By Vicente Morin Aguado
Even though Cuban people are reluctant to give their opinions, there are always exceptions, Mr. Leyva lives next to one of these galleries, which he has rather rejected from the first stroke. “Two of them came here, a couple; it was less than a year ago. They asked for permission out of courtesy and then they started scribbling on the back wall. They took a while, I’m sure they must have had some kind of authorization because here (in Cuba), you can’t do anything without an order.”
Leyva ends by pointing out the existence of other paintings nearby, we spoke on Division Street, on the corner of Penalver street, in Central Havana.
However, there are always sensitive souls and Nerys, a mechanical engineer, kills the time by waiting for the casual barber, a chance to discuss, because he is an exception, he is both an observer and intuitive thinker:
“The man with the covered face really caught my attention, in the same way policemen who chase a drug trafficker, hiding themselves from the dangerous druglords.”
It’s no wonder, the message this time is strong, it is repeated in many paintings where a simple maths calculation stands out: 2+2=5, sometimes followed by a question mark.
It’s time for the heated question: Is this the dilemma that the face of a malevolent Che’s face comes from? I ask ironically.
The other person smiles in the same way Ernesto Guevara does colorfully reproduced on Infanta street; there isn’t enough space in this short online report for the long debate we had.
There is more than enough to stand for a long time looking. These paintings, which weren’t made even a year ago, deserve to be shot by this lens that millions of mobile phones make use of to capture countless trivialities every day in the Cuban capital.
The indifference of this man, who just stands in front of the wall full of paintings which are both suggestive and enigmatic, comes from somewhere. Maybe the old man doesn’t understand the paintings because Life hasn’t given him the proper answers, while children play next to the monsters without noticing that the math that they learn at school is of no use to them here.
Vicente Morin Aguado: Mardeleva287@gmail.com
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