Untitled, 1984, Ink on paper. Gift of Olga Viso

Carlos Alfonzo (b. 1950, Havana - d.1991, Miami): One of many Cuban artists who came to the United States in the Mariel boatlift, Alfonzo quickly developed a following in this country. His work was represented in the Outside Cuba exhibition and the Cuba-USA: The First Generation traveling exhibition and he was the subject of several solo exhibitions in institutions such as the Miami Art Museum, the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in North Carolina, the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach and the Hal Bromm Gallery in New York. His work was featured in Triumph of the Spirit: Carlos Alfonzo, A Survey 1975-1991, published by the Miami Art Museum. He is one of the artists profiled in Maria Lino’s 1988 documentary film, Three Artist Profiles. Alfonzo studied at the University of Havana. His work is in the permanent collection of the Miami-Dade Public Library. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1983-84)

The Unexpected Visitor, 1983, oil on canvas, 32" x 44"

Jaime Bellechasse (b. 1944, Havana – d. 1983, Miami): After graduating from the National Academy of San Alejandro, Bellechasse exhibited in Cuba, Mexico and Spain and his illustrations appeared in Revolución, Bohemia and Noticias de Arte, among other publications. He was one of the artists represented in 10 Out of Cuba at INTAR Latin American Gallery in 1982. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1981-82, 1983-84)

Nostalgia (Homenaje a Daniel Sera Badue),1998, Mixed media on canvas, 32 x 39 inches

Elio Beltrán (b. 1929, Regla): The critic Armando Álvarez Bravo has described Beltrán’s work as one influenced by the“experience of separation, exile and loss.” Beltrán has participated in exhibitions such as Cuba-USA: The First Generation traveling exhibition and African Currents at the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art in New York. He has shown his work in numerous galleries and museums in the United States, including the Paterson Museum and the Bergen Museum in New Jersey. One of his pieces, Transiciones, was purchased for the permanent collection of the Museum of the Organization of American States; his work is also in the permanent collections of the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University, and the Institute of Art and Education in New York. The French Academy of Arts awarded Beltrán a Silver Medal for his work. He is the author of the book Back to Cuba (The return of the butterflies). (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1983-84)

Juan Boza (b. Camagüey, 1941 - d. New York, 1991) A member for many years of Havana’s Taller Experimental de la Gráfica, Boza excelled at painting, drawing, engraving, installation and graphic design. After arriving in New York in 1980, he worked at the Printmaking Workshop, the Lower Eastside Printshop and the Art Students League. He participated in many shows in Cuba and the United States, as well as in Europe and Latin America. He was the recipient of the Jerome Foundation Fellowship to the Printmaking Workshop. He was one of the artists featured in Wayne Salazar’s 1985 documentary Cuba-USA: Three Cuban Artists in New York City. His work was included in the Outside Cuba exhibition and the Cuba-USA: The First Generation traveling exhibition. His work is in the collections of the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Museo de la Universidad Autónoma de México, among others. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1983-84, 1985-86)

Truth,2001, Terracotta, aluminum, cigarette foil, 8’ x 4’ feet

Pablo Cano (b. 1961, Havana) Since 1998, Pablo Cano has been turning his found-objects sculptures into living characters for musical plays commissioned annually by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami. Three of the plays – ending with For Heaven’s Sake in 2003 – formed what Cano called a trilogy on the human condition. His work – which includes drawings and paintings in addition to sculpture – has been shown at Columbus Museum of Art in Georgia, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the von Liebig Art Center and the New Word School for the Arts in Florida, and the Private View Fine Art Gallery in New York. His work was included in group exhibitions such as The Miami Generation, at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, Cuba-USA: The First Generation, which traveled to several venues in the United States, and at the Bass Museum in Miami Beach. Cano’s public art projects include pieces at Miami International Airport and the ILAC Center Puerto Plata Church in Santo Domingo. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami and the Miami-Dade Public Library, among others. Cano has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Art Institute and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Queens College. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1983-84)

Luis Cartañá (b. 1942, Havana – d. 1989, Miami): Cartañá studied law in Spain but saw himself primarily as a poet. In 1967, he moved to Puerto Rico, where he taught Spanish literature for 20 years at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez. In 1986, on leave from the university, he moved to Madrid to pursue further studies in philology, but he became ill two years later, and moved to Miami, where he died. While in Puerto Rico, Cartañá became founding editor of the Jardín de Espejos imprint and participated in the creation of the Confederation of Latin American Writers. His poetry was collected in several volumes, including Canciones olvidadas, Límites al mar, La mandarina y el fuego, Sobre la música and La joven resina. Only days before his death, the Spanish publisher Editorial Betania issued a final book of his poems, Permanencia del fuego. Cartañá won poetry awards from the Association of Puerto Rican Writers and from the Clara Lair poetry contest. (Cintas for literature, 1983-84)

