A
Place for the Sculptures
March 18, 2009,
3:40 pm
By Iris Hernandez Rodriguez
neysi@enet.cu
Translation: Ernesto Gutierrez Pino
Picture: MiguelDN
The native
chief Jaias has like relic a pumpkin hunging of the highest part of his
hut. His four children, encouraged by the curiosity of figuring out the
mystery, took advantage of his absence to open it. To thier surprise the
pumpkin jumped in pieces and a torrent of salty water and fish came up
from its interior. It is said the Antilles (the Caribbean) appeared in
this mythological way.
The
columnist Pedro Martin Angleria includes this legend among his traveling
notes next to Christopher Columbus and in 1977 this story was the source
of inspiration to the outstanding Cuban sculptress Rita Longa to sculpt
the Fountain of the Antilles.
The
sculpture represents a big pride for the residents of the province and
due to its beauty it is imposible to observe it with indifference. The
work stands out among other elements for the interpretation of a local
story.
Nevertheless, there are many other sculptures that swollen the pride of
the inhabitants of LasTunas. Some 80 pieces of this type have been
erected in this province, called Capital of the Cuban Sculpture.
The
nickname didn't arrive in a fortuitous way. It responds to a tradition
that began since the beginnings of 1959, with the desire of making the
art feasible to all the social stratum. So in 1977 Las Tunas organized
the first encounter of sculptors, become biennial starting from 1995.
