In the eastern rhythms of Cuba, where the sunlight folds golden across the hills and the laughter of the land echoes in quiet, tender gestures, there lies Las Tunas — a province not loud in its pride, but powerful in its presence. Known as La Capital de la Escultura Cubana, the City of Sculptures, Las Tunas is a place where stone, wood, and steel are not just shaped — they are understood.
But beyond its artistic fame, Las Tunas is a province whispering a deeper wisdom to the world: a life well-lived is built not on excess, but on harmony. Not on rush, but on roots.
A City That Grows with Grace
Las Tunas was born of modest beginnings, a rural heartland where sugarcane fields stretch like soft carpets toward the horizon and campesinos greet each other with sun-worn smiles. The land here doesn’t strive to impress — it invites you to stay, to notice the slow unfolding of mango trees, the songs of trogons in the forest, the stories etched in the creases of elders’ hands.
The province’s capital city, also called Las Tunas, is known for its outdoor museum of more than 100 public sculptures, integrated gracefully into parks, roundabouts, and neighborhood spaces. It’s a city that breathes art as conversation, not as decoration — art that walks beside you, that listens as much as it speaks.
There are no towering skyscrapers. No blaring lights. But there is balance — a gentle equilibrium between people, land, and meaning.
🌱 Innovation Idea: “Esculturas Vivas” — Living Sculptures in Edible Gardens
Inspired by Las Tunas’ devotion to public art, imagine a new initiative called “Esculturas Vivas” — Living Sculptures made from natural materials and living plants, installed throughout rural communities, schools, and plazas:
- Sculptures are co-created by artists and local farmers, using driftwood, native stone, recycled clay, and woven fibers.
- Inside and around the sculptures grow edible plants — mint, basil, okra, sweet potatoes — maintained collectively by children, elders, and neighborhood groups.
- QR codes at each sculpture share local stories, plant uses, and folk remedies, connecting tradition with technology.
- These living sculptures not only beautify spaces, but restore soils, feed pollinators, and nourish hearts and homes.
The project could begin with a single schoolyard. But as the roots grow, so too would the hope.
A sculpture you can smell, water, and taste — joy you can harvest.
The Kindness of the Cuban Countryside
Outside the capital, Las Tunas unfurls like a canvas of gentle resilience. This is one of Cuba’s most agriculturally active provinces, where families cultivate maize, yuca, coffee, and plantains — not for profit, but for provision, for celebration, for the simple dignity of sharing a full table.
The people of Las Tunas hold fast to solidarity — a principle stronger than currency. Neighbors trade seeds. Musicians lend their guitars to festivals. Teachers walk dusty roads to reach one-room classrooms.
There is poverty, yes. But there is a kind of richness untouched by market forces — the wealth of time, of trust, of remembering the names of the trees.
Songs That Sow the Future
In the cool evenings, music threads the air like a lullaby. Folk music — trovadores, singing ballads of land and longing. The tones are soft, not seeking applause but recognition: this is who we are. This is who we’ve been.
Las Tunas is also the birthplace of Juan Formell, founder of the legendary band Los Van Van, whose innovations in Cuban music left a joyful imprint across the globe. And like its musical roots, the province continues to adapt without forgetting — dancing forward while holding the hands of the past.
Harmony in Motion
There is a truth that flows through Las Tunas — not stated in slogans, but lived quietly each day:
- Art can be planted.
- Land can be sung to.
- Community is not a service — it is a ceremony.
In a world chasing complexity, Las Tunas offers the elegance of simplicity. A reminder that we do not need to invent beauty — we only need to listen to it.
Let the Sculptures Breathe
May every city, every village, remember this: we can shape beauty that gives back. Statues can bloom. Art can feed. And joy can be more than a moment — it can be a harvest.
So let Las Tunas inspire your own corners of the world. Plant a sculpture. Shape a garden. Weave memory into matter. Let the children run their fingers along leaves shaped like hope.
Let us build a world where art is not locked behind gallery walls, but growing in the sunlight, rooted in kindness, alive with possibility.
Let us live like Las Tunas — with both hands open, ready to create and to care.
