Rita and Her Sculptures, Art for All Times

Today May 29^th, exactly 21 years ago, passed away the famous Cuban sculptor, Rita Longa, considered the most important in the XX century, however, that day it wasn’t a god forever, since he Longa's majesty endures in her figures as iconic elements in various public spaces in Cuba and other foreign cities like Madrid, and La Coruña, Spain, and also in Belgrade.

This daughter of Havana we feel and remember her through her work * Family Group *, the statue of deer as a welcome gesture at the entrance to the Zoo in Havana, for her classic * Dancer * in our paradise under the stars, the Tropicana cabaret, for her * Virgen del Camino * in San Miguel del Padrón municipality and her sculpture * Form, Space and Light * at the entrance of the Cuban Art Building at the National Museum of Fine Arts, a whole set of marble intertwined in void and mass.

Rita is present in * The Fountain of Martyrs *, located at Los Mártires Park, at the beginning of Prado Avenue, in her virgin of * Santa Rita *, located in the church of Playa municipality that bears the same name, in the Fuente de las Antillas, a symbol of three-dimensional art in the city of Las Tunas, in the rooster de Morón *, a three-meter-high bronze sculpture, the * Aldea Taína * from Ciénaga de Zapata, in the * Fuente de Guanaroca *, in Punta Gorda, Cienfuegos province.

There are so many sculptural pieces by Rita Longa mingled in our history, the past and the setting and conformation of spaces that are still present. And it seems so difficult that, being a woman, in the company of her work team she created and materialized such incredible and unique works.

Rita is a synthesis of our sculptural development ranging from the use of plaster, even terracotta and marble. She is a "casual formal expression, updated, and authentic”.

Rita Longa was born on June 14^th, 1912 in Havana and attended the Lyceum of Havana, and the Academy of San Alejandro. She has dozens of works, scattered throughout the national territory, all exquisitely finished and she has been recognized at different times, with the distinction for the National Culture in 1981, with the Alejo Carpentier medal a year later, with the Félix Varela Order in 1988 and the National Arts Award 1995, and other awards.

As Rita Longa once said, “The sculptor is above all an artist; he is born, grows up and lives as an artist. The rest is just time ".

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff