Miguel Alasa (b. Havana): An actor, librettist, lyricist and playwright, Alasa’s play, Born to Rumba, ran for 520 performances at Duo Theater in New York, where he is artistic director, and became the longest running production by a U.S. Latino theater company. The musical Peggy and Jackson, which he wrote with composer David Welch, about the life of the artist Jackson Pollock, was presented by Joseph Papp at the Public Theatre. Other Alasa/Welch productions are Studio, Salon and Orphans. He is also an actor, and performed in the Broadway/National tours of Hair, Jesus Christ, Superstar, Tommy and Godspell.  He works under the name of Michelangelo Alasa. (Cintas for literature, 1980-81, 1981-82)

John Joseph Asencio (b. 1946, Mayarí): A sculptor who works primarily with metal, Asencio is known for his innovative casting techniques. He has exhibited throughout the United States in venues such as the Gilman Gallery, the Chapultepec International Gallery, the Art Institute in Chicago and the Kromex Gallery in New York. Asencio received a Master of Arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1980-81)

Uva de Aragón (b. 1944, Havana): A poet, novelist, essayist and newspaper columnist, de Aragón’s books include Alfonso Hernández-Catá: Un escritor cubano, salamantino y universal; Los nombres del amor and Memoria del silencio, the story of a reunion between Cubans from both sides of the Florida Straits. Memoria del silencio was one of several books by Cuban exiles presented at the 2002 Guadalajara book fair, which was dedicated to Cuba. She has received many awards, including a Distinguished Author Award from Coalition of Hispanic American Women. De Aragón has a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature from the University of Miami.  (Cintas for literature, 1980-81)

Tony Évora (b. 1937, Havana) A painter and printmaker, musicologist, writer and educator, Évora lived and worked in Exeter, England, where he became director of the Visual Arts, Music and Publications Department at Oxford Brookes University before moving to Spain in the early 1990s. Since then, his work – artistic and literary – has revolved around Cuban music and its relationship to santería. HIs books include Orígenes de la música cubana, El Libro del bolero and Música cubana: Los últimos 50 años. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1978-79, 1980-81)

Symmetry, 1980, oil on canvas, 31.5” x 25.5”

Enrique Flores Galbis (b.  1952, Havana) The work of Flores Galbis has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art and the National Arts Club. He is the winner of a Helena Rubenstein Fellowship and a Phillip Lehrman award. He has taught at the Parson’s School, the Montclair Museum and the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts. Flores has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Parson’s School and attended the Art Students League.  Flores is also a writer. His first novel, Raining Sardines, received the Americas Honors for Latin American Literature, while 90 Miles to Havanareceived the Pura Belpre Honors Award from the American Library Association. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1980-81, 1985-86)

Álvaro Aquilino García (b. 1957, Havana) An installation artist, García works with automobile tires in which, he says, he finds a silent history of the places where they’ve been. He uses the tires to create iconic sculptures that he calls a“three-dimensional drawings.” García’s work was included in the Cuba-USA: The First Generation exhibition that toured throughout the United States, and in Reflections on the Nuevo Mundo at the INTAR Latin American Gallery, among others. He is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner NYSCA Individual Artist program grant and a New York Foundation for the Arts sculpture grant. His work is represented in the permanent collection of the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art. García earned a Bachelor’s degree from the Philadelphia College of Art and Master of Fine Arts degrees from Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania. He has been an instructor at Franklin & Marshall College. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1980-81, 1984-85)

Martin Gurri (Cintas for literature, 1980-81)

Untitled,Oil on canvas, 54 x 29 inches

Sylvia Kozer Baggetta (b. 1944, Havana): (Cintas for art, 1972-73, 1980-81)

Mario Miquelli (CINTAS for Architecture & Design, 1980-81)

Gustavo C. Ojeda (b. 1958, Havana-d. 1989, New York): After winning early acclaim for his paintings and engravings, Ojeda participated in exhibitions across the United States, including the International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Outside Cuba. His work is in the collections of the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery in Houston, the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey and the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., among others. Ojeda received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Parsons School of Design. He was the winner of a studio fellowship from P.S.1. Institute for Art and Urban Resources, Inc. (Cintas for art, 1980-81)

Francisco Pérez-Rivera (b. 1938, Vertientes): A long-time cultural journalist, Pérez-Rivera became the first entertainment editor of the Associated Press’ Latin American desk in 1992. He is the author of the poetry collection Construcciones, the novel Sabanas y El tiempo and the short story collections Cuentos cubanos and Varadero y otros cuentos. He also co-authored the book Introducción a la literatura española. Pérez-Rivera studied journalism in Cuba and received a Master’s degree from the University of Munich. He is the winner of first prizes for short stories in contests sponsored by the Círculo de Escitores y Poetas and the Círculo de Cultura Panamericana. (Cintas for literature 1980-81)

September 12, 2006, No. 3,Oil pastel and pencil on paper, 11” x  13.5” 

Rocío Rodríguez (b. 1952, Caibarién): Rodríguez has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States, including the 2003 Armory Show in New York City and the 2002 Georgia Triennial and shows at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Rodríguez was awarded an artist residency at the Fundación de Valparaíso in Mójacar, Spain; a Southern Regional Artist award at the American Academy of Art in Rome; two Southern Arts Federation National Endowment for the Arts regional fellowships, and a Ford Foundation fellowship.  Her work is in a several collections, including the High Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Georgia, the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale. She has taught at Miami University in Ohio, Georgia State University and Atlanta College of Art. Rodríguez has Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees from the University of Georgia (Cintas for art, 1980-81)

Top image info TK, Bottom image: Sera-Bos-Art, 1980, Monoprint on paper with pencil etching, 32” x 40”

César Trasobares (b. 1949, Holguin) An artist, art activist and curator, Trasobares was the New York coordinator for the Estate Project for Artists with AIDS and, from 1985 to 1990, executive director of Metro-Dade’s Art in Public Places Program. He has served in numerous artist selection panels and committees, including the Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions, the National Endowment for the Arts Public Art Panels, the Lila Wallace International Artists Fellowship panel and the National Advisory Board of the Public Art Institute. He has received fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Art Matters.  He has written essays on artists such as Ana Mendieta, Antoni Miralda, Carlos Alfonzo, Roberto Juarez and Purvis Young. His artistic work includes installation and performance, and he has participated in many solo and group shows, including Outside Cuba; Cuba-USA: The First Generation, The Miami Generation and Ancient Roots/New Visions, all of which traveled throughout the United States, and Breaking Barriers: Selections from the Museum of Art’s Permanent Contemporary Cuban Collectionat the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale. His work is in the permanent collection of the Miami-Dade Public Library. He is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University. (Cintas for art, 1980-81)