CubaPLUS Magazine

The ancient art of manufacturing stained glass, born in the days of the Roman Empire, began to be noticed in Cuba, possibly at the end of the 18th century.At least, by the hand of European colonization and linked to religious buildings, as was the custom in almost the entire world, from the Middle Ages, because in its remote beginnings it had a more utilitarian use.

This time we will only talk about that art in Havana.The window of the famous Church of San Francisco de Paula, in Old Havana, completed in 1745, suggests that a sacred stained glass window was placed there, in the style of those times, with wooden frames, which was an innovation contributed byCreole glass-making artisans, because in Europe the very scarce metal was used here for assembling.

Restored on several occasions and today converted into an excellent concert hall, the Church of Paula exhibits a beautiful 35-square-meter stained glass window, designed by the Cuban plastic artist Nelson Domínguez, and built and assembled by the team led by the outstanding Rosa María dethe Terga, already deceased.

Although the work of De la Terga (1935-2017) well deserves a separate work and more, in this small space we will limit ourselves to highlighting what is considered her most important work, in this case also designed by herself.It is the splendid 230-square-meter stained-glass window installed in the Raquel Hotel, also in the Historic Center, in a three-story building completed in 1905, for which he also contributed beautiful works such as Tiffany-style lamps, screens, and other elements thatthey recreate a delicious Art Nouveau flattened in that land.

Trained in her youth in the artistic world of stained glass windows, thanks to a program promoted by the Office of Historical Affairs of the Council of State, in charge of Celia Sánchez Manduley, we recommend seeing the colorful skylight of the Café del Oriente, inthe oldest area of the capital, the canopies of the Habana 1791 colonial perfumery, true expressive jewels of beauty and Cuban identity, and their ornamentation in the Sarrá Pharmacy.

Of course, there are wonderful stained glass windows to admire in the magnificent National Capitol, today the seat of the Cuban Parliament, in the classic Hotel Plaza and in the Centro Andaluz, in the area near the historic center called Centro Habana.They say that it was not until the arrival of the 20th century, right from its beginning, when the custom of stained glass windows trespassed the peace of churches, monasteries and convents to settle with more display and luxury in larger spaces, which included ceilings and staircases ofmarble in mansions, palaces and houses of very wealthy people.

They were all built with fundamentally European designs, especially  Italian, French and Spanish artists, and the architectural style of Art Nouveau matched these marvels like a glove. It was the same line that prevailed in colonial times: copy from the Old World, although the Creole performers achieved great qualifications and began to use lead in their productions.