Matriathe project with which the Cuban photographer Gabriel Dávalos has spent 15 years discovering Cuba through dance, or placing dance as the protagonist on our island, is exhibited at Malecón Art 255, headquarters of the Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba company.
This Friday, December 5, the exhibition was inaugurated, which has the special peculiarity of bringing together in a single exhibition a selection of Dávalos’ work in different provinces and with various companies.
“There is a selection of photos here that mark you with some experience, with a message, with a sensation,” the photographer explains to us.
So far, the result of Matria In each Cuban province it had been exhibited independently, for the first time the images of diverse companies and locations such as the National Ballet of Cuba, Danza Fragmentada, from Guantánamo coexist on the same walls; Codanza, from Holguín; Ballet Santiago de Cuba; Dance of the Soul, from Santa Clara; the Camagüey Ballet; Danza Espiral, from Matanzas and Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba.
The exhibition will be on display until August 16, 2026, coexisting with a space that does not arrive by chance with this comprehensive concept.
“Lizt Alfonso is a universe within the world of dance, which brings together not only dancers, but also teachers, professionals in the arts, design, and music. What better place than here, where dance is always alive, always awake. Where the language of dance is the language of all, to communicate, to connect, to accompany us,” says Dávalos.
Just an island
Nearly twenty snapshots make up this new installment, which the artist himself defines as an “island” in that journey that is Matria. Attending the exhibition at Malecón Art 255 would seem like a summary, but no.
“I do not believe that this exhibition, or any exhibition, is a closure. I believe that Matria It’s a journey. I don’t think it can be closure; It is simply an island within the journey. Then we will have to continue sailing to find other islands,” says the photographer to OnCuba.
“Up to this point, perhaps first we had to get to know the singularities of each province, of each city we visited, of each company I worked with, of the boys. Learning from them the unique form, their particularities, their essences. Discovering was the first point to begin this journey without haste,” he details.
“I think that many different exhibitions could be made and I hope that a book can also be made that tells that journey, that story from end to end, and not only with the images, but also with the stories, with the anecdotes that I have been able to enjoy, being a witness and protagonist together with them and together with the people who live in these places,” Dávalos tells us some of the dreams that remain with this project.
We must always return to the mother
Gabriel Dávalos has achieved much of his artistic recognition and popularity among the public with Matriathat is why being able to always rediscover ourselves in new ways with the results of this project is a path of joy for many, and for the artist almost a creative and conceptual necessity.
“Matria It is an allusion to the woman country, to the mother country. You must always return to the mother, in good times, in bad times, to rediscover yourself when you are going to reinvent yourself, when you are going to restart a path or when you have arrived at one of these islands. It is that motherland that protects me, that protects us all, that defines us.
“That is exactly what happened with Matria in my life. I could tell you that today defines me. Having lived these experiences, having searched there, having discovered and having incorporated them into my life, I believe it is a process of formation of myself, even though I am already a 44-year-old person. I think we are always in training, we are always reinventing ourselves, rediscovering ourselves,” the photographer summarizes.
