The Cuban Art Factory (FAC)a private space for the enjoyment of art and leisure in the Cuban capital, was nominated once again for the World Travel Awards (WTA).
“For the 7th time, Fábrica de Arte Cubano receives a nomination for the World Travel Awards, an international event that recognizes, rewards and celebrates excellence in all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hotel industries around the world,” FAC said in its social networks.
Recognized as the most important award in the world tourism industry, WTA once again included in its pre-selected list to FAC in the category “Leading Entertainment Venue of the Caribbean 2023”.
Also known as “The house of Cuban art and artists”, FAC is a cultural project created by the renowned Cuban musician X Alfonsowhere multiple artistic manifestations converge such as music, photography, dance, theater, plastic arts and industrial design, among other specialties.
Defined by X Alfonso himself as a Contemporary Vanguard Cultural Movement, the FAC is “a living place, where something new happens every day”, according to his own words. The key to success, said the musician in 2017, “is that is run by artists”.
In July 2022, the musician gave a concert at the FACthe first since the institution was forced to close its doors in 2020, due to the health crisis that COVID-19 unleashed in Cuba.
According to what is promoted, renovation and surprise are the hallmarks of the capital’s venue, which closes every three months to change “the spaces and the ways of using the spaces”. FAC is headquartered in the old ‘El Cocinero’ oil factory.
The space is made up of four ships: the first, dedicated to graphic design, fashion and plastic arts. The two and three ships, host photography, video art, dance, film and theater. And the so-called blue ship is a concert area.
Located at 26 and 11, near the Puente de Hierro that connects El Vedado with the Miramar neighborhood, in Playa, the FAC has not been exempt from controversy, due to the high prices of its cultural and gastronomic offer, not suitable for the pocket of many Cubans.
Around his management, between the public and the private, there has also been controversy. There are those who go further, and see in the highly promoted space the image of “a new Cuba” that power is trying to build, and with financial ties to the regime’s own elites.
In December 2018, Cuban hip hop duo La Alianza were banned from performing in the FACas part of the Eyeife Electronic Music Festival.
Osvaldo Navarro -known as Navypro- explained that one of the festival’s producers told him that his boss was called “from above” to inform him that “La Alianza could not play at that festival, that we were censored, that we could not play there, without further explanation.”
The young man, an activist with the Di.Verso cultural project, had spoken out on several occasions against the controversial Decree 349 signed by the ruler Miguel Diaz-Canel to censor art on the island.
“Voting for the awards for the Caribbean and North American regions will be open until July 9, 2023. We are counting on you! If you want to vote for the Cuban Art Factory, go to the LINK in BIO!”, indicated the space on their social networks, encouraging their followers to vote to get the WTA award.
The WTAs are the “Oscars” awards of the travel industry. It is a global initiative, established in 1993 to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence in all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries around the world.
The WTAs cover the globe with a series of regional gala ceremonies each year, to recognize excellence within each continent ending with the winners going head-to-head in a Grand Final at the end of the year.
The nomination process begins with the submission of an online entry form. Successful applicants are notified and invoiced for the registration fee, between £400 and £500 depending on the place Cholan Tours agency.
The voting process is online. Votes come from qualified executives in the travel and tourism industry, the media, and travel buyers. Votes cast by non-industry voters count as one vote, while votes cast by verified travel professionals have a weight of two.
