23 April 2016 / leggypeggy

Cienfuegos and the one-night stand

art, Cienfuegos, entertainers, money, palaces, theatres

Lookout on the roof of the Ferrer Palace

Park in front of Ferrer Palace. Teatro Tomas Terry is the light-coloured building on the left

Whenever a building or a town captures my imagination, I try to find out something interesting about it so I can share it here.

Together the Ferrer Palace and Teatro Tomas Terry in Cienfuegos created the perfect setting for an interesting slice of history.

Almost 100 years ago, Enrico Caruso, the famous Italian operatic tenor, came to Cienfuegos to perform in the theatre. The weather was blisteringly hot and, before the evening performance, Caruso spent the afternoon resting in one of the palace’s elegant and spacious rooms.

There’s no record of his opinion of the recently completed Ferrer Palace (finished in 1918), but he stayed only one night in Cienfuegos before returning to Havana to give a final performance in Cuba.

History says he was paid 90,000 pesos for his concerts in Cuba, which were, at the time, the most ever paid to an artist performing in Cuban theatres.

Sadly, after his time in Cuba, Caruso would perform only once again—at the Metropolitan in New York City—before retiring from theatre completely. He contracted pneumonia, which developed into pleurisy, and died in 1921.

Ornate ceiling with chandelier

Indoor balcony

Chandlier and ceiling

Ceiling

Dining room

External balcony

Ferrer Palace

Wall detail

Ferrer Palace
The interior of this gorgeous powder-blue palace is being renovated, but it is still well worth paying 1 CUC (about US$1) to go inside for a long look.

Our homestay hostess took me there as part of our city walk (which Poor John missed because of his swollen foot, but more about that later).

She (our guide, Elodia) said this palace was one of her favourite buildings in Cienfuegos, and it is easy to see why.

A sitting room, complete with smoker

Designed by local architect, Donato Pablo Carbonell, the palace was started in 1917 for landowner and merchant, José Ferrer Spanish Sires. It was completed within a year, but the family moved on to Havana in 1920.

The two-storey palace has a Catalan design with the ground floor originally being plain and used to store goods, and the upper floor being lavish in design, materials and space.

There’s also an elegant dome-shaped vantage point on the roof. I climbed up for the view (Elodia stayed on the roof because she doesn’t like heights) and was nearly blown off. The view is sweeping and takes in the park in front of the palace, as well as the harbour in the other direction.

One thing disturbed me greatly on the visit. A woman, who I think had some responsible role in the renovations or running of the palace, was sitting in a rocking chair on the upper floor—smoking.

Guess it will be awhile before the no-smoking-in-public-places policy reaches Cuba.

Four floors of seating. Top floor is standing room only

Teatro Tomas Terry
This 950-seat auditorium was built in the late 1880s to honour a Venezuelan industrialist, Tomas Terry.

Terry had always wanted a luxury theatre that hosted famous entertainers, and this elegant structure has filled the bill.

In addition to Caruso, the theatre hosted actress, Sarah Bernhardt of France, ballerina, Anna Pavlova of Russia and many other stars well-known in the Latin world. Framed posters of the theatre’s most famous performers are hung in the ground floor hallways.

Showing French and Italian influences, the theatre is decorated with Carrara marble, hand-carved Cuban hardwoods and whimsical ceiling frescoes. The façade has three gold-leafed mosaics representing the muses of tragedy, comedy and music.

I thought it was a bargain to go in for 2 CUCs (about US$2) but was gobsmacked to see a sign that said an extra 5 CUCs for cameras. Of course you know I breezed nonchalantly past the cashier with my camera slung behind my back. I was a little restrained taking pictures (so I didn’t get caught).

P.S. About US dollars in Cuba. First off, most ATMs do not work in Cuba. They work for the Cubans, but not for anyone with a credit or debit card that has any connection to a US bank (so most other banks in the world). US dollars can be changed in Cuba, but they charge a 10 per cent service fee, so it’s best to take euros, British pounds or Canadian dollars.

P.P.S. It’s been a while since I reminded people to stop by my cooking blog. We had quite a few dinners in Cuba featuring shellfish so this garlicky recipe might tempt you.