This week I feel like talking about art, so let’s explore Camagüey, the third-largest city in Cuba! The city is all about art — from ballet schools, art galleries, to random art installations on the streets.
If you’re an art lover, you should visit Camagüey and get some from one of the art galleries.
For those who have a bigger travel budget, perhaps a memento from Martha Jiménez, a famous, award-winning Cuban artist who won the UNESCO Distinction for the National Culture in 1997.
Okay, I’m getting excited now. Where should I start? 😁
So, I took a 15-day Cuba tour with Cuban Adventures back in 2018. We explored Camagüey on the 7th and 8th day — memorable days that I’m going to share with you through this blog post. Besides art, this city has some restaurants that serve nice food!
Camagüey — Rickshaw Ride and Walking Tour
Once we reached the art city, we gathered for a welcome drink, met the accommodation manager and headed to our own room. I was lucky that the manager (I forgot his name) helped me to carry my heavy luggage to the second floor, where my room was.
Around one hour later, we gathered again for a short rickshaw ride, a city walking tour and dinner.
The Martha Jiménez Gallery, Camagüey (Contemporary Art)
Travelling to Cuba isn’t complete without visitting Camagüey. Head to Plaza del Carmen to see some bronze contemporary art installations by Martha Jiménez, and of course, drop by her gallery!
Martha gets her inspiration from people she meets in her daily life. For example, The Gossipers, you know that’s what some women do when meeting up!
The Newspaper is inspired by a man who always sits at the same spot and reads a newspaper every day. While The Lovers (I guess it’s the name) is inspired by a couple who are lovey-dovey on the bench.
Surprisingly, the gallery is quite spacious and there’s a mini garden inside. It feels calm and peaceful, a perfect atmosphere to enjoy the art. Don’t worry about the sculptures that you see on the street, you can find something small that fits into your luggage, hehe!
A Close Up Look at Ballet de Camagüey, Cuba
On the next day, we visited a ballet school located a bit far from the city.
As someone who loves dancing, I was very satisfied with the budget group tour that I booked with Cuban Adventures because they included a guided visit to Ballet de Camagüey, one of the prestigious ballet schools in Cuba!
On top of that, we spent around 1-1.5 hours there seeing the female and male ballerinas practicing from a close distance. Afterward, we went to a more private room to see an instructor coaching two female ballerinas who were practicing for their performance.
The accommodation manager, who’s also a graphic designer, asked me a favour to help him record some videos during my visit to Ballet de Camagüey for his project. Thanks to his request, I have some videos to look back and share with all of you 😊
Exploring the Art Galleries of Camagüey, Cuba
On the next day, I and Robert explored the city for a while and shared lunch. We’re so happy to find Mesón del Príncipe, this restaurant served the BEST food I ever tasted during my 15-day Cuba trip!
If you haven’t read my blog post about Cuban food, you may not aware that the food in Cuba is generally… bland. My chilli powder couldn’t even help to improve the taste.
As much as I love travelling, nice food is essential to make any trip memorable. Although I’m not a picky eater, I still struggled throughout my Cuban trip and was super excited when I had a layover in Amsterdam (McDonald’s, y’all!!!) en route home.
Thanks to my research prior to the trip, we decided to try Mesón del Príncipe.
Oh my God, the food was T-A-S-T-Y!😭😭😍😍
Also read: “Your Food Survival Guide When Travelling in Cuba”
After that, we parted as I had an appointment with the accommodation manager. In return for recording the videos for him, he offered to be my city guide and took me to explore Camagüey, mainly the art galleries.
You could imagine how happy I was! In addition, he’s good at photography and took some great candid shots of mine.
We visited some contemporary art galleries, had some drinks and ice cream, then went to his best friend’s art gallery. Cuban arts are nice, I especially like their contemporary arts!
Since I still had a few hours until the group dinner and didn’t know what to do next, so we hung out in the gallery, did some karaoke and dancing😂
I really enjoyed Camagüey. The quiet, artistic city has its own charm compared to the big, bustling Havana. I know I’ve said this in my previous Cuba blog post but I’m gonna say it again:
Since the return flight ticket from Asia to Cuba costs a bomb, do explore more than just Havana. If your wallet permits, go to South America, the US, or Canada after your Cuba trip!
I hope there’ll be no more false hope in 2022 for the tourism industry. Work – travel – gym – repeat.
Viva la vida!
Also read: “You Need to Stop Judging How Female Solo Travellers Fund Their Trips”
Also read: “Visitting Che Guevara Mausoleum in Santa Clara & Cienfuegos Day Trip, Cuba”
