Maquetina is a cheerful, spontaneous character and children love her from her first outing. This little clown was born in this summer of 2022, to save an activity of her institution and it was so much her desire and optimism that she came to stay.

That is why little Aitana, 4 years old, when asked about Maquetina, she said in her loving language and full of that sincerity that comes from children: she is very good, she does a lot of tricks, dances and makes the children have fun.

Thus began this dialogue with the group of the Heritage Interpretation Center, where the Model of the Historic Center of the city is located; a team made up mostly of women, who do not allow under any mishap that a space for family and heritage be lost, not even due to resource limitations or lack of electricity.

Beginnings

From those eagerness and desire to do was born the idea of ​​the specialist Marisleydis Pentón Rodríguez, who is an Art Instructor graduate in the specialty of music, but, daring as she is and having already dressed up on other occasions as a clown along with the clown Amor to set the activity; she made up her mind.

Not having her outfit, her grandmother’s magic flew all night and at dawn Maquetina had a skirt and blouse, a borrowed headband, different stockings donated by other colleagues and only the grace and makeup were missing; of that there is no doubt that she had to splurge.

Space

Given the lack of electricity, they tell us, the children’s activity had to go to Agramonte Park. The space was very large and needed to be filled with some artistic talent, and between the actress and another of the specialists, Mauren González, they entertained those present with didactic and participatory games related to the historic center, its architecture and history.

Marisleydis says that at the beginning she was nervous, she didn’t know how such a noble but demanding and faithful public would receive her, she performed the enchantment and not only did they have a good time, they also repeated the experience to close the summer stage. Nothing, that Maquetina saved the summer program and won a place in the heart of her regular audience, committing her to return for the next vacation.

An essential note

Like Maquetina, other groups stood out for their passion and desire to share their message of love for heritage with the people of Camagüey, putting aside the high temperatures and the annoying blackouts that punished us this summer, the initiatives won the applause of those who always appreciate an experience to fill the day.

In this way, the intelligent classroom, located in the headquarters of the Historian’s Office, was programmed during regular hours to give young lovers of the plastic arts creative ways of painting with the use of new technologies.

For its part, the Institutional Communication group of the Office offered a workshop to learn how to communicate heritage, from social networks, merging traditional techniques with new times; that team also designed a special virtual program for the months of July and August.

Like every summer, the Cultural Management Center is the fundamental base of all these proposals, in which music and dance are always present, to exalt the spirituality of the Camagüeyans of any age group.

To everyone’s pleasure and surprise, the Cemetery and the Interpretation Center of the Camagüey’s necropolis, received an unexpectedly high number of visitors. The work returned the image to the old original necropsy room of the cemetery, where information about important personalities who rest there is offered with innovative technologies.

From the hand of her passionate specialist, Arisleyda Rufín, they appreciated the architectural values ​​of funerary constructions, which go hand in hand with the various styles of the city and constitute, without a doubt, a special open-air museum.

Final point

Maquetina’s date to meet next summer to retrace this beautiful city, is the voice of all the institutions of the Historian’s Office, determined to continue disseminating heritage in creative ways and with the most important thing: a lot of love regardless of barriers.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García