Indonesian's Culture Heritage in Havana

28 November 2012

The "José White" Angklung Orchestra , made up of young and talented students, and directed by Professor Eugenio Silva, has  performed at the Church of San Lazaro and the Church of Christ (both in Camaguey) last November 18th and 24th, respectively, delighting the audience with Indonesian traditional songs and some others from the international repertoire.

“José White” Conservatory is located in the old colonial style building which was once the Hospital (leper colony) of San Lazaro, being a cultural heritage of the people of Camaguey. It is interesting to mention that the place where the first concert took place, (on November 18th), it’s still working as a church, inside the school.

In 2006, the Embassy of Indonesia in Havana donated these instruments to three Cuban elementary schools and “José White” Conservatory, to promote Indonesian culture in Cuba. Since then, these schools and especially the "José White" Angklung Orchestra have performed in various places of Cuba with a great public acceptance.

Angklung is an Indonesian musical instrument, which is closely related to traditional customs, arts and cultural identity in Indonesia, and promotes cooperation and mutual respect among the players, along with discipline, responsibility, concentration, development of imagination and memory, as well as artistic and musical feelings.
(Source: Indonesia Embassy in Havana)

Monday, 22 October 2012

The Indonesian Embassy in Havana took part at the 17th International Cultural Festival (17th ICF) held at the Botanical Garden in Nassau, the Bahamas on 20 and 21 October 2012. the ICF is an annual cultural festival that is carried out as coordinated directly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas and involves related institutions such as the Ministry of Tourism and the Office of the UNESCO in the Bahamas. The Festival has the participation of approximately 25 countries including China, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and also Sri Lanka that have presented the cultural arts of the respective countries. On this occasion Indonesia exhibited items of the Batik art (for example shawls, shirts, fans, purses and masks) as well as several traditional dishes such as special pastries, fried noodles, meat brochettes, cheese sticks and fried shrimp flour chips (“kerupuk”).

There was much enthusiasm among the visitors. Although it rained heavily on the first day this fact did not prevent the visitors, inhabitants of the Bahamas and foreign tourists, to come to the festival. Those visiting the Indonesian stand, in addition to enjoying the Indonesian dishes also expressed their admiration as to the colors and motifs of the Indonesian Batik products. Several visitors to the Indonesian stand expressed their interest in importing Batik products from Indonesia. At the Festival, Indonesia obtained the second place in the category of Asian countries, after the Philippines. The host party appreciated the presence of Indonesia and recalled that the last occasion Indonesia took part in the Festival was in 2009.

Indonesia’s participation at the 17th International Cultural Festival of the Bahamas has made it possible to make the country known to the local and foreign population of the cultural world in the Bahamas through Batik and Indonesian traditional food. In addition, the Festival also allowed for an estimation to be made as to the potential of the Indonesian Batik products in the market of the Bahamas that could be observed by the will of the local businessmen to import Batik from Indonesia. In accordance with the requests of the businessmen from the Bahamas, the Indonesian Embassy in Havana has supplied information regarding the list of Batik enterprises in Indonesia.