Cuban Art & Living

 
ANNOUNCING …

Cuba! Gallery of Fine Art is now featured in the July issue of SPACES, a slick Space Coast style and design magazine .  The article, “Artistic Pearls of the Caribbean” is nine pages of beautiful photos of Cuban contemporary art as it hangs in The Gallery and in the homes of art aficianodos; written by Maria Sonnenbert and photographed by Brian Abrahamson.  We are grateful to the magazine and Editor, Karen Huffman for this generous exposure.  To read the article, go to the abbreviated online version at www.spacesonline.com/edition/July2008/article2.shtml.

Dr. Victor Bruno a professor at the University of Havana was here on university business a few years ago, visiting my dear friend, Dr. Marcelo Alonso, when it was decided to have a party.  I volunteered to make the mojitos (móe-hee-toes) but Dr. Bruno would not have it as he was, he said, always the mojito maker at departmental functions at the university. 
 
This is his delicious recipe…the way Cubans in the birthplace of the mojito, drink them.  And the way we drink them at Cuba! Gallery of Fine Art Openings.  No soda water, bitters or other fancy ingredient.  Just a good lemonade with mint and rum.

1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
3 cups plain water
Rum
Fresh mint

Pop a Rubén Gonzalez CD into the Bose.  For a batch, mix sugar, water and lemon juice.  Pour glass half full of the mixture.   Bruise the stem of a mint sprig, not the leaves, against the side of the glass with a spoon to release the oils into the liquid.  Drop in the sprig.  Dance over to the refrigerator.  Add ice to trap the mint at the bottom.  Add rum and stir.  Salud!
 

Eduardo and Orlando’s mother, Nena, insists I come for dinner at the Garcia’s, every time I’m in town. 

Hugs and Kisses, then knee to knee in the tiny, tidy living room on the 2nd floor of a Havana walkup.  News is shared that makes friends feel like family.  Orlando got a passport, father Paco lost 25 pounds, Eddy and Yuliett are getting married in November.  Small gifts from Florida are presented.

In time, Nena moves on to the kitchen, the twins and I squeeze into their room and sit on the bunkbed next to the computer.  Orlando brings out their newest works.  I purchase a dozen sepia photographs and note a stunning painting on the wall, Eddy’s first significant work in oil.  Two artist friends drop in and the talk is young and lively.

At dinner the talk is of changes in the  Cuban “system,” the Castros, the Bushes, ironies, inequities, hopes and dreams.  We are all the same, we agree.  It is the governments that are different.

After dinner,  Eddy gives me a gift from his unjaded heart - the painting on his wall.  And when it’s time to leave, every eye glistens, and hopefully, we talk of change.  For now, only one of us is fortunate enough to cross the Gulf Stream both ways, but the friendship we have is a sturdy bridge across those waters of time and space.

Hooray! Our new “Art Photos” page is up on the website for your enjoyment and collection.  http://www.cubagalleryflorida.com/cuban-art-photos

Angeles de la Habana is a 20-image series which recreates the magic of the architecture, the streets, the people and the angels of Havana.  Conceived and executed by twin brothers, Eduardo and Orlando Garcia using a combination of both traditional and digital photography, the series has won acclaim inside Cuba and a prestigious art award in Bolivia.  

Don’t prejudge the digital element of these photos before you have a look at them.  They are hauntingly beautiful.  The twins invite you to “see what you will” in the images.  But they also describe what they had in mind in their creation, such as, “It is wonderful that a comfort during the difficulties of life can be the memory of a loving person”  and “Sometimes we feel loneliness: moving around in the world without touching it.” 

We are convinced that Eddy and Landy have “old souls.