ABSTRACT
After the revolution, the arts in Cuba became a priority throughout the island despite the United States maintaining the Cold War economic and social pressure. The arts and art education have endured despite the end of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc nations and other downturns. That is so unlike in the United States, where visual and performing arts instruction and programs suffer as soon as states and school districts encounter financial problems because of a recession or other economic setback. By far, the most elaborate and well-known display of art in Cuba is a community outside of Havana known as “Fusterlandia.” It is centered around the home of painter, artist, sculptor and ceramist José Rodriguez Fuster. Each NAME delegation has been in awe of Fuster's expansive work. At age 14, Fuster was among thousands of volunteers who participated in Fidel Castro's revolutionary call in 1960 to eliminate illiteracy on the island within one year. He helped teach people to read and write in the Sierra Maestra mountains. Fuster also benefited from Cuba's revolutionary push to drive the arts and culture throughout the island so that the entire Cuban population could enjoy the cultural enrichment. Fuster has been nicknamed the Picasso of the Caribbean. Fuster has spread his art, consisting of colorful broken pieces of ceramic tile, to every corner of his compound and his neighbors'. The images of people, animals, shapes and forms that jump out from the elaborately tiled walls let visitors know they are in for a treat.
