Unesco carried out this Thursday the inscription of the capitular minutes of the Havana City Council (1550-1898) and of the national collection of film posters as documentary heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Cuba celebrated the inclusion of both candidacies in the international registry of the Unesco Memory of the World program, which took place during the meeting of the Executive Council of the institution, dedicated to the preservation, access and protection of the documentary heritage of humanity.
The decision, which recognizes the high historical value of both Cuban collections, coincides with the celebration of International Museum Day.
The capitular acts are gathered in 273 books, including 200 originals, rescued in 1930 by the first historian of Havana, Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring (1889-1964).
The set is part of the historical archive of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana and it contains minutes (copies or transcripts), drafts, resolutions and agreements made by the council of the island’s capital during its early years.
The daily concerns of Havanans on issues such as land, water, lighting, food, hygiene and taxes are collected in the Chapter Acts, since the founding of the town in November 1519.
In the collection of some 3,000 Cuban film posters, belonging to the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), there are works created to promote a film, an exhibition or events such as the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana.
Artists such as Eduardo Muñoz Bachs, Antonio Fernández Reboiro, Rafael Morante, Alfredo Rostgaard, Rafael Morante, Julio Eloy Mesa or Antonio Pérez (Ñiko) stand out among its designers.
On Twitter, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez called this day a dhistorical track for the Documentary Heritage of Cuba and fhe selected the team that made it possible.
Historic day for the Documentary Heritage of #Cuba. Congratulations and a hug to the team that made it possible for the Collection of Cuban Film Posters and the Chapter Acts of the Havana City Council to have been declared Documentary Heritage of Humanity by the @UNESCO pic.twitter.com/IbQGuWD3Jk
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) May 18, 2023
Movie posters had a boom in Cuba during the 1960s, the golden age of national cinema. In some cases they revolutionized the visual arts.
The cinematographic poster then led formal and conceptual experimentation, incorporating aesthetic trends that dominated the international visual arts scene such as pop art, op art and kinetic art.
efe/OnCuba.
