I've wanted to go to a museum for years. As a child, I remember my father taking me once, but at that time, I wasn't able to appreciate each piece of art I looked at. I only remember running from hallway to hallway and always crying because I wanted candy.
A few days ago, I set out to go and I managed to fulfill that desire to see art again. The Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba is where I started. Entering, you could already breathe a different air, because the silence of the people could be overwhelming. Everyone was looking at some of the works with amazement. Others were just taking pictures and sharing among themselves.
Going up a few floors, I come across some authors that I have occasionally heard of from other places, like Amelia Peláez or Mariano Rodríguez, personalities who are very important in Cuban culture for their artistic contributions. With my gaze, I try to observe little by little everything that I can. Each painting I look at seems to tell something, each sculpture has a great meaning according to the point of view you have.
I walk through the hallways calmly, allowing myself to get lost in every detail. In one of the hallways, I find a painting of José Martí, the Cuban national apostle. Other works with their vibrant paintings managed to immerse me in their details, for a moment I feel inside the same work.
The sculptures also moved me. Each sculpted figure told a secret. According to some of those present there. The sculpture of the woman carrying her child made them think about the ephemeral beauty of life and art.
For a moment, when I leave the museum, I realize that it is possible to appreciate the works and to make them take a journey full of emotions and reflections on my own history.
And I realized that it wasn't just a simple visit to the museum; it was a new way of seeing art and the power it has to change the perception of the world as well as ourselves.
And you, have you been able to visit a museum recently?
All photos are my property.
