BY LLOYD GITE
Most of you probably remember I spent ten days in Cuba last October.
Since President Obama has lifted many of the sanctions there, I wanted to go and see the island in its natural state before a Kentucky Fried Chicken ends up on every corner thanks to U.S. investors. I also wanted to see what their art scene was like.
Well, who knew that I was in for a big surprise. Afro-Cubans, black people, have had a tremendous impact on Cuba! Remember Africans were dropped off in Cuba to farm the sugar cane fields while other africans were brought here to the Americas. No matter where Africans/Blacks go, we leave behind a huge imprint. The way we dress. What we eat. How we dance…our culture is there. The same with Cuba.
I brought back more than 60 paintings by such artists.
During our Afro-Cuban exhibit, which was attended by more than 200 people over our three day opening, we sold half of our collection. The Houston Press did a story on the groundbreaking exhibit and KHOU TV’s Sherry Williams came out and did two live shots for their morning show and she did a full report on the exhibit for the weekend news.
Because of the success of the exhibit, I will be returning soon to Cuba to get more art. We have decided to add Afro-Cuban art to our once exclusive offering of high quality African art.
