A nostalgic documentary on Havana’s ill-fated department store El Encanto, a renowned emblem of elegance, trend-setting fashions, and exclusive rights in the Americas to certain haute-couture brands, such as Christian Dior. Built in 1888 by Solís, Entiralgo y Cía., it grew to be the largest department store in Cuba, with close to one thousand employees, and branches in other cities throughout the Island.
Located at the corner of Galiano and San Rafael in Old Havana, the store provided perfumed central air conditioning and a sophisticated inventory system that guaranteed merchandise replacement within the half-hour. In 1934, it also set a worldwide precedent as the first department store to issue a credit card to its customers. Celebrities from Paris, New York, and Hollywood were regular clients, among them, Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Maurice Chevalier, Lana Turner, Errol Flynn and María Félix.
On April 9, 1961, a bomb exploded outside the store, near the main entrance. A fire engulfed and ravaged the building, signaling the end of an era…
The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with Darío Miyares, president of the Asociación de Antiguos Empleados de Galerías El Encanto de Cuba, an association of former employees of the store, founded in 1980. Members of the Solís family will also be attending. The Q&A will be moderated by educator Carmen San Miguel, docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and member of the CCCNY Advisory Board.
The presentation will be held in Spanish, with simultaneous English translation through earphones.
INSTITUTO CERVANTES
211 East 49th Street, bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves., NYC
FREE ADMISSION for CCCNY and IC MEMBERS
RSVP: info@cubanculturalcenter.org
[Photo above: El Encanto © Fleitas Cuba Collection]
This event is co-sponsored by Instituto Cervantes and is presented as part of our year-long celebration of the 500th anniversary of the City of Havana, culminating in our 18th annual flagship conference, Oda a La Habana: The first 500 years, to be held at Barnard College
on Sunday, November 17th, 2019.
With the promotional collaboration of
