Cuba Oriente

Reinaldo Pagán Ávila (Santiago de Cuba, 1971) graduated from the José Joaquín Tejada Provincial Arts School with a degree in drawing and painting and credentials as an art instructor. In 1991, he began working as part of a team whose purpose was to beautify Santiago, and the same year he and other young artists formed a group called “Cara Joven” (Young Faces). Known by their nickname “Cara-jo,” this group would change the local art scene by introducing innovative ideas and expressing ecological concerns. At the 1992 Caribbean Festival, Ávila participated in a street installation called “Showcase Art,” in which artists’ works were created in store windows. His first one-man show, “My Double Face,” took place in 1995, touring Guantánamo and Granma provinces. Ávila has received numerous national awards.

Miguel Angel Botalín (Santiago de Cuba, 1932) received degrees in painting and sculpture from the José Joaquín Tejada Provincial Arts School in Santiago, as well as a law degree from the University of Havana. Since the 1950s, he has had a leadership role in promoting Cuban art and culture both locally and internationally. He has held several key positions with cultural and governmental institutions in Oriente province and with UNESCO. Botalín’s works have been exhibited in Cuba, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the United States and have received critical recognition and awards. They can be found in collections worldwide. He currently lives in Santiago de Cuba and works independently as a visual artist.

Joherms Quiala Brooks (Guantánamo, 1970) is a gifted artist whose works evoke an admiration for Salvador Dalí, but with Brooks’ own unique Cuban style. His colors are brilliant and beautiful, violent and sensual. His energetic characters exhibit strength, humor, and refreshing openness; his use of sun and light often result in translucent background colors of vivid blues, greens and yellows. He has participated in one-man and group exhibitions both in his country and abroad. He won first prize at the International Festival of Humor in Belgium. One of his paintings was presented to the Pope as a gift for the Vatican Art Collection.

Antonio Ferrer Cabello (Santiago de Cuba, 1913) is a graduate of the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Art in Havana. He returned to Santiago to serve as a professor at the José Joaquín Tejada Provincial Arts School. He also was director of the Bacardí Museum in Santiago. Cabello produces drawings, watercolors, pastels, and engravings, but his most outstanding works are portraits and paintings of urban landscapes. He was able to bring avant-garde trends to Santiago and has promoted contacts with artists in Havana and outside the country. He has also encouraged similar developments in theater and music. During the 1960s, Cabello created innovative portraits of musicians with fluid, agile and luminous backgrounds and gestures. He has received numerous medals for his contributions to art and culture in Cuba.

Alfredo Rodríguez Cedeño (Bayamo, 1969) is essentially self-taught, but took several classes at a community cultural center and received some instruction at the Manuel del Socorro Rodríguez Visual Arts School in Bayamo. Many of his works focus on rural landscapes and portray the habits and daily life of Cuban campesinos. Cedeño’s paintings often emphasize environmental themes, combining traditional approaches with realism. He has participated in the Cucalambé Festivals in Las Tunas. At age 30, he has had four one-man shows and numerous group exhibitions and has been awarded municipal, provincial and national prizes. In 1999, he headed a collective show entitled “The Cuban Phenomenon” at the Asheville Gallery in North Carolina. Cedeño creates paintings, drawings, engravings and ceramics. He currently lives and works as an independent artist in Bayamo in Eastern Cuba.

Marcos Pavón Estrada (Holguín, 1938) is disabled and unable to use his hands, but from an early age decided to paint. In 1963, he was admitted to the Frank País Hospital in Havana where he received formal training in the arts. Upon his return to his region of Holguín, he enrolled in the Fine Arts School, graduated in 1969, and began working at the Manuel Dositeo Aguilera Cultural Center. In 1985 he started painting elves and witches from local mythology to revive rural folk imagery and traditions. Estrada belongs to the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists in Liechtenstein and has created a special device to facilitate the upward and downward movement of his easel.

