Páginas Salvadas: A Tribute to History and Radio

Páginas Salvadas is the title of the exhibition that opened on Wednesday, January 28, at Havana’s Casa Carmen Montilla Gallery. The show is a tribute by Lesbia Vent Dumois — vice president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) — to the 27th anniversary of Habana Radio, the voice of Cuba’s heritage, founded by Eusebio Leal.

The exhibition, which also pays homage to the 173rd anniversary of José Martí’s birth, is made up of 19 works from three series: Páginas salvadas (2025 and 2026), Alianzas (2020), and Cartas de amor (2009 and 2014). The pieces will be on view to the public through March 10.

As the 2019 National Visual Arts Prize laureate explains, the exhibition takes its name from its focus on historical episodes that are often unknown or rarely interpreted from an artistic perspective.

For that reason, many of the works — which combine techniques such as collage and drawing — celebrate the Apostle and his closest circle (his parents, his sisters, and his friendship with María Mantilla). They also feature other key figures, including Simón Bolívar, Ignacio Agramonte, Tina Modotti, Julio Antonio Mella, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

The opening remarks were delivered by Norma Jiménez, director of the gallery. For her part, Magda Resik, director of Habana Radio, highlighted the artist’s immense talent and her decision to draw inspiration from the most intimate environment of José Martí.

To conclude the day’s events marking the station’s 27th anniversary, the concert hall of the Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís hosted Los Hermanos Abreu, who presented their album Rastros del Alba.

Text and photos by Rafael Mena Brito.

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez