When Cambridge was a ‘tiny Cuba’

Arts & Culture

When Cambridge was a ‘tiny Cuba’

Cuban educators photographed in front of Memorial Hall.

Courtesy of Harvard University Archives

January 5, 2026 5 min read

125 years ago, a Harvard exhibition drew 1,200 Cuban educators to class

In the summer of 1900, the rhythms of campus were transformed as more than 1,200 Cuban educators arrived for a six-week summer school.

“Everywhere there were scores of strange faces ...