Restaurant, cafe, bar, club “Havana”

Despite the fact that the great Armenian director Sergei Parajanov, alas, never managed to live on Armenian soil, although he had such plans, it was in Yerevan that his house-museum was opened. This country always treats all its children with tenderness and sincere love, even those who by the will of fate turned out to be prodigal. Parajanov was born in Georgia, spent a lot of time there, and lived in Moscow and Kyiv for a while. Even those people who are not familiar with the director’s work, according to Armenian tour operators, will be curious to visit the museum dedicated to him. Firstly, perhaps this will inspire them to watch several famous films. And secondly, Parajanov was not only a great master of cinematography, but also a great mystifier, a mocker, who first of all molded the space of his own life and created amazing absurd pictures. All this, of course, was reflected in his legacy, and therefore a visit to the museum turns from a decorous cultural event into a bright attraction.

Sergey Parajanov is a recognized master of avant-garde cinema, who introduced a new stage language into circulation. At the same time, all his techniques and images are nurtured by ancient Christian traditions and the centuries-old cultural heritage of Armenia. So with his pictures he paid tribute to his roots.

Parajanov’s works were also appreciated by foreign masters. Federico Fellini, Louis Aragon, Michelangelo Antonioni, Francois Truffaut and many others expressed their admiration for such films as The Color of Pomegranates and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. Among Russian masters, Tarkovsky and Vartanov highly valued his work. Some of the techniques used by Parajanov in his works were creatively rethought by other masters. So, despite some modern oblivion, one cannot help but note the influence of the master on the development of modern culture.

Although Parajanov was not lucky enough to live in the homeland of his ancestors – he was born in Tbilisi to an Armenian family – the director left his entire rich legacy in Armenia. Parajanov was an amazingly multifaceted personality – therefore his legacy did not consist only of works related to cinematography. Initially, he studied at the construction department of the Institute of Railway Transport, then took violin and vocal lessons at the Tbilisi and Moscow Conservatories, studied dance at the Tbilisi Opera House, but eventually chose cinema and graduated from VGIK. Parajanov drew brilliantly, made beautiful collages. In general, he turned all the living space around him into high art. Which allowed descendants to admire the rich legacy left by the master, but cost his loved ones dearly. Because of the craving for shocking, the inability, and even the unwillingness to adapt to the blurry, gray and amorphous body of the surrounding philistine masses, not only Parajanov suffered, but also his family.

His first marriage fell apart, although the spouses maintained a warm relationship, the son was raised by his ex-wife, although the boy often saw his father. As a result, Parajanov even spent several years in prison and a colony, accused of sodomy. Although most of his friends and acquaintances assume that the director was heterosexual, he could say anything in his unexpected mysteries and desire to shock others. And the reason for the arrest was a not entirely innocent joke that sounded in an interview with the director, published by one of the Danish newspapers – as if as many as 20 members of the Central Committee of the CPSU were thirsty for lovemaking with Parajanov. This, and a letter in defense of the Ukrainian intelligentsia, persecuted in the late 60s, cost Parajanov 4 years in prison. This extraordinary person, who always wanted to stand out, took the imprisonment hard. He could not adapt to prison customs, and the prisoners suspected that he asked for it himself in order to subsequently make a film about life in captivity. But it was this tragedy that gave the world the symbol of one of the cinematographic awards. A portrait of Pushkin, scratched with a nail on an aluminum kefir lid, had an amazing and adventurous journey before ending up in the hands of Federico Fellini. He liked the thing so much that he cast a silver medal in its likeness. Now such medals are awarded to winners of the Rimini festival.

