Cubans first half of the 20th century, you might say, paraded through the Paris catwalk, as mostly everybody else was doing in that time –between wars. Drinking from the fountain, the universal source. Though many of the most important artists didn’t. San Alejandro Academy itself was very Frenchie, but, academy at last, the excelling avantgardists opposed, criticized it, even created a parallel school. The post-revolutionary times have given interesting pieces, as well. Raul Martinez’s very personal interpretations of pop art, substituting media icons and consumer goods by local heroes are a good example. The “Salon de Mayo,” in 1967, and the “Bienal de La Habana” since 1984 have been a spot to show off not only the most expressive and revolutionary of Cuban art, but also of the world’s. Havana, Cuba as a Mecca of Art. A dream for many. Being born there, living there, having any kind of bond with it, exploits somehow the creative impulse, the inclination towards leaving something behind other than a pile of rotten bones.