¡Cuba! at the Exploreum in Mobile

Cuba is a place of exceptional biodiversity and cultural richness, and now a new bilingual exhibition at the Exploreum will offer visitors fresh insights into this island nation just 94 miles from Florida’s shores. With a close look at Cuba’s unique natural history, including its native species, highly diverse ecosystems, and geology, ¡Cuba! also explores Cuba’s history, traditions, and contemporary Cuban voices to inspire novel perspectives on this dynamic country.

The exhibition opens with life-sized portraits of modern Cubans paired with short excerpts from interviews, offering a chorus of voices—from Cuba and abroad, young and old, urban and rural, pragmatic and optimistic. “A Stroll in the City,” a long, open boulevard evoking the street life one might find in a Cuban city will invite visitors to discover Cuban culture through music, games, and a variety of interactive experiences. Other highlights include a pair of altars celebrating orisha religion, an Afro-Cuban spiritual tradition also known as Santeria; a gallery showcasing contemporary Cuban art; and a display on the cultivation of one of Cuba’s most famous crops, tobacco. An introductory film about Cuba’s history—including its first peoples, slavery, sugar industry, and the 1959 revolution—will provide visitors with historical context for contemporary realities.

The American Museum of Natural History has long collaborated with Cuban scientists at a number of institutions, including the MNHN, the University of Havana, the Cuban Botanical Society, and the National Enterprise for the Protection of Flora and Fauna. Museum scientists have led and participated in nearly 30 expeditions and field projects to Cuba for more than 125 years.

Organized by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, ¡Cuba! will be on view through July 27, 2024.

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