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Ka’ añaar, a graphic arts exhibition at Image Factory and Library of African and Indigenous studies

HighlightsKa’ añaar, a graphic arts exhibition at Image Factory and Library of African and Indigenous studies

BELIZE CITY, Wed. June 26, 2019– In January, a group of 5 Belizeans made a trip to Cuba and began what they call, the Belize Cuba Solidarity Group. While in Cuba, the group participated in a graphic arts exhibition named Ka’ añaar with Cuban artist Alex Falco Chang. Today, the Belize part of that exhibition continued at the Image Factory and the Library of African and Indigenous Studies, where the works of Falco and Belizean graphic artist, Carlos Lito Quiroz, were displayed.

The Cuban Ambassador to Belize, Ambassador Lissette Perez; and Orestes Hernandez, Counsel of the Embassy of Cuba to Belize, attended the exhibition. Acknowledgement and special thanks were extended to the president of the National Institute of History and Culture, Sapna Budhrani, and to Ya Ya Marin Coleman of the United Black Association for Development (UBAD) Education Foundation.

A special thanks was also extended to Ingrid Canb of the Benque Viejo Del Carmen House of Culture, Illiana Moreno of the San Ignacio/Santa Elena House of Culture, Emma Lewis of the  Gulisi Garifuna Museum, Debra Wukjs of the Corozal House of Culture, Cindey Rivero of the  Banquitas House of Culture in Orange Walk Town, and to curator Gilvano Swasey.

During the rest of this week the exhibition will be displayed at the Banquitas House of Culture, in Orange Walk Town. From there the exhibition will be taken to Dangriga Town, where it will be displayed at the Gulisi Garifuna Museum, then it will be held in the Cayo District, where it will be displayed in the twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, and then it will be taken to Benque Viejo Del Carmen.

In the exhibition catalogue that was written by Yasser Musa, the coordinator of the project, he stated: “In the Yucatan, that incredible space of thousands of years of corn civilization and corn credibility, the Maya word for two is Ka’a. In Senegal, that West African space where hurricanes are formed, and on the continent where our very DNA as humans developed, the word for two is naar. So it is fitting that when the Image Factory Art Foundation set out to join two brothers from across the Caribbean, Cuba and Belize, Falco and Lito, we developed a project called Ka’aanar out of respect to the past, but with an intention to project a new emphasis on how we can use graphic works to forward our ideas into multiple locations.”

Musa went on to explain that Cuba and Belize became closer in friendship and solidarity when Fidel Castro actively campaigned for the independence of Belize in the 1970s. Countries such as Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, and the countries of Africa and the Caribbean all played a role in Belize’s self-determination efforts, Musa explained.

“Today, we face new challenges based on the legacy of dis-equilibrium in our humanity and it is artists like Falco and Lito who have come forward with surgical graphic works, predigested sparks, so that we could re-connect to the issues that matter most in our lives. In a time when the avalanche of artificial intelligence and information feel like carpet bombing on our brains, we require artists who are prepared to put in the hard work of visual translation, so that social    transformation can have a chance,” Musa writes.

Ya Ya Marin Coleman, the UBAD Education Foundation chairperson and one of the five who traveled to Cuba, called on Falco to say a few words about his work.

Falco said the works that he produces have their themes in the everyday life of Cuba. Falco said that the works are political everyday reality, from both a Cuban perspective as well as from an international perspective.

Since its birth, the Cuban Revolution has been under a United States embargo and this reality is expressed in the graphic arts of Falco.

Falco expressed his gratitude for working along with Belizean artists and he thanked Yasser Musa for his participation in the project. He said that he uses it as a form of protest in his daily life.

Belizean graphic artist, Lito, said he tries to make his pieces simple for mass understanding among people who may not have the time to read and understand the issues.

Lito said that as an educator, he would like to use the pieces to teach and illustrate Belizean history. Lito said he likes the idea that Belizean artists are able to collaborate with Cuban artists.

The exhibition ended with Falco presenting one of his graphic art works to Ya Ya Marin-Coleman. The work depicts a woman whose natural hair is the shape of the African continent, a powerful statement for black women.

Lito explained what is meant by the picture of the Organization of American States (OAS) with what appears to be US President Trump’s hairstyle. Lito said that the OAS is the colonial office of the United States, which carries out the US foreign policy in the Americas. Lito also explained his piece about the Helms Burton law, and how US imperialism operates in our region.

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