Being able to visit Havana, Cuba is an incredible experience which has not been available to Americans for decades until the last few years. This means that very few Americans have had the chance to see the artwork of Jose Fuster and his incredible neighborhood known as Fusterlandia.

Fusterlandia is essentially a neighborhood that doubles as an art project, almost every wall is covered in mosaics. Much of the artwork was done by Fuster himself, but many parts were also done by members of the neighborhood as it serves as a community art project. I have not seen so many mosaics since visiting the Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

Visiting The Artist’s Home at Fusterlandia

Our tour guides in Cuba referred to Fuster as The Artist, I guess that tells you something of how famous he is. He often also is referred to as the Picasso of Cuba. Despite his great fame he allows hordes of tourists to tramp through his home everyday.

While every house in the neighborhood is decked out in mosaics to some extant, it is obvious which one belongs to Fuster, it is completely covered in mosaics. You come into a courtyard and you watch a short film explaining Fusterlandia and the rules in the house. You can go up to the second and third levels to view more mosaics, except that children are not allowed on the third level.

On the ground level there is also a gallery where you can view and purchase Fuster’s non-mosaic work. We were told by our guide that we could speak to the Artist, unless he was playing chess. He was playing chess upstairs when we visited, so we saw him but did not speak to him.

Visiting the Neighbors’ Shops at Fusterlandia

Access to the tourist industry, and particularly tourist currency (CUCs and U.S. dollars) is a key part of raising yourself out of poverty in Cuba. So almost every home in Fusterlandia fronts a shop to sell to the tourists who come to visit. Some of the neighbors are artists in their own right and their shops are galleries where they sell their work. Others are more like souvenir shops selling the handcrafted wood and leather goods found all around Havana as well as magnets and things like that.

Whenever you make purchases in Cuba you help to strengthen the local economy and have significant impact on the individuals you buy from, but even if you don’t purchase anything they like to talk to you to practice their English.