Untitled, 2007, Iron marble base, 28-1/2" x 17" x 12"

Enrique Gay García (b. 1928, Santiago de Cuba - d. 2015) A painter and sculptor, Gay Garcia’s work was selected for the VI and VII Sao Paolo biennials and the exhibitions Hispanic‑American Artists of the United States at the Museum of Modern Art of Latin America in Washington, D.C., Recent Developments in Latin American Drawing at the Art Institute of Chicago, Outside Cuba and Expresiones Hispanas 88/89, the Coors National Hispanic Art Exhibition, among others. He was the subject of reporter Ana Azcuy’s 1978 documentary, Gay García Casting Bronze. His work is in the permanent collections the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, the Museum of Modern Art of Latin America in Washington, D.C., the Miami-Dade Public Library and the Vermont Academy, among others. His sculpture of Father Félix Varela is at the San Carlos Institute in Key West. Gay García studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro in Havana, the Instituto Politécnico in Mexico City, the Art Institute in Venice and the University of Perugia. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1983-84)

Jorge Hernández (b. 1956, Havana):  An award winning architect specializing in homes, Hernández’s work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Interiors, Florida Architecture and Southern Accents. Hernández has also done major civic works, including Miami's Brickell Bridge and the courthouse for the City of Williamsburg, Virginia, commissions he received after winning national competitions. He has lectured in Europe and the United States, and participated in numerous international symposia and conferences. He is co-author, with Vincent Scully, of the book Between Two Towers: The Drawings of the School of Miami. Hernández is a professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture. He has a bachelor’s from the University of Miami and a master’s in architecture from the University of Virginia. (CINTAS for Architecture & Design, 1983-84)

Alluring Presence,Wood and brass base, 24 x 14 x 6 inches

Pedro Hernández (b. 1932, Havana) A physician as well as an artist, Hernández’s favorite medium is wood, which he sculpts into smooth abstract pieces, but he has also produced delicate cut drawings on paper, which reflect his interest in Panamanian molas. Hernández has exhibited at the O Y Art Gallery in Coral Gables and at the Latin Network for the Visual Arts in Gales Ferry, Connecticut, where he participated in the exhibition Presenting Latin Visual Art to Southeastern Connecticut. He is the winner of a first prize award for Creativity and Collage at Tonneins-Bordeaux, France. His work is in the permanent collection of the Miami-Dade Public Library. Hernández studied medicine at the University of Havana. (CINTAS for Visual Arts, 1983-84)

Image info TK

Carlos Maciá (b. 1951, Havana-d. 1994, Miami): An artist deeply influenced by his interests in religion and spirituality, Maciá created artists books, usually held in boxes, which he said offered him the ability to capture the audience visually and through the sense of touch. To make his books, he used a variety of textures, from coffee bags to copper pages, to handmade paper. Maciá was a graduate of Barry University, where he studied theology and philosophy. In 1996, two years after his death, Barry University held a retrospective of his work. Maciá was one of the artists featured in the traveling exhibitions The Miami Generation and Cuba-USA: The First Generation and his work is in the permanent collection of the Miami-Dade Public Library. Maciá was the winner of a Florida Arts Council award. (Cintas for art, 1983-84)

John PiRoman: A television writer, PiRoman won the Writers Guild of America Award for best writing for the daytime series All My Children. (Cintas for literature, 1983-84)

Manuel Quijano (b. 1954, Havana): Received a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at The City College of New York. Before graduating he worked as an intern under the direction of William Ellis at The Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City. He began his professional career at George Nelson Associates where he was on the team that developed Chemical Bank’s 24-hour ATM banking center prototypes. At Walter Dorwin Teague Associates he was involved with interior design development for the Bank of Bermuda and Short 360 commuter plane. Before moving to the owner representation side, he worked for architects Kohn Pederson Fox Associates developing feasibility studies to maximize potential real estate development for commercial owners. As an Owner’s Representative, he specializes in construction management and architectural building systems. He has managed construction projects both internationally and domestically for Fortune 500 companies; most recently, a new addition for St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside, Queens. He served as a board member and Construction Chairman for Bergen County’s Habitat for Humanity. (CINTAS for Architecture & Design, 1983-84)

Armando Valladares (b.1937, Pinar del Río): After spending 22 years in a political prison in Cuba, where he wrote the poetry collection Desde mi silla de ruedas, Valladares came to the United States in 1982. He served as a U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva under Presidents Regan and Bush. His memoir, Contra toda esperanza (Against All Hope), became an international best seller. (Cintas for literature, 1983-84)