The Anthem Philatelist

The great writer, Ernest Hemingway was a prominent fixture of Havana.  Even when the United State's  relation with Cuba soured, he chose to stay in the country longer than many Americans.  I can see why he loved this place- the ambiance, the drinks, the music, the views and people that inspire.   Old cars that look new abound and are heirlooms and maintained in polished conditions since no one can buy new cars in Havana- there are no car dealerships there.   Havana captivated me. People there are generally contented.  They are poetic and artistic.  While walking down the street, an old man approached me and said a poem to me in Spanish .  Good that I have some comprehension of the language which was taught in our HS in UP Cebu and in our college in CebuDoc .  He was telling me to celebrate life and be contented of what you have.  Havana Oonana!!

It’s time to hail Havana as one of the world’s great art cities. The Cuban capital has never lacked artistic credentials, but a growing band of small private galleries, fresh interest in outlandish street art and the emergence of the extraordinary art collectives has sparked a creative renaissance that has truly put the city on the map.  Havana’s artistic roots go deep. The city is home to the olde st arts academy in Latin America, the Academia de Bellas Artes San Alejandro , housed in a colonnaded building in Marianao. Founded in 1818, the academy has bred generations of precocious talent, most notably in the 1920s when it spawned the Vanguardia , a loose collection of painters and sculptors who, rejecting the contemporary penchant for mundane landscapes, invented Cuba’s avant-garde. ( Lonely Planet )  Sand Art Mural in Habana Vieja (Old Havana)  

Pascual Veiga Iglesias ( April 9 of 1842 - Madrid , July 12 of 1906 ) was a musician, musical director, organist and composer of the National Anthem of Galicia . Veiga started his musical studies as a child in the choir of the Cathedral Mindoniense. At thirteen he began to teach music theory and harmony in the chapel of the cathedral. In 1964 he moved to La Coruña and served as organist of the Church of Our Lady of the Field. I n 1865 he was appointed vice president of Section Music Society Youth Fraternity. His dedication to music led him to win a prize in 1877 with the Glee Club Bragantino. He left year later, and founded the Glee Club Corunna. In 1880 he was invited by the Society of Floral Games of Pontevedra , and premiered his most emblematic work, the Alborada Gallega. Two years later he founded El Nuevo Orfeon, which soon became known as el Orfeon Echo, and that continues today. In 1889 he founded the Choral Society called Corunna Number 4, a group that won the gold medal a...

" Os Pinos " (The Pine Trees) is the National anthem of Galicia. Galicia , which is in the northwest part of Spain,has roughly 2.78 million inhabitants as of 2008, with the largest concentration in two coastal areas, from Ferrol to A Coruña in the northwest from Vilagarcía to Vigo on the southwest. The capital is Santiago de Compostela, in the province of Coruña.   With its own culture, it also has its own anthem, flag and emblems. The Galician National Anthem was performed for the first time in 1907 in Havana, and in 1923 the Galician National Anthem was sung by regionalists and advocates of land reform at their meetings, and little by little became more and more accepted by many more.   The lyrics were written by Eduardo Ponda l and the music composed by Pasqual Veiga . Banned during Franco's fascist regime, in 1975, during a nationalist gathering in the Festival of the Apostle , the public began to stand up as the National Anthem was sung in a very heart-moving a...