Heidi Weiland

Untitled

Habana, Cuba

University of Kansas, Full Year 2000-2001

Cafe Rablais gift certificate, MFAH movie pass

On my brief tour of Habana, Cuba, I spent a sweltering afternoon exploring the country's largest graveyard, fittingly referred to as the necropolis. Virtually deserted by the living, a groundsman informed me that there are nearly two million bodies entombed above and below the earth. Maybe. I do know that as far as I could see from the entrance point there were beautiful white structures crowded against one another, often with just enough room for me to squeeze by. The most striking feature was, however, the tragic beauty of the place. Crumbling and cracking, some larger tombs falling to pieces, the white marble was gradually giving way to the same process of aging as the once vibrant lives that now rest here. I think this emotion of peaceful decline is caught beautifully in the form and position of this angel.