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English Cultural and Creative Enterprises: a development potential for Cuba
Laura Salas Redondo, Lisette Sánchez, Marbelis Gonzalez, and Mavis de la Colina are the four women who launched the entrepreneurial initiative La Mina in Cuba. This initiative originated within the framework of the Habana CreActiva project, which, through paths of innovation, expertise, transformation, and resource management, aimed to enhance the potential of the cultural and creative sector for the development of Cuban regions.
La Mina has now become a space to empower women and provide them with tools to develop their creativity. Laura talks about it: "La Mina Cuba is an initiative born from a team that focuses on female empowerment and deals with waste treatment and recycling promotion. The initiative arose as part of the platform organized by Tercer Paraíso Cuba, a project promoted by the Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto and Cittadellarte, which uses art and creativity to connect all types of organizations with the aim of working together for sustainable development in Cuba." It is, in fact, a wide-ranging project that is the result of strong local and international collaboration.
"Entrepreneurship is never easy, and the Cuban context often adds additional challenges," continues Laura. "Being a woman, Cuban, and entrepreneur is an incredible triad that, willingly or not, must overcome various sociocultural Cuban elements that often do not make the path easy for women in the professional world. Today, being a woman, Cuban, and entrepreneur is synonymous with being brave, creative, and empowered. Habana CreActiva has taught us to seek alliances and support other entrepreneurial initiatives that are starting. Starting from Tercer Paraíso, we work with the philosophy that 1+1=3, because when two people/ideas/projects come together, they create something new, a sum makes you stronger, and this is the result of good alliances."
Habana CreActiva is a project financed by the European Union and implemented by CISP. Officially concluded in June 2023, it contributed to local processes of inclusion and sustainable development in Havana based on the potential of the cultural and creative sector.
Read the latest bulletin by CISP Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus of CISP’s 40th anniversary (in Spanish)
