• Submitted by: manso
• Arts and Culture
• 12 / 22 / 2010

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2010.12.21 - 11:41:40 / [email protected]. HAVANA, CUBA.- A statue of the pianist and composer Frederic Chopin sitting in a bank was unveiled in Old Havana, the culmination of the celebrations in Cuba for the bicentenary of the birth of the Polish artist.

The sculpture, located in the Plaza de San Francisco de Asis, presents Chopin in the last stage of his life, in which he was already ill, but active, Anna Pienkosz, charge d'affaires of the Embassy Poland in Cuba told Juventud Rebelde newspaper She said that the face was copied from the drawings he did in his last year of life and the only known photo of him, taken three years before his death.

The work of sculptor Adam Myjak is the result of collaboration between the two countries, in particular the Polish Filmmakers Association and the Institute Adam Mickiewicz, and on the Cuban side the Office of the Historian of the City and the Ministry of Culture.

“We keep hoping that this bank will become a landmark of the city, a place where people are cited and young girls are portrayed in keeping with the custom of the San Francisco de Asis Square” said Pienkosz.

Last May the third week of Polish Culture was held in Cuba, dedicated to the bicentenary of Chopin, which included a concert by Cuban musician Chucho Valdés, and also theater performances, musicals, conferences and exhibitions, among other activities.

The festivities in Cuba for the “Chopin Year” as 2010 was declared internationally, also included a concert by pianist Frank Fernandez, who played on that occasion masterpieces from that composer such as Waltz in C sharp minor and the Minute Waltz .

There was also a festival with music of the honoree, in schools across the country where the average piano level is taught.

Source: ACN