The promoters of the initiative told Prensa Latina that the Cuban Local Development Project, named Uranga’s Colecciones (Uranga’s Collections) is taking place in the Espada Alley, a very busy and popular place in Havana’s Historic Center.

Such a collection relates the aforementioned elements as an answer to questions from many tourists visiting Cuba.

Approved in 2022 and based in the former house where Bishop Juan José Díaz de Espada y Landa lived in the early 19th century, the project was created with the intention of promoting culture and the arts in general by holding workshops, gatherings, lectures and presentations for the community.

Project President Mailet Uranga explained that it is a form of entrepreneurship in tune with the new forms of economic development in the country.

The facility has a literary center, where visitors can consult new and old books on literature, history or testimonies from different Cuban collections, while they drink coffee and learn about painting, engraving and national and international history, among other topics, she said.

Organizers also joined forces with teachers and experts from the San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts, as well as people from the community, to create works of art with manufactured paper, linking history, photography and architecture.

Another program consists of inviting a local writer to meet with children from the nearby Rafael María de Mendive elementary school, where Cuban National Hero José Martí studied.

At the center, while clients read, they taste coffee, or national and international dishes, and drink a wide variety of cocktails, the promoter explained.

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