Cuba Trip Details Outlined at Una Noche Cubana Event
PIGGOTT — Formal details of its upcoming trip to Cuba were introduced at a recent event titled “Una Noche Cubana,” a Cuban-themed evening at the Pavilion on the campus of Arkansas State University. The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center (HPMEC) hosts the trip, scheduled for May 12-19, 2017.
The evening began with Cuban cocktails and a cigar demonstration. Mark Cirino, co-author of “Hidden Hemingway,” followed by speaking to the group during a family-style Cuban dinner.
Cirino’s “Hidden Hemingway” presents highlights from the extraordinary collections in Hemingway’s hometown of Oak Park, Ill. Thoroughly researched and illustrated with more than 300 color images, this impressive volume includes never-before-published photos; letters between Hemingway and Agnes Von Kurowsky, his World War I love; bullfighting memorabilia; high school assignments; adolescent diaries; Hemingway’s earliest published work, such as the “Class Prophecy” that appeared in his high school yearbook; and even a dental X-ray.
The book also includes one of the final letters Hemingway wrote as he was undergoing electroshock treatment at the Mayo Clinic. These documents, photographs and ephemera trace the trajectory of the life of an American literary legend. Guests were presented with a complimentary copy of the book.
The museum’s eight-day/seven-night trip to Cuba will have two exciting parts. First, the group will explore the central coast and the cayos (keys) — Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo — made famous in Hemingway’s novel and provided the backdrop for “Islands in the Stream.”
The travelers then journey to Havana to enjoy the art, music, dance and architecture of the city. The group will enjoy a private reception with the curator of Finca Vigía, the home where Hemingway wrote “The Old Man and the Sea” for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953. They will also explore Old Havana (founded in 1519 by Spanish colonists), a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, and will see the amazing architecture in Central Havana.
Along the way, there will be stops at many of Hemingway’s favorite places, including Hotel Ambos Mundos, La Bodeguita del Medio, El Floridita and Sloppy Joe’s. In addition to sites specifically associated with Hemingway, travelers will also enjoy some of the Cuban classics: a visit to the Rum Museum, a ride in a classic American car and a visit to a cigar factory.
Una Noche Cubana was sponsored by First National Bank – Piggott’s Banking Center, Piggott State Bank, Olympus Construction and Southern Management Corporation.
For more details, contact adamlong@astate.edu, call 870-598-3487 or visit the museum’s website at hemingway.astate.edu.
