One Night in Havana

With the historic Cuban tram as the core of the event, Hotel Tugu Malang took over a hundred of socialites to Cuban style gathering. The party saw the guests from various cities across the world who once stayed and pursued their education in Malang.

Taking place at Hotel Tugu Malang, as many as 120 guests from high society mingled under the clear and moonlit sky on the evening of 20 April 2019. Carrying the theme “One Night in Havana”, the occasion was organised by Ratna Fung from Tuban, one of the alumni from Malang’s Cor Jesu School. All the guests cheered up the night, as they reminisce on the moment where they studied in Malang.

Dubbed the City of Apple, Malang however that night took all the guests to the world of Cuba. The hotel featured a historic Cuban electric tram that was placed in the middle of the gathering venue.

The tram was once very popular in Havana, long before Cuba began its dispute with the US. It was around 100 years ago that the tram was imported from Cuba to Batavia, the former name of Jakarta, by Kian Gwan & Co during the Dutch Colonial era as a prototype for the electric trams that were operated in Batavia. However, many of them were damaged and were not in operations.

The memory of the old electric tram inspired Anhar Setjadibrata, the conceptor and designer of the event and who is also the founder of Hotel Tugu Group, to create a new electric tram that recalls the romanticism of the Forgotten History of Indonesia, Several elements of the old tram were still intact and put into the new car. These elements were reattached and redesigned for two months before they were ready to be displayed at this event.

Indeed, the tram was the focal point of the event, thanks to its artistic and strategic presence that brought back people’s memory of a bygone era when the government had not shut down the services of the electric trams in the country.

For Hotel Tugu, this hundred-year-historic gem represents a piece of the Forgotten History of Indonesia and should always be passed on to the younger generation. Small is beautiful, which implies the small electric tram that drew much attention at “A Night in Havana”, an event that not only functions as a reunion but also celebrates history.

TUGU at a Glance:

The Art, Soul and Romance of Indonesia

Tugu Hotels are privately owned and designed with

collections of luxury art hotels born out of one man’s love and passion for Indonesia’s romantic history. Tugu Hotels’ founder, Anhar Setjadibrata, arguably Indonesia’s biggest collector of fine Indonesian art and cultural antiquities, designed these beautiful museum hotels to house his antiques and to tell the world the romantic stories and legends of ancient kingdoms of Indonesia.

Tugu Hotel Bali, Tugu Hotel Lombok, Tugu Hotel Malang and Tugu Hotel Blitar all stand as ethereal monuments of forgotten art, culture and romance of the thousand-year-old Indonesian archipelago. This truly Indonesian experience is achieved not only through the design of the most unique design amidst majestic landscapes, historic towns and refurbished historic buildings, but also from various cultural experiences that guests can only have in the hotels.

Pioneering thematic dining experiences, Tugu Group takes a lot of pride in its restaurants: Tugu Kunstkring Paleis, Shanghai Blue 1920, Lara Djonggrang, Dapur Babah Elite and Ji Restaurant Bali which are spread across Jakarta and Bali. Steeped in culture, each restaurants interior boasts discrete notes and are all distinctively designed while still embodies the group’s spirit.

Tugu- the art, soul and romance of Indonesia.