Thank you [CINTAS Foundation]! ... I am very grateful and will honor the legacy of Oscar Cintas and the high standard set by the other CINTAS Fellows.
Soy... una de las finalistas de CINTAS [2017-18], ...quería agradecerle a la Fundación por la oportunidad de que los artistas residentes en Cuba puedan participar. Fue un placer ser finalista aunque volveré a aplicar [el año próximo]
I wanted to let you know that I was in Miami recently and got a chance to see the Impact and Legacy: 50 Years of the CINTAS Foundation exhibition. It was great to see the diversity of the collection, there are some wonderful works of art and I feel fortunate to be a part of the collection. Seeing my piece was like seeing an old friend, it has been years since I’ve seen the piece. I am glad that I gave the collection a significant piece. The CINTAS fellowship was a lifesaver and it came at a time where it was do or die for me. It kept me making art, a turning point in my art life.
The Cintas Fellowship has been an invaluable help for Cubans creators, including myself, outside Cuba and after 55 years of exile is still the only one.
The CINTAS foundation made it possible for me to record my first album, entitled Personalities. Had it not been for the grant that I received to make the album, I really believe that I would not be where I am today. A couple of days ago, my second album, Rhizome, was released; this time it was under the BlueNote/ArtistShare label. And it has been featured on the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and many other publications. The CINTAS foundation was one of the first to have faith in me, and I will remember that forever. Thank you CINTAS foundation!
I am a grateful two time recipient of the Cintas fellowship; the first time I received it I was barely twenty years old and it allowed me to work for almost two years and travel throughout Latin America. The second time I was an overwhelmed husband and new father who was able to purchase materials and set up a studio. Although in time I stopped being a practicing artist and became an art historian, both times the Cintas fellowship came at a decisive moment in my life, which nurtured and shaped the scholar that I am today.
It was very rewarding and encouraging to be awarded the Cintas Fellowship Grant for Painting in the early stages of my career. I was a two-time recipient in the '70s. Besides the much-needed funds the award provided recognition and acknowledgement at a critical moment. I am very grateful and proud to be a Cintas recipient and happy to be a part of this wonderful collection.
…In my personal case, since receiving the Fellowship in 1983, there is no end to the tremendous stimulating impulse given to my desire to dedicate my energies and effort to continue painting my Memories of Cuba, and later all the works that followed, including work related to our Hispanic heritage, and to being working now on a series of work that should hopefully bring my production to complete the very challenging circle I have been traveling with my art…Sincerely grateful, and honored…
The CINTAS Fellowship came at a time in my career when I was interested in working larger, and needed the time and materials to realize this crucial goal. With the Fellowship I was given the opportunity to work unencumbered by time constraints, which led to my first major solo exhibition and my first commissions. I continue to credit the CINTAS Fellowship as a significant springboard to my success. It helped me to envision and create the large-scale works that have become my trademark.
As a twice recipient of the CINTAS Fellowship, it has helped me in a big way, my career as an artist, that was the first time 1973-74, and again in 1979-80, was a turning point, in the future development of my work.
The CINTAS Fellowship was a wonderful boost to me, and came at a crucial moment. It not only provided me with the time to complete my first book, but included me in a group of writers I greatly admire, such as Oscar Hijuelos and Reinaldo Arenas.
Obtaining the CINTAS Fellowship not only helped me financially, but gave me the confidence I needed, at that moment, to continue with the develop of my art. Now, I feel honored to have the opportunity to donate my work to help the continuity of "THE CINTAS" for the future generations of Cuban artist.
When my father emigrated from Cuba he had many artistic talents and dreams. Like many immigrants he had to work hard to support his family, ultimately serving 25 years in the US Army. My father died before I had established my artistic career. Receiving the CINTAS grant was not only financially helpful but was also an honor that I felt proud to accept on behalf of my father.
When I received the CINTAS Fellowship, it changed my life. I was able to change careers and become a full-time creative writer. The encouragement was just as important as the money. I will always be grateful to the amazing, wonderful CINTAS Foundation!
I was one of the early recipients of the CINTAS Award in the sixties. As a music student at that time, it was an important endorsement and much needed financial help, inspiring me to grow culturally and professionally. As I look back at almost half-a-century of teaching piano at the Manhattan School of Music and the publication of two books on XIX Century Cuban music and on my own pedagogical legacy, I cannot but be most grateful to the Cintas Foundation for having helped me to make it all possible.
The CINTAS award was extraordinarily affirming, not only for the acknowledgement of my writing but for the vibrantly rich culture that continues to inspire it. Through it, I feel a part of a larger artistic Cuban community that means the world to me. Mil gracias, CINTAS!
It's not just the money, though certainly the funding made it possible for me to take my work to the next level. And it was much more than the validation that came with such an honor, though no doubt the legitimacy the award lent my work helped me get tenure just three years out of grad school. For me, the impact of receiving the CINTAS Fellowship ran much deeper. I received the award at the beginning of my career when my creative voice could have easily been swallowed up by the economic realities of the marketplace. I could have lost my way like so many others. And so CINTAS actually gave me bearings, a sense of where I belonged in the continuum of cultural legacy we are all heir to. And those points on the compass have kept me true to my artistic vision all these years.
I am a very grateful and happy to have been a recipient of the CINTAS Award. Being awarded this grant allowed me to investigate and further develop my work. It inspired me to look deeper into my family background and what it means to be a first generation immigrant, identity politics and the sense of dislocation associated from being raised in one country while rooted in another.
