Self-taught artists pay homage to the painter from the city of Trinidad, Cuba

The brushes of self-taught artists bring back the innate wisdom of Benito Ortiz Borrell, the “Painter of the City,” a title earned through the countless times his creative imagination and emotional depth captured Trinidad on canvas. Some twenty works competed in the 36th edition of the Popular Art Salon, which bears his name—the same name as the town’s gallery—honoring the humble artist, who was also a postman and sugarcane cutter, as the 130th anniversary of his birth approaches.

The event, which undoubtedly highlighted once again the rich tradition that Trinidad de Cuba treasures in the visual arts, especially in Naïve or Primitivist painting, awarded the grand prize to the series of pieces, “Embrace a Lost Dream,” by Dailis Izarra, who employed the acrylic on canvas technique. The mentions fell on three works that showcase the city’s built heritage and its manual traditions by the authors Eduardo Cornelio, Yodenis Pons and the child Fabián Hernández, who despite his young age ventures forth with a unique style, easy to identify.

As in previous competitions, other institutions also presented awards, including EGREM, ARTEX, the Municipal Directorate of Culture, the Cuban Fund for Cultural Assets, the Cuban Association of Artisan Artists, and the Office of the City and Valley of the Sugar Mills Conservator.

The 36th edition of the Benito Ortiz Borrell Popular Art Salon in Trinidad dedicated a section to honoring the late María Antonieta Cadalzo, known as Tica, a self-taught artist with a unique voice in the visual arts, achieved through the combination of different techniques in her creations, some of which were exhibited in the southern gallery.

The event also included a solemn moment in memory of Eduardo Roca Salazar, known as Choco, winner of the 2017 National Prize for Visual Arts, who passed away the previous day. He had visited the now-defunct Oscar Fernández Morera Academy of Visual Arts and exhibited at the Universal Art Gallery as part of the “Seasons” Project, promoted by the Office of the City Conservator of Trinidad.