The fourth edition of the Month of French Culture in Cuba will take place between May 17 and June 30, with «a creative dialogue between contemporary French and Cuban artists, linked to the visual arts, music, design, architecture and dance», according to a press conference held at the Prado Palace of the French Alliance of Havana, presided over by Mr. Eric Chaux, Minister of Cooperation and Cultural Action of the French Embassy in Cuba; Marc Sagaert, general director of the French Alliance of Havana; and Philippe Murcia, cultural attaché of the diplomatic representation in Cuba.
The important cultural event is possible thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture of Cuba, the Office of the Historian of the City, the House of the Americas, the National Councils of the Plastic Arts, the Performing Arts and Cultural Heritage, the Cuban Institute of Music and the National Design Office, and there will be presented proposals for the 2nd. Bienal de Diseño and the International Colloquium on Diversity in the Caribbean, in a program «focused on young artistic talents, their encounter with the Cuban scene and a constant articulation with events and institutions».
The National Museum of Decorative Arts (17th street corner to E, El Vedado) will host from Friday 17 at three in the afternoon the exhibition Noli me tangere: Marie Antoinette, imprint of a queen, «around the representation of Marie Antoinette in Cuban public collections. In dialogue with the curator of Gustavo López, of the MNAD, and Oliver Perpoint, (ICI, International Cultural Institute), the emerging French artist Alice Guittard proposes an installation-maze that questions, with a contemporary look, Queen Marie Antoinette and the fantasy that she and her destiny have produced in the history of France and worldwide ».
Other proposals that will surely have the favor of the public are the meeting of music, dance, literature and arts «Rice with mango», from 13 to 16 June in the Alliance Française de Prado and Paparazzi (20 corner to 7th., Miramar) ; the Grand Final of the 35th Contest of the Francophone Song (Mella Theater, May 28, 8:00 p.m.); the Meetings «Joelle Ferly and Nathalie Muchamad in the House of the Americas» (May 21, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and May 23, 4:30 p.m.); the video-dance-talk «Entropic Now» (Palacio de Prado, May 18, 3:00 p.m.); the Cultural Corridor Street Line exhibition at Lab26 (26 between 19 and 21, El Vedado, May 31 to July 12); the Scientific Meeting «Felipe Poey and Aloy in his letter and spirit» (Edificio Varona, University of Havana, May 27, 1:00 p.m.); the cycling "Pedalea por el clima!", which will depart from the Plaza de Armas of Old Havana on Sunday May 26 at 5:00 p.m.); and the concert of the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, directed by the French Maestro Rémy Ballot (National Theater, June 30, 11:00 a.m.).
The eastern city of Santiago de Cuba will be the site of this meeting with French culture, hosting the scientific exhibition Resistance to antibiotics (Tomás Romay Natural History Museum, May 15 to June 16), and the Alliance Française de Santiago the expo-workshop Kit for artistic survival, by David Hurstel (May 28, 5:00 p.m.), the conference "Víctor Hugo and José Martí, and the defense of human life", by Reinaldo Suárez (May 29, 4:00 pm) and the exhibition-meeting Design of the possible, by Workshop 419 (May 17 to June 3), in addition to clubs in the institution itself at five in the afternoon on May 17 and 7 and June 21.
Mr. Patrice Paoli, French ambassador to Cuba, declared that "the Month of French Culture in Cuba continues to be an event that values the deep relations of artistic cooperation and friendship between France and Cuba. Announced by the President of the French Republic, Francois Hollande, during his visit to Cuba in May 2015, and confirmed by President Raúl Castro during his visit to France in February 2016, the Month of French Culture in Cuba has a warm welcome by the Cuban public since its inception».
