In Ciego de Ávila, half of the 13 provincial institutions are closed
14ymedio, Havana, November 10, 2024 — Facilities in terrible condition, partial collapses and pieces stored in “dusty boxes” define the situation of museums in Cuba. The worst part is experienced by the provincial institutions, closed most of the day and without conditions to preserve the past. It is a “defeat for society” that ahe official provincial newspaper Invasor recently illustrated with a fact that “impresses and saddens”: of the 13 museums that Ciego de Ávila has, half are closed.
Invasor dedicated its weekly cultural supplement to exploring the museological debacle in the province. The photos of chipped and cracked walls are eloquent. The testimonies of the employees, even more so. Critical of the management of the local government, Doralis Nuez González, director of the Provincial Heritage Center, reminded the authorities that they had to assume “more strongly their responsibility” for the deterioration, because they are obliged, in fact, by the General Law on the Protection of Heritage.
Nuez González warned about the imminent loss of collections several centuries old. He asked for resources so that the pieces – especially the documents, more fragile – receive “a correct preventive conservation.” “Paper, even when we take all precautions, can be exposed to dust, moisture and the growth of fungi. A closed place, far from helping, damages the cultural heritage that we will bequeath to our children and grandchildren,” he lamented.
On the other hand, archaeological objects – which are not lacking in Ciego de Ávila, because it contains abundant aboriginal sites – need “optimal control of temperature and humidity,” which is achieved with equipment and substances that are lacking.
In Ciro Redondo the problem is the building, whose “constructive state” leaves much to be desired
Of the 13 museums in the province, four are completely closed – Decorative Arts, the municipal ones of Majagua and Bolivia, and the important Museum-Site Los Buchillones, in Chambas – and two partially: those of Florencia and Ciro Redondo. The closures have “various causes.” In Majagua there is no staff, and they have alleged a “redesign of the project.” In Ciro Redondo the problem is the building, whose “constructive state” leaves much to be desired.
In Florencia there is an effort to open some museums, but the progress is “progressive.” Decorative Arts, Bolivia and Los Buchillones have the same flaw: the seepage that, after each downpour, leaves the ceiling full of leaks and a “humid environment” that has damaged the pieces.
The situation of Decorative Arts is one of the most serious, and its director, Celia Marrero, implores the Government to rescue it. “I hope they approve the investment we need and that the doors of the museum open as soon as possible, but as of today we have no certainty of being able to achieve it next year. It is most likely that we will not get help even for the carpentry,” she explains.
In the Bolivia, due to leaks, they have had to store everything in “boxes and suitcases.” “The local authorities are aware of this situation, but they tell us that there is no money for the work,” complains the director of the municipal museum, Zuleidys Álvarez.
The small museum of Los Buchillones was very affected after the passage of Hurricane Irma in 2017. The local Communist Party has been interested in the situation because there is much at stake: the hundreds of valuable pieces of aboriginal wood that Canadian scholars are in the process of studying and classifying, whose loss would be catastrophic for the state of Taíno studies worldwide.
The pieces were better preserved “in the sulfurous mud of the beach, which protected them naturally for centuries”
The pieces were better preserved “in the sulfurous mud of the beach, which protected them naturally for centuries,” than in the dilapidated museum, admits the PCC. “Seven years after the hurricane, the valuable aboriginal collections are still in boxes, without the necessary materials to finish this work and return the museum to its functionality,” Invasor regrets.
The director of Culture of Chambas even asked the Ministry of Tourism to “get involved in this matter and resurrect Los Buchillones” with a view to bringing tourists to its facilities. However, the newspaper points out, even if such an investment occurs, it will also be necessary to deal with another “headache”: the municipal museum of Chambas, almost in collapse and about to close.
“Why don’t we finish repairing it? Mostly, due to a lack of materials, but I also think that there has been a lack of more commitment on the part of other agencies in charge. Culture, with its scarce resources, cannot solve everything,” said the official.
Invasor does not blame the authorities for the situation. Washing their hands of it is, “to a certain extent, understandable,” due to the crisis which Cuba is living through. “Where can they get money, materials or labor, in the midst of so many shortages? If the housing deficit persists in Ciego de Ávila, how can they prioritize places where no one will live?” the article asks. But a paragraph later, it qualifies: without museums the “cultural decolonization” that, taking former minister Abel Prieto as a guru, the Government has launched will not be possible.
The newspaper also dedicated an editorial to the situation of museums, in addition to an interview with Lizette Pérez Sánchez, specialist at the Provincial Museum. Graduated in Marxism and an unconditional adherent of the Communist Party, Pérez has no complaints: the local government, she says, gives a “material contribution” to the institution, privileged in a context of cultural helplessness.
The precariousness of Cuban museums has been denounced on multiple occasions
The precariousness of Cuban museums has been denounced on multiple occasions. Several weeks ago, the Matanzas Art Museum suffered a collapse of its roof, according to the local press. At that time, the museology specialist of the institution, Jenny Páez, regretted the incident and said that it occurred due to the “silence and delinquency of some entities responsible for ensuring its conservation.”
At the beginning of the year, the National Heritage Council informed the Minister of Culture that in Cuba there were 64 museums closed and another 61 monuments in danger of collapse, due to the “deficit of equipment, materials and investments for their conservation and restoration.” Although there has been no update, it is expected that the figures have increased.
Last February, when 14ymedio visited the Cerro Museum in Havana, the panorama was unfortunate. With grass and vines growing on its facade, there were hardly any remains of the yellow ribbon with which the police warned that the place was impassable. On the double staircase of the building, someone drew a word that serves as an alert for any Cuban cultural institution: “Danger.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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