Art Deco interior
in Havana in 1927. That
year is fundamental for
Cuban art. It marked
the construction of the
first Art Deco buildings
in the country and the
emergence of Cuban
“modern” visual artists,
prefigured in the work of
the designers of art and
entertainment magazines
such as Carteles and
Bohemia.
The great examples of
Art Deco architecture
remaining in Cuba can
be traced to various
sources. Some of the
first buildings that
appeared in the early
phase of the style were
the result of private
initiatives. However, as
Navy building on Avenue of Port of Havana. early as 1930, Govantes
and Cabarrocas designed
combined with its dynamic racial of the magazine and, even more important, two of the best hospital facilities in
mixture and acknowledged power of collaborators in the task of enlightening a the country, thanks to the actions of
assimilation, made it fertile ground for bourgeoisie that was beginning to show Gerardo Machado (although those
the new. Furthermore, Art Deco arrived entrepreneurial capacity. projects as well as the great work of
in Cuba amidst a wave of nationalism the Central Road correspond to his first
that impacted all cultural spheres— A representative example is Alejo term as constitutional president). Like
literature, music, and the arts. The most Carpentier, one of the best Spanish- their European fascist counterparts, the
distinguished representative of this language writers of the twentieth century, Cuban dictators favored the Art Deco
nationalistic fervor was Nicolás Guillén, as well as a musicologist and essayist. variant known as Modern Monumental,
a mulatto poet whose universal verse Writing from Paris under the pseudonym giving rise to a number of hospitals,
was capable of conveying the rhythm “Jacqueline,” Carpentier would send squares, homes for the elderly, barracks,
of son, which later evolved into “salsa.” articles on all aspects of avant-garde and civic institutions, including structures
This powerful nationalistic movement culture, from the music of Stravinsky built under the mandate of other de
aspired to international understandability to the painting of Picasso and Parisian facto authoritarians such as Batista. This
and authenticity. Its principles were fashions, considered an artistic discipline is no coincidence; the colossal scale
exemplified by Grupo Minorista, a social itself. The articles appeared in the pages of of the Modern Monumental style well
movement led not by a party but created Social, which was founded and directed by matches the psychology of such political
and supported by the best intellectuals in Conrado Walter Massaguer, a member of figures.
all fields. This group’s role was extremely Grupo Minorista. The magazine addressed
influential from the start. topics such as industrial development, These important events, significant
feminism, and racial origins as elements of historical occurrences, and astonishing art
Any analysis of the role of publications in the a national identity, all with the magazine’s works constitute a momentous era for
dissemination of new modes of expression worldly view. Such articles appeared side Cuba, which treasures the legacy of its
must also include the magazine Social. by side with reviews of a dance in historical national interpretation of Art Deco like a
Grupo Minorista’s members were friends costumes or stories about the wedding radiant jewel.■
7