The first time I received a CINTAS Fellowship was a few years after Grad School, and it gave me two very significant things: 1- the time and resources to make large scale Sculptures, I had been working two-dimensionally for lack of funds, and 2- Arguably more noteworthy, a much needed sense of validation and recognition from my peers and community. The second time I was awarded the CINTAS Fellowship I was able to push even further the notion and limits of what "Sculpture" can be. In other words, Installations and Architectural concepts became formats where such lines crossed over. I am forever indebted to the support and trust CINTAS has given me, and it is with much gratitude that I donate a work to help raise funds to support the future generations of Cuban sculptors.
My CINTAS Fellowship was the single most important factor in pursuing my career in painting. It came at the exact moment when, newly married, newly mortgaged & working non-stop just to make ends meet, I could have easily given up. The acknowledgement of the value of my work and efforts reinforced my belief in myself as an artist. The funds allowed me to keep at it in the studio, and I have continued without interruption to this day. I am sure I am not the only artist thus supported at a crucial time and for that, no thanks can ever be enough.
I received my CINTAS Foundation Fellowship in 1990. I used it to travel to Chiapas, Mexico and Nicaragua to document two revolutions and its effects on its people. In Chiapas I interviewed and photographed the early separatist movement that would lead Sub-Comandante Marcos to organize a revolt of an indigenous people against a colonial Mexican government. In Nicaragua, I witnessed the result of a ten-year Contra-War. It helped me understand how hegemonic forces undermine the best of intentions. I am most grateful for this fellowship. It led me away from focusing on local issues to global issues of neocolonialism and marginalization.
I am very grateful and honored to have received two CINTAS Fellowships, both of which have enabled me to compose freely and record my music. In fact, this year GPR Records will release a recording of my songs, which I had long wanted to record, and CINTAS enabled me finally to accomplish this professional goal. CINTAS Fellowships gave me much needed encouragement and provided an invaluable boost to me in mid-career. And of course, CINTAS promotes greater awareness of the wide range of Cuban talents in the arts. I am very proud of my CINTAS Fellowships!
The support from the CINTAS foundation came at a critical point in my art career. It afforded me dedicated time and freedom to concentrate on my work with great focus that would have been impossible without the fellowship award. The work I have made in the last two years has been my most fulfilling. I am grateful to the CINTAS Foundation and happy to donate a photograph to the collection.
We are deeply grateful to have been the recipients of a CINTAS Fellowship in Architecture. The generous support of the CINTAS Foundation is helping to make possible the production of materials for an upcoming museum exhibition that envisions the form and character of Miami as it evolves over the next century.
When I received my painting Fellowship from the Oscar B. Cintas Foundation in 1982, it was the first significant national recognition that fully acknowledged my creative abilities as a noteworthy painter within the United States. Hence, it gave me confidence to pursue a serious career in the visual arts as a painter. Thanks to my attainment of a CINTAS Fellowship, I went on to obtain The National Endowment for the Arts' Visual Artist Fellowship in Painting (1986-87); and a Fulbright Fellowship in painting (1995), as well as a grant from The Inter-American-Development Bank, BID (1991), as well as other arts grants, including official artist-residencies in Maryland and Tampa, Florida.
I applied to the CINTAS Fellowship with the idea that it would help fund my research travels. I can definitely say that winning made my three-month research project in Paris a reality and I'm incredibly grateful for that opportunity.
I was very happy to win the CINTAS Award for Filmmaking since it reassured me on the value of my work -and it was a tremendous reward after directing and producing -totally on my own- my first documentary Marcadas por el Paraiso, which went on to win many awards and accolades. It was a wonderful award!
When I received the CINTAS Fellowship in 1982, I had just changed careers. The fellowship helped launch me as an artist. It represented a great validation for me. This institution and its collection support to Cuban artists in exile and provide a priceless showcase for our artistic community's achievements. Thanks to Hortensia Sampedro's leadership for so many years, the CINTAS Foundation has enjoyed outstanding continuity as a beacon for the arts.
I received the CINTAS Fellowship in 1980, early in my career. The recognition inspired and energized me to complete the drawings, paintings and collages I was making at the time and the funds provided the opportunity to obtain materials and tools to make works in larger formats and document what I was doing, including performances. I have followed the Foundation's exemplary mission and accomplishments through the years and admire the independent panels that review the applications and recommend artists to the sterling Board charged with the custody of the visionary legacy of Oscar B. Cintas. The imprimatur of a CINTAS Fellowship continues to be an unparalleled career hallmark for serious artists of Cuban descent, recognizing their professional commitment and rewarding significant contributions to global culture.
The CINTAS Fellowship is an important award for an artist and definitely has impacted my career even though it has been only a few months. It is a tremendous honor that my work was selected by a group of selected curators and the exhibition that is part of it. I like to express my sincerest thank you to the Foundation for their generous investment and their constant support to the community.
Estoy muy agradecido de haber recibido el CINTAS Award por pintura 1984-1985, porque represento una ayuda importante en un momento de mi vida y ademas por el honor de haber obtenido una distincion tan significativa.
CINTAS support came at a turning point in my creative work. I remember coming home just after midnight from my studio-lab, opening the envelope from CINTAS and whooping for joy. I probably woke the neighbors. Yes, the money helped make possible a series of works and exhibitions overseas that year, but the encouragement resonates throughout my career. Thank you, CINTAS!
CINTAS gave me confidence and inspiration and opened windows and doors. It made possible the best in my personal and professional realities -- poetry books, teaching awards, and essays concerned with governance in Latin America and Europe. My gratitude is absolute.
I'm delighted to donate a piece in support if the CINTAS Foundation and its 50th anniversary. I was awarded a grant early in my career when the recognition and financial support were crucial to helping push my work to new levels. I can't thank the Foundation enough.