EXPERIENCES
HAVANA SHOPPING TOUR
Havana is one of the most romantic cities in the world. The crumbling pastel facades of Spanish colonial architecture and a never-ending parade of classic cars from the 1950’s give the Cuban capital a poetic feel of a movie set.
A new chapter opens in the history of Havana: a wave of designers, artists, and entrepreneurs has emerged; and there’s a cutting-edge art and fashion scene to explore.
The Cuban fashion world is expanding rapidly. Several designer clothing stores have popped up in a very short period of time and have provided remarkable energy to Havana, which now flourishes not from competition among these private institutions but from their cooperative efforts to help spread new, creative ideas throughout the city.
These young and talented Cuban creators have the same goal: to promote the country as a worthy fashion hub, which had been almost impossible until now. The designs are modern and daring, with an attractive summer feel. Designers only use high quality fabrics and materials, both imported and recycled to create attractive, durable, and environmentally friendly products as well. Nowadays, these projects represent Cuban haute couture and they are the first step toward a bright, fashionable future.
In this experience you will visit stores, meet designers, and shop beautiful souvenirs. Enjoy it!
NOTES
– The experience lasts 3 hours approximately
– The starting time and place will be determined at customers’ convenience
INCLUDED IN PRICE
– Custom-designed program
– Professional bilingual guide
– Modern or classic car
NOT INCLUDED
– Purchases
– Anything not included in “Included in Price”
SOCIAL PROJECTS
Havana just turned 500 a few years ago. For some years now, in the midst of the economic transformations that are taking place in Cuba, the people of Havana have transformed abandoned or underused spaces and have turned them into undertakings that juxtapose modernity and antiquity. Havana also demands fresh ideas and a renewing aesthetic that changes a deteriorated image in many of its municipalities. Businesses seek to make an impact from the first glance, as a way to succeed on first impressions.
On this tour, you will visit three unique community projects in Havana to learn how art combats social problems. Moreover, in turn, you will have the opportunity to get closer to the Cuban people. This is a unique opportunity to see the great work done by the locals. On this tour, you will meet some of the people who are committed to improving their communities, while learning about the different community art projects that are bringing neighborhoods to life.
NOTE
– The starting time and place will be determined at customers’ convenience.
INCLUDED IN PRICE
– Custom-designed program
– Professional bilingual guide
– Modern or classic car
NOT INCLUDED
– Purchases
– Anything not included in “Included in Price”
ANTIQUE HAVANA
Before 1959, Cuba was considered a paradise for the decorative arts in Latin America. Since the 18th century, Cubans’ refined taste for furniture, paintings, dishes, fashion and jewelry awarded collectors great recognition.
Decorative arts did not vanish from Cuba in 1959. Nobody knows what is hiding behind each door. Blue Guava invites you to rediscover all the remaining collections, talk with experts and collectors, and keep some of those treasures as a unique souvenir.
On this experience, you will visit Cuban antique stores in Havana and appreciate crockery, jewelry, furniture, lamps, accessories, dolls and much more. In addition, you will meet specialists in decorative arts, and they will share historical data about Cuban collectors, their passions, how they formed their collections, and their wealth.
In particular, you will also meet a renowned fashion designer who happens to be an antiques specialist with an important personal collection. The expert will receive us at his own home or workshop, and teach us about his work to preserve decorative arts and his work in a vulnerable community.
You will discover fascinating and exclusive objects with forgotten stories and the potential to become part of yours!
NOTES
– We do not recommend this experience for children or that customers carry large bags. Please, bring water and wear comfortable outfits and shoes.
– The starting time and place will be determined at customers’ convenience.
INCLUDED IN PRICE
– Custom-designed program
– Professional bilingual guide
– Modern or classic car
– Decorative Arts Museum Ticket
– Farewell drink
NOT INCLUDED
– Purchases
– Anything not included in “Included in Price”
HAVANA MAFIA TOUR 1930S- 1950S
ECO TOUR
In Cuba, everyone is resourceful. If the situation becomes difficult and there is food shortage, Cubans make a productive garden to provide shade, use the waste to compost, and provide their family with organic food. Agro ecological production in Cuba arose more out of necessity than out of conscience. As the erosion of important lands by the experimental products of the 1970s progressed, Cuban scientists turned their gaze to the practices of former times. Engaged by the three Rs of contemporary environmental thought: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle; the country workers (campesinos) made use of their ancestral knowledge. Some had little instruction in scientific subjects. Nevertheless, they had one supreme virtue: they knew how to read the language of nature, respect it, and take advantage of its cycles.
During this tour, you will visit an agro ecological farm on the outskirts of Havana to experience an authentic Cuban rural experience. You will talk to the managers and observe their daily routine on the farm. In addition, you will learn how these entrepreneurs sell and distribute their products, and the different profiles of the customers they sell to.
Furthermore, you will have the unique opportunity to participate in the collection of fresh vegetables from the garden and you will prepare a delicious organic menu with them, and taste homemade local desserts, and exquisite Cuban coffee.
Finally yet importantly, you will enjoy the interaction with farm animals and breeding horses. You will take away exclusive memories.
NOTES
– This experience lasts from four to six hours based on customers’ interest and availability.
– The starting time and place will be determined at customers’ convenience.
INCLUDED IN PRICE
– Custom-designed program
– Professional bilingual guide
– Modern car
– Lunch
NOT INCLUDED
– Purchases
– Anything not included in “Included in Price”
HAVANA CEMETERIES TOUR
We invite you to visit three Havana cemeteries of different faiths to learn about their history and architecture. One is opulent with a Catholic orientation, another is a more modest Christian Protestant graveyard, and the third is the only one in Latin America exclusively devoted to Chinese immigrants and their direct descendants. They all share the curious fact of being located in the vicinity of Nuevo Vedado and have many curious details to discover.
NOTES
– The starting time and place will be determined at customers’ convenience.
– Duration: 3 hours maximum, according to interest and availability of clients.
– This experience is recommended for adults and children over four years of age accompanied by their parents.
– Bring plenty of bottled water, use sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 30.
– Wear comfortable clothes, shoes, and a hat or a cap to move around.
INTERIOR DESIGN TOUR
Havana is a privileged city for its architecture. The epic scale that decade after decade was composing an astonishing urban profile, where we can discover palaces, eclectic buildings, art deco, modern monuments and some exponents of Catalan modernism (an art Nouveau trend), make the capital of Cuba a “wonder city”.
In this sense, no resources were spared between 1900 and 1960 to boast of one of the most beautiful built cities in Latin America, even this is evident in the domestic or residential architecture of the 50s, belonging to the modern movement and which is incredibly preserved until today.
We will visit several exponents of the best domestic architecture of the 1950s that is transferred to a new society, ours.
We will be able to see how the political, economic and social conditions of Cuba have influenced the search for creative solutions to transform these solid houses into evolutionary spaces that respond to the productive demands of their owners based on their own activity. The furniture, pieces of art, floors, walls and original carpentry are the mark that betrays a way of conceiving the space for more than half a century.
NOTES
– The starting time and place will be determined at customers’ convenience.
– Duration: 2 to 3 hours, according to interest and availability of clients
INCLUDED IN PRICE
– Custom-designed program
– Professional bilingual guide
– Modern car
NOT INCLUDED
– Purchases
– Anything not included in “Included in Price”