Cultura Comunitaria

I am sending you this letter and flyer with information about a very exciting conference that is going to take place in Havana, Cuba, October 16-20, 2000. The subject to be discussed is how to preserve traditional cultures in the face of the globalization of our planet. As you know, in this age of highly technical communications, more and more indigenous, and traditional cultures are beginning to adopt the dominant culture that permeates the mass media. The Cuban culture has been masterful in preserving and creating its own identity.

Please join us for this important conference. You are also invited to present artistic and cultural work to this international audience. Please feel free to pass this flyer on to your mailing lists and interested people. If you would like a flyer via snail mail, please let me know.

The flyer can also be viewed on these sites: www.afrocubaweb.com   and www.rhythmix.org

For more information, please contact me at

cbrandydrum@earthlink.net

PRESENTS:
The 4th Ibero-American & Caribbean Congress of Socio-Cultural Development

HABANA, CUBA -- OCTOBER 16-20, 2000

CULTURA COMUNITARIA, the National Center of Community Culture, has more than 30 years of expertise in guiding the socio-cultural work of CUBA, focusing on the uniqueness of each region, and fostering the development of each region's manifestation of art and literature. The social impact resulting from the work of our highly trained professional experts has a great influence upon the diverse sectors of our population.

THE WORKING STRATEGY of our Center is contained in the Program for the Development of Cultural (Community) Centers. One of the goals of this program is the exchange between tradition and modernity, achieved through the rescue and the revival of the Traditional Popular Culture and its integration into the social life of the community.

OUR MISSION is to support and develop the creative endeavors of our communities at our Cultural Centers, and to support the Amateur Artists Movement by providing methodology and technical expertise in relation to the Socio-Cultural work. Our mission is also to preserve and foster Traditional Popular Culture.

For this 4th meeting of the Ibero-American and Caribbean Congress, we propose the topic to be:

----- THE ROLE OF CULTURAL INDUSTRIES,
----- IDENTITY: POPULAR CULTURE AND GLOBALIZATION,
----- EDUCATIONAL  PROCESSES,
----- GLOBALIZATION AND THE PRESERVATION OF TRADITIONAL CULTURE,
----- THE TRAINING OF SOCIO-CULTURAL WORKERS,
----- THE CREATIVE PROCESS AND THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION

THE FOURTH ENCOUNTER ON COMMUNITY THEATRE will also be held within the congress, as a major event to foster an international exchange among professional and amatuer artists, and cultural experts who are interested in reflecting community life through their work.

AN EXHIBIT OF COMMUNITY IMAGE will also be presented, to serve as a forum for the exhibition and discussion of audiovisual material in which the Socio-Cultural development  of community is reflected.

WE INVITE ANY ART EXPRESSION that exists or is being created within a cultural or community expression or center, any artists who work directly with the community to develop curriculum for community outreach, to participate and to present your work or your group at the conference.

Please let us know if you wish to participate as: an individual, a group representing a Cultural Center, a Community Theatre Group, a visual artist, or other artist, or cultural worker.

FOR COORDINATION AND INFORMATION IN THE USA ABOUT THIS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE -- --FLIGHT ARRANGEMENTS, LODGING, FOOD, LICENSES TO TRAVEL TO CUBA, PLEASE CONTACT:

RHYTHMIX CULTURAL WORKS: www.rhythmix.org

Thank you for your interest. I have been working on compiling all the info that I have to date about the conference. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me.

COMMUNITY & CULTURE 2000
OCT. 16 - 20, 2000 taking place in Havana Vieja, Cuba

Schedule:

Day 1 -- 10/16 : Monday morning accreditation
Afternoon congress pre-workshops

Day 2 -- 10/17 : Tuesday morning Inauguration
Afternoon theater presentations and video showings

Day 3 -- 10/18 : Wednesday morning working sessions
Afternoon visits to see Community Projects

Day 4 -- 10/19 : Thursday morning working sessions
Afternoon working sessions

Day 5 -- 10/20 : Friday morning working sessions
Final theater presentations, final video showings
Afternoon End of Congress

Friday night : Gala - Closing Ceremony

The exact schedule of who the speakers and presenters will be, will be known closer to the conference date.

