Sharing is caring!

Fusterlandia at Jaimanitas: Most Unusual Artsy Discovery in Havana, Cuba

Fusterlandia and Jaimanitas village are the most unusual artsy discovery in Havana you don’t want to miss! Vibrant colours, kaleidoscopic mosaics, misshaped sculptures, ornate bus stops, and childish wall paintings – Fusterlandia is an Instagrammer's Dream!

A former fishing village turned out to be an extravagant public art wonderland, Playa de Jaimanitas is one of the most unusual finds we’ve encountered on our road trip to Havana, Cuba. The most astonishing centrepiece of the place is Fusterlandia – the home to the famous Cuban artist – Jose Rodriguez Fuster. 

Whether you are an art admirer, and Instagrammer, or just like interesting stuff – Fusterlandia at Jaimanitas needs to be added to your Havana vacation itinerary!

***This post may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.
All product recommendations and feedback are ours and based on personal experience.
Please refer to our Disclosure Policy. 

.

Jose Fuster – The Artist

José Rodríguez Fuster is a modern Cuban artist, who lives and works in his home studio of Fusterlandia near Havana. Sometimes called the Picasso of the Caribbean, this Cuban artist brings together mosaics, ceramics, painting, and engravings to create marvellous masterpieces. 

Fuster specializes in naïve art – the art of “childlike simplicity”. After a visit to Fusterlandia, the home of Jose Fuster, many visitors compare the Cuban artist to the famous Gaudi of Barcelona. Jose Fuster himself freely admits that the famed surrealist architect Antonio Gaudi and the colourful mosaics of Park Guell in Barcelona indeed were the main source of his inspiration. He even placed a dedication to Gaudi at the entrance to his marvellous Jaimanitas village. 

.

The Marvel of Fusterlandia at Jaimanitas

Having enjoyed a successful career with exhibits all over Europe, Fuster now uses proceeds from his art to the benefit of Cuban people.

Over the past 10 years, Fuster has made a major contribution to the local community of the Jaimanitas village – the Havan neighbourhood where Fusterlandia is located. 

Once the artist’s own home has transitioned into the work of art, he started working tirelessly to rebuild and redecorate the surrounding houses.

.

Curiously, in many other places around the world, the mosaic extravaganza of Fuster’s architecture style may have inspired a community uprising – but not in Cuba, not in Havana, not in Jaimanitas! Local people have welcomed the colourful potpourri and unorthodox shapes and forms with open arms. Private homes, businesses, shops, and even churches and doctor’s offices quickly picked-up the trend! 

You can find anything and everything in Fusterlandia – there is no particular theme. 

Elements of local folk history combine with colourful Cuban iconography.

Political figures and flags are mixing with fairy-tale mermaids, animals and tropical palm trees.

Some of the art pieces bare quotations from the Artist’s favourite writers: Ernest Hemingway, Alejo Carpentier, and Onelio Jorge Cardoso. 

Fuster himself has decorated over a hundred houses with mosaics, engravings, ornate murals, wall paintings, domes, and sculptures. He has inspired the residents to engage in the art of their own! 

Together they’ve built a chess park with giant boards, a public swimming pool, a community theatre, and funded local community projects for low-income families.

Jaimanitas is now a truly unique work of public art – living and breathing art gallery that is constantly growing. The village of Jaimanitas is a haven for artists, attracting creators from all over Cuba – to both look and participate!

Unsurprisingly, Fusterlandia has become a popular stop-off for tourists from all over the World, and it seems like Instagrammers are absolutely in love with the place!

While the kaleidoscopic extravaganza has embraced almost all of the Jaimanitas village, the centrepiece of this colourful wonderland undoubtedly remains Fusterlandia – the Cuban artist's home.

.

Jose Fuster’s Home

Jose Fuster’s home is where it all started. What used to be a run-down small wooden home, is now transformed into something that looks like a children's theme park, only porcelain-like fragile! 

Doors are open since morning till about 5:00 pm. Visitors are free to wander inside the house and have a look around. 

You’ll be welcomed in, and offered a quick video to watch about Jose Fuster the artist, and about Fusterlandia project. They have multiple languages to choose from too! 

The first floor has a gallery of paintings you can look at and purchase. If you are lucky enough, you can even meet Jose Fuster and watch him create!

.

There are four levels in the house that you can access – kids can only go to level 2. Stairs are narrow and ceilings are low – watch your step and your head. Be careful visiting after the rain too – the floor is covered with ceramic tiles and it gets slippery!

You’ll find a bathroom on-site that you can use. It is also covered in mosaics top to bottom of course! I would have never guessed it is the bathroom, haha! 

The second floor has a gift shop – designed tiles and little art pieces are available for sale here. 

Take as many photos as you like!

There is a large turtle that lives on-site in its own designer Fuster-decorated home! Your kids would absolutely love it!

.

Fusterlandia – Photo Gallery

.

To be honest, I’ve never seen anything like Fusterlandia before – I absolutely loved it! It’s like you are walking through Alice’s Wonderland, sucked into Salvador Dali’s metamorphosis, and spit out on the other end into tiny pieces roman mosaics… No photos or even video can communicate the awe feeling you get walking the surreal narrow streets of Jaimanitas, with its fiest of colours, kaleidoscopic murals, misshaped organic sculptures, ornate fences and bus stops, and childish wall paintings… 

I am a huge admirer of Marc Chagall and Maud Lewis, and therefore Fuster’s art is right into my gate!

Fusterlandia and Playa de Jaimanitas village near Havana Cuba is a thrilling example of how Art can help rebuild communities, breathe new life into struggling neighbourhoods and bring prosperity and happiness to local people. 

Jose Fuster is a true inspiration, I wish more artists and architects would follow through selflessly transforming the world for the better.

More Things to do in Cuba:
Havana, Cuba – Top Places to See and Things To Do With Family
Top Things to Do With Your Family in Varadero, Cuba

Have you been to Fusterlandia in Havana and / or to Cuba yet? What do you think?

Other cool street art locations around the world that we’ve visited:

• Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada was a large collection of outdoor murals and fun colourful graffiti
• City of Colour – urban art district of San Jose, Costa Rica – one of the most important artistic spots in Central America
• Powell River, British Columbia, Canada has a small but vibrant artistic community and very positive inspiring street art

Do you know of any other inspiring living and breathing public art projects anywhere in the world? Tell us about it!

Enjoy!

Cheerfully yours,

Alexandra, Alex & Cosmos

.

Share your pictures on social media! tag #PerfectDayToPlay to be featured on our Instagram! 

.

Sharing is caring!