Another prison work – a shroud painted with amazing biblical images, which Parajanov created especially for his cellmate, who died on the neighboring bunks, is now kept in a museum in Yerevan. In addition to this sad work, the museum’s exposition paints the image of an unusual person, demonstrating dolls, ceramics, collages, drawings and much more created by Parajanov during his life. In total, about six hundred of the master’s creations, made in various forms and styles, are collected here. In addition, the museum features two rooms where the creators of the museum were able to reconstruct the atmosphere and interior decoration of his home from the director’s personal belongings that were kept in his apartment in Georgia. This tour of Armenia will allow fans of Parajanov’s work to learn  

Havana, passionate and romantic, exciting and lyrical, luxurious and careless, shining with bright flashes and flickering with dim lights in the mysterious twilight, anything but prim and boring, is also in Yerevan. An excellent remedy for winter frosts and a wonderful addition to the summer heat, this is a true reflection of the island of Freedom in the heart of the Armenian capital. This is a whole complex of restaurants, clubs and various entertainment venues, and therefore it is quite difficult to find any other definition for it than the name HAVANA itself, which is truly all-encompassing. Before setting off on an exploratory mission to a tropical island, it is worth first carefully studying the map of this place and studying the list of entertainment offered here. It is unlikely that you will be able to try everything at once. And why – you can always come back here. Do you yearn for the passionate rhythms of Latin American music, dream of breathing in the tart aroma of tropical air with all your lungs, there is no need to dream of a journey to the Island of Freedom – just book a flight with Uzbekistan Airlines to Yerevan.

The complex itself is divided into several halls. The first of them is the largest, it is a restaurant and a club. About three hundred people can have fun in these mansions at the same time. It is here that it is customary to celebrate weddings and arrange fabulous parties in Latin American style. When the premises are not occupied by celebrants, then people come here in the evenings to learn salsa or another passionate and languid dance, originally from the Caribbean, to move to their heart’s content in its fiery rhythms, listen to the mesmerizing rhythms. The hall blossoms with fiery colors of bright lamps, filled with blood-stirring rhythms. Have the ardent movements awakened an extraordinary hunger in you? The local cuisine, as well as Italian and Mexican culinary masterpieces and European edible hits, will help to satisfy it. Tour operators of Armenia advise to spend at least a couple of days exploring the club.

A little further away is a club, a place for true fans of hoarse and passionate jazz, as well as aromatic cigar smoke, where would Cuba be without them? During the day, the hall is usually empty, hiding the stage in the twilight, and only famous jazzmen thoughtfully look from the walls at the slender columns framing the space. But only the velvety twilight of the twilight envelops the capital, the first drawn-out note of the saxophone fills the hall with vibrating energy, giving a start to a new evening. And the jazz melody floats, swaying in the clouds of cigar smoke, exciting the heart and reviving intoxicating dreams.

Another image of the changeable Havana is the eastern hall. Shocking luxury, a riot of colors, enticing and soft beds – this is a world of idleness and lazy fun. Patterned carpets are strewn with soft pillows, and in the middle of this splendor reigns a magnificent tent. Here it is customary to smoke hookahs and enjoy another freedom – the smooth flow of conversation, languid idleness and intoxicating tasting of various hookahs.

Hungry, but not so much as to order a full lunch, in the local bar you can treat yourself to a delicious and juicy sandwich, or order an appetizing pizza. Here they brew coffee as black as a Cuban night, and invigorating as a tropical breeze. An excellent tonic for continuing the exploration of this unique place.

Would you like something more secluded? Strict and elegant VIP halls, designed for small groups of twenty people, are always ready to shelter respectable gentlemen in their vaults, engrossed in serious business conversations. A bit reminiscent of Chicago in the twenties.

And after a successful meeting, you can always go to one of the open terraces, which seem to float above the Razdan Gorge. On a sunny day, breathtaking views open up from here. And if you decide to take a breath of fresh air in winter, then the expanses, covered with a snow-white veil of freshly fallen snow, for a second transfer you to another universe of calm purity and icy silence. A rare sight that not every tour of Armenia will bestow. However, Havana will not leave you in this lyrical mood for long. A moment, and you are once again enveloped in languid and gentle waves of music and floating along them through halls saturated with tropical aromas and full of sunny warmth.

The island of freedom opens its doors to visitors at nine o’clock in the morning and goes to rest only after midnight.

Address: RA, Yerevan, Leningradyan St. 1/6

tel: +374 10 38 06 06

mob: +374 94 38 06 06

e-mail: info@havana.am