"There is a moment when all things can be beautiful, heroic. That moment when life defies death and defeat... Life and death can be beautiful, and noble, when you fight for your life, but also when you give it up without compromise."

Haydée Santamaría

"Muchas personas tienen experiencia, pero no tienen la capacidad de comunicar esa experiencia y de hacerlo de la mejor forma posible. Y eso se logra únicamente con mucho trabajo."

Leonardo Padura Fuentes

novelist and journalist; 2015 Premio Princesa de Asturias
"A dancer should learn from all the arts.  Go to museums and look at the paintings.  Everything you do in the arts enriches you."

Alicia Alonso

Founder of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba
"Above all, always be capable of feeling deeply any injustice committed against anyone, anywhere in the world. This is the most beautiful quality in a revolutionary."

Ernesto "Che" Guevara

“I continue being young, and every day I learn something new.”

Omara Portuondo

Cuban vocalist and dancer;
member Buena Vista Social Club
"No es difícil llorar en soledad, pero es casi imposible reír solo."

Dulce María Loynaz

Cuban poet; 1992 Premio Cervantes de la Literatura
"Entre el espanto y la ternura la vida canta."

Silvio Rodriguez

"We've got Chinese, white, black and mixed; but remember that our colors are cheap, for after many years of contracts and tricks nobody's purity runs very deep."

Nicolás Guillén

Cuban poet, journalist, political activist and writer (1902-1989)
"Dolor, con amor, se cura..."

Kelvis Ochoa

Overview

One of the longest running socialist experiments in history, Cuba is at a critical crossroad. Cuba’s political and economic spheres have long been subjects of interest and debate providing fertile ground for exciting academic inquiry. Havana, the capital city, was founded nearly 500 years ago, and due to its location, became a center of ship-building in the Caribbean and a strategic stopping point in the Spanish colonial empire. Today it is a sprawling metropolis, home to 2 million residents, and a mix of European, Latin, and American influences. Historic Old Havana, with its diverse architectural styles, has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

CASA-Cuba provides students with a unique opportunity to have direct access to Cuba’s leading institution of higher learning, the University of Havana, and to Casa de Las Américas, the Cuban government’s premier research institution – since its founding in 1959 – on Caribbean and Latin American studies, Cuban culture and the arts.

CASA-Cuba, the University of Havana and Casa de Las Américas have worked together to develop a program of study that will challenge students to achieve a critical understanding of the key issues facing Cuba today, and enable them to interact with some of the country’s leading academic experts in the social sciences, arts and the humanities. Students will immerse themselves in Cuba, taking in credit-bearing lectures from recognized experts in Spanish on key issues facing the country and interacting with peers who share their intellectual curiosity about Cuba’s past, present and future. Courses are complemented throughout the semester with special seminars and guest lectures by respected experts from other key research centers, including the Centro de Estudios Demográficos (CEDEM), Cuba’s premier research organization focusing on demographic studies and social research, the Centro de Estudios de la Economía Cubana and the Centro de Investigación de la Cultura Cubana Juan Marinello. In addition, interested students will be encouraged to carry out focused research projects that will engage them with recognized Cuban experts in given disciplines and connect them with local archives, museums, and key cultural organizations.