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ISA and Cemetario Colon. Something I had been meaning to visit for a few years now has been ISA, the International School of the Arts in Havana. It’s a great example of what the Cuban people thought the revolution was going to be about until “other things” became more important and the Soviets became more involved with Cuban affairs. I had heard there was security but that could be overcome so I had made no prior arrangements to visit. I called up my friend Mildrey, a film-maker, who has done some work for me in the past, thinking she, if anyone, would be able to get us in. “Us” being me, Rob and Punch Joe. Mildrey was happy to join us on Friday but surprised when we got there that we had no clearance. Fine, Rob and I were visiting conservation architects and big fans of revolutionary architecture. Even armed with these facts, Mildrey couldn’t talk us past security. She spent 10 minutes and no go. We got a view from outside the railings but that was about it. It’s on the list for February. Anyway, with an hour to kill before lunch, we went to see Christopher Columbus Cemetery, (Cemetario Colon). I had never seen it before as I hadn’t really bothered but it is well worth a look. The sculpture on the headstones and crypts is brilliant. Nearly all of them white marble. I’d highly recommend a visit, even for 30 minutes. 5 cucs in for tourists. Lunch afterwards in VIP Havana which was very good, more on that later. For anyone who wants to find out more about ISA, a podcast by 99% invisible is available on this website. Well worth the 20 minutes for anyone interested in architecture or the politics of the early Cuban revolution. http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/viva-la-arquitectura/ Outside Outside Mildrey and me, outside Outside Another picture from Outside Punch Joe Outside And another picture from outside