Happy 92nd birthday, dear Sosabravo!

In Sagua la Grande, a lavish city for the Cuban culture, tireless artist Alfredo Sosabravo was born. He is, no doubt, one of the most beloved, restless, and popular Cuban artists right now. Past and present, his unique figurative arts —a festival of shapes and colors— are part of a more exclusive, emblematic panorama of Cuban visual arts of the past half century.

A Sosabravo’s work is unique. You just have to look at it once and you identify it. The artist has exhibited his work in art galleries, museums, and other spaces with moving, suggestive, close characters once he defined his powerful style, which has been copycatted again and again. His works are actually staging on canvas, paper, or ceramic, a vibrant world of creatures and objects. Every work by Sosabravo is a story, a provocation, or a game. All three at once!

His unique geometry threads powerful metaphors, more or less evident, always in dreamlike settings that address the essences of national identity.

It has been said more than once: children love Sosabravo's works, which they must understand as the illustrations in a wonderful storybook. And there is a lot of that, although the implications are not so innocent.

Alfredo Sosabravo, a master of different techniques and expressions, is a man of unbeatable spirit and disposition. His study is a temple of delightful creation, his conversation is a lesson in art and life for those who enjoy it. Through his talent and determination, he has achieved a privileged place in Cuban culture. No one disputes it, although he —certain of what he represents— wastes no time discussing what he has earned with work and kindness. What matters is the work to come.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff