Miami, United States. – The housing located in Ladies 955 (Havana Vieja), headquarters of the Cuban Dissent and Household Museum of the Cuban artist and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántarawill open its doors this Tuesday, January 28, to present Happy Peasants 1938-2024, According to a disseminated call on the Facebook page of the Cuban artivist.
Happy Peasants 1938-2024 It is part of the series “Apolithic 2.1” and It will be exhibited as a unique experience in the framework of the XV Biennial of Havana. For five hours, visitors will appreciate a conceptual replica of the iconic painting Happy peasants (1938), by Cuban painter Carlos Enriquez, who promises to be both a tribute and an ironic criticism of the historical and social context of the island.
“This trip is not only an opportunity to rediscover Cuban art, but also to immerse yourself in the complexities and challenges of real Cuba,” he says The official call.
According to the information disseminated by the art curators Yanelys Núñez and Claudia Genlui, the replica of Happy peasants It was carried out with a meticulous precision that respects the original measures and materials of Carlos Enriquez’s work. However, it includes ironic and sarcastic details that serve as critical and reflective comments on the context in which the original work and its resonance in the current Cuba was created.
The identity of the artist in charge of executing the replica remains in anonymity for security reasons.
As part of the artistic experience, attendees are invited to participate in a tour that connects the past and present of Cuban reality. The route begins at the National Museum of Fine Arts, where the original work is located Happy peasantsand culminates in Ladies 955.
The itinerary includes stops in emblematic points of the Havana Historic District, such as the San Francisco de Asís Church, the Convent of Santa Clara and the Church of La Merced. In addition, the tour invites participants to observe urban and solar ruins, symbols of decline and abandonment, in contrast to the architectural majesty of the past.
The presentation of Happy Peasants 1938-2024 In the personal space of Otero Alcántara it is not a casual act. His home in Ladies 955 has been the scene of important artistic and activist initiatives of the San Isidro Movement, which has challenged the Cuban regime with innovative cultural proposals and criticism of authoritarianism. This work, like the previous projects of Otero Alcántara, seeks to break the official art spaces in Cuba and propose new forms of expression and resistance.
The original picture Happy peasants, by Carlos Enriquez, it is a key work of Cuban modernism that portrays an idealized vision of rural life in the 30s of the last century. In the current context, the replica proposed by Otero Alcántara uses this utopian image to oppose it with the hard reality faced by the peasants and the general population in today’s Cuba, marked by the economic crisis, repression and deficiencies.
“Happy Peasants 1938-2024 Not only does a classic work of Cuban art revisit, but also invites you to reflect on the official speeches that expose an idealized narrative against a reality that is far from being happy, ”explains the call.
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara’s Facebook page invites potential attendees to document their experience through photos and videos. To participate in the event or request more information, those interested can write to the email [email protected].