Ruben Manuel Beltrán Guerra (Manzanillo, 1966) is a self-taught artist. Despite his limited formal training, he is an avid student of nature, observing its different colors and capturing landscapes and cityscapes on his canvases. For Guerra, painting is a demonstration of the love he feels for God, man, and nature. He says, “The sketch is like a newborn… I nurture it, raise it until it grows and becomes an adult... the finished work of art.”

Eddy Ochoa Guzmán (Guantánamo, 1952) is a painter, a composer of children’s music, and a policeman whose specialty is criminology. He graduated from the Pinar del Río Provincial Arts School and studied for two years at the José Joaquín Tejada Provincial Arts School in Santiago de Cuba. Guzmán has participated in numerous collective and one-man shows. He has received several awards for his activities as a painter and a composer. These include Best Composition for Children and the Popularity Prize at the Singing to the Sun National Festival in Havana.

Alfredo Elías Sánchez Iglesias (Santiago de Cuba, 1967) is a painter, a teacher, and a theater designer. At the age of fourteen, he graduated from the José Joaquín Tejada Provincial Arts School with a degree in drawing and engraving. Soon afterward, he began teaching there. As a student he was encouraged to study the masters and chose Picasso and Chagall. His teacher, José Aguilera Vicente, became a mentor. The works of Cuban artist Fidelio Ponce de León also provided inspiration. Iglesias studied theater design in Russia, returning to Cuba in 1995. His work in theater continues to have a profound impact on his painting.

Roel Caboverde Llacer (Baracoa, 1947) first worked as a graphic designer and spent his free time painting and fishing. By 1970, as his artworks became better known, he held his first one-man show in Moa. In 1983 he began studying at Guantánamo’s School of Fine Art, graduating as a visual arts instructor. Currently he paints in a neocubist style, depicting childhood memories of rural fishing and sugar harvest scenes. Llacer recently attracted international attention resulting in one-man shows in Spain, France and the United States. He lives and teaches in the coastal village of Baracoa.

Levis Galano Londres (Cayo Guin) studied art in Guantánamo, receiving a diploma in art instruction. He has exhibited widely in Cuba and now lives in the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. Many of his works portray the environment and all are characterized by vivid colors and free brushwork.

Orlando Piedra (Baracoa, 1954) is a painter, a caricaturist, a book illustrator, an actor and an athlete. As a child, he produced caricatures with the encouragement of his grandfather. His lifelong sense of humor and satire are reflected in his portrait paintings. Piedra’s interests in political commentary through art, along with his concern for social issues and the environment, have led to controversies. He has participated in several international competitions and his work has been exhibited in the United States, Latin America and Europe. Piedra has held numerous one-man exhibitions of his oil paintings, watercolors and caricatures. In 1997, he received the Guamo Award for his outstanding career from the Union of Cuban Writers and Artists.

Jorge Luis Hernández Pouyú (Santiago de Cuba, 1967) first studied art at the José Joaquín Tejada Provincial Arts School. In 1985, he moved to Havana, where he joined the Eduardo Abela Experimental Painting Workshop and was involved with the Rene Portocarrero Silkscreen Workshop. In 1988, Pouyú participated in the Papermaking Workshop of the 3^rd Biennial of Havana. He has been in numerous group shows and held one-man exhibitions, winning prizes at several competitions. Since 1991, he has served as a judge in various regional events. He currently lives and works in his hometown of Santiago de Cuba.

José Julián Aguilera Vicente (Santiago de Cuba, 1933) is a painter, a sculptor and a graphic artist. He has worked as a professional artist and educator at various institutions, including the University of Oriente, teaching drawing, engraving and other subjects. He is affiliated with both local and national arts and cultural institutions. Vicente has won 33 provincial and national awards, participating in 30 international group shows, 11 one-man shows abroad and more than 100 exhibits in Cuba. The largest collection of his works can be found in the Emilio Bacardí Museum in Santiago de Cuba.