COSTS:

The conference is very reasonable. There are several prices to consider:

1. The cost of the conference, plus the license to travel to Cuba

$240 for adults, $180 for students (requires a student ID)

LICENSE: To apply and obtain a license, you will need to send a bio and and a statement of your objectives for this trip. I will pass this on to our lawyer who will send all the info into the government as a group.

As US citizens and/or US residents, we are required by law to petition the US Treasury for permission to travel to Cuba. Under US law we are only permitted to travel legally to Cuba to do research, for educational purposes, or as a journalist. Many people travel to Cuba every year without a license, but they risk being fined heavy penalties if they are apprehended. While in the past not many people have been fined, in the last few years, immigration has increased "making an example" of people. I recently came through customs in Jan. of this year from Cuba, and was asked http://travel.state.gov/cuba.html

2. HOTELS: There are several choices.

Hotel Ambos Mundos: This hotel is in the heart of Havana Vieja (old Havana) and it is in walking distance to the conference, which means that even though it is more expensive, you will save $5-10 a day on transportation (taxi).

FOR 6 NIGHTS:

double w/breakfast --- 335 double w/breakfast and dinner --- 395 single w/breakfast --- 455 single w/breakfast and dinner --- 515

FOR 8 NIGHTS:

double w/breakfast --- 435 double w/breakfast and dinner --- 515
single w/breakfast --- 595 single w/breakfast and dinner --- 675

Hotel Inglaterra: close to the capitolio (include extra transportation costs)

FOR 6 NIGHTS:

double w/breakfast -- 275 double w/breakfast and dinner -- 335
single w/breakfast -- 365 single w/breakfast and dinner -- 425

FOR 8 NIGHTS:

double w/breakfast --- 355 double w/breakfast and dinner --- 435
single w/breakfast --- 475 single w/breakfast and dinner --- 555

Hotel Deauville: located by the Malecon, further away from the conference.

FOR 6 NIGHTS:

double w/breakfast -- 191 double w/breakfast and dinner -- 245
single w/breakfast -- 209 single w/breakfast and dinner -- 323

FOR 8 NIGHTS:

double w/breakfast --- 243 double w/breakfast and dinner --- 315
single w/breakfast --- 267 single w/breakfast and dinner --- 419

3. AIRFARE: I am available to help coordinate your airfares, ie to find the cheapest and most convenient fares. I have taken several groups to Cuba, and have been successful at finding good fares. We can fly to Cancun, then take another flight to Havana; or we can also take the new non-stop flights from Los Angeles, or from New York. If we have a large enough group in the same local, we can save money by going on a group rate. The rates change frequently, but probably the flights will be somewhere between $650 - 850 RT.

PRESENTATION OF YOUR WORK:

All presentations of work must be focused on socio-cultural community work, for example: work with minorities, children and youth, elders, women, disabilities, Aids, drugs and alcoholism, incarcerated communities, gay communities, to mention some of the possibilities. The focus could also be on the rescue and preservation of cultural traditions, and ecology as it relates to the community.

FOR PRESENTATIONS OF VIDEOS: you need to send videos in by aug. 30.

There is no limitation on the length. It must be in a VHS or NTSC format.

THEATRE: the general theme is, Community Theatre for the Identity and the preservation of National Cultures at the beginning of the third Millennium.

Other themes could be: the educational dimension of theatre in the community, and its role in the preservation of the identity of ethnic culture. Contributions and alternatives in the history of community theatre. Community theatre, from and for the people -- its history, development, and transformations.

If you are interested in bringing a theatre group, please submit a video, or information about the group, as well as all needs by July 30.

PHOTOS, VISUAL ART AND EXHIBITS: Please, bring your work ready to hang, as there is will be no materials in Cuba available. It is better to bring fiber glass or other light material for travel (weight) reasons. Please send the title of your exhibition, and how many photos you have.

All people interested in giving a presentation must submit your proposal by AUG. 30.

I am interested in sending the flyer about the conference to people who might be interested in attending. If possible, would you be willing to share some names and e-mail addresses with me, or be willing to pass the flyer on to your mailing list? Thank you.

Thank you for your interest in COMMUNITY AND CULTURE 2000, and I hope to see you in HAVANA in October!