TALLER EXPERIMENTAL DE GRAFICA
Are you a visual arts fan? If you are and you find yourself in Havana, then the Havana Graphic Workshop should be on your must-see list. Founded in the early 1960’s, many of Cuba’s most acclaimed print artists have worked there, including Rafael Zarza, Angel Ramirez, Eduardo (Chocco) Roca, and Ruben Rodriguez. Among the items on display at HGW are lithographic plates from the nineteenth century, used for printing Cuban cigar labels, as well as sugar, coffee, and even Goodyear Tire labels from that era.
The workshop has a magic that attracts visitors, and while there you can see artists and craftsmen working on equipment that in some cases dates to the late eighteenth century. It’s the only place you’ll see this kind of old-school printing in Cuba, and you just might inspire one of the artists to create something for you.
The Havana Graphic Workshop is in Old Havana, just steps from Havana’s Cathedral, at the end of the Callejon del Chorro. It was one of the places that President Obama visited in Havana on his historic trip to Cuba.
By David Hernandez