Cuba La Bella! Online Postcard.

More than a million Cubans left their homeland following 1959, carrying with them images of life in Cuba. Hilda ten Brink, who left Cuba in 1961, was one of these Cubans, sharing memories of the past through her collection of Cuban postcards that capture Cuba from 1899 to the late 1950’s. She now has around 2,000 postcards on her website http://www.cubalabella.net.

Hilda’s Cuban Postcard Museum online is made up of 86 categories that range greatly. From images of sugar and tobacco industries, Bacardi Rum, to views of Havana – especially of El Morro, and of the original six pre-Revolution provinces of Cuba.

According to Ms. ten Brink, in the category “‘The Way We Were’ there are postcards of water and milk vendors on their burros, of old houses and buildings issued in the beginning of the 1900’s,” who now lives in Costa Rica. “Cards of Cuban landscapes bring out the beauty of an island that was a favorite tourist destination for Americans and Europeans.”

The collection stirs heartfelt comments from those who view the site. “To look at your cards is to reencounter the past. I left Cuba on December 31, 1960. I have never been back, but hope to see my country soon,” wrote one visitor on the online guestbook. Another wrote, “Thank you for sharing this wonderful collection with us. I left Cuba at the age of 2 and wish I could remember it.”

Cuba La Bella also has appeal for those interested in the art, the architecture and the history of Cuba.

A teacher wrote: “Thank you. I am teaching Afro-Cuban art to inner city Cleveland children over the Summer, and your collection gave me a wonderful idea of having the kids create postcards of what they have learned about Cuba and then mailing [online postcards] to their parents.”

The collection illustrates the colonial architecture that was present in Cuba at the high point of its development. There are many images of the Old Havana, now a United Nations Treasure for Humanity, and many one-of-a kind buildings.

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