Persecuted in Cuba, Carlos Manuel Soto and his family fled to the United States - where people, to his astonishment, actually buy his paintings.
By NATASHA DEL TORO
Published July 18, 2003
YBOR CITY - Color is the protagonist of Cuban artist Carlos Manuel Soto's paintings.
His exhibit, Painting: Cuba & America, at the Brad Cooper Gallery in Ybor City shows just how drastically his palette has changed since 2001 when he became an exile living in Tampa.
Where he once dipped his brush in lush greens, bright yellows and vermilion to depict political persecution in Cuba, he now dabbles in blues and grays. Instead of the Caribbean shores, he paints the bridges, cars and low-rent apartments that dominate his new surroundings.
Symbols of sociological disintegration fill his canvas in somber hues reflective of the housing complex he lived in upon arriving to Tampa. One of his works on display shows a figure with a noose around its neck and the words, "Commit Suicide Now."
But he says he is better off here with his family than in a Cuban prison, especially now given the recent political crackdown in Cuba against journalists, artists and intellectuals charged with sedition.
"I would be in for 20 years along with my friends," he said in Spanish. "Everyone who was around me (in Havana) is now in prison."
Soto, 48, is among many artists who fled the communist island to live in the states and prosper from the recent popularity of Cuban art. Some critics have accused them of trying to capitalize on the public's sympathy, while others have gone so far as to say that they suffer from persecution complex.
Soto's career dates to 1972. As an artist and art teacher, he frequently exhibited his work in Camaguey and Havana galleries. This included a solo exhibition at the National Museum in Havana in 1977 called Panorama of the Cuban Culture.
At first he played it safe, mostly painting landscapes and murals. But a vine of political angst started to strangle his conscience.
"Living with double standards was becoming more difficult," he said. His inner conflict crept onto the canvas in stark colors and symbols. His Cuban identity cracked like a mirror, followed by many years of bad luck.
His first real confrontation with the Cuban government occurred in 1990 at a teacher's college in Havana called the Superior Pedagogical Institute Enrique Jose Varona, where he earned a degree in social science.
He was continuing his studies in fine arts when administrators expelled him for challenging their political authority in his art. Just two years earlier, he had exhibited a mural at the school.
Things only got worse, he says.
State-owned galleries routinely excluded him from public exhibitions throughout the '90s. He was scared but continued to paint and show his work privately. He also joined groups such as the Association for Freedom, Equality and Fraternity and the Pro Free Art Association, he said.
In 1996, he co-founded and served as president of the Cuban Alternative Art Project. According to Soto, the government harassed him and members of his family with phone calls and detentions and by yelling obscenities outside his home.
In 1998, Soto did a series of paintings called the Revival of the Traditions of Virgin Mary in Cuba, shown at the Swiss Embassy. Religious figures, including the Virgin of Charity, Cuba's patron saint, have appeared in many of his works as symbols of hope for the country's political prisoners.
Because Soto sensed he and his family were in danger, he applied for permission to leave the island at the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, which has a U.S. immigration division. Officials granted him exile in 2001.
Censorship and freedom of expression are no longer Soto's main concerns. He focuses on portraying the Latin American identity and U.S. integration.
Although instinctively critical of what's around him, he recognized early on the benefits of living in this country.
"People are coming to see and buy my work," said Soto, who lives in Old Seminole Heights. "In these bad economic times, I find that incredible."
Soto has 16 large oil pieces and six smaller watercolors at the Brad Cooper Gallery. They range in price from $175 to $12,000. Most were painted in Cuba but never displayed there.
Gallery owner Cooper said Soto's work stands out artistically and emotionally.
"I've looked at a lot of other Cuban artists and they haven't seemed to come up to this level," he said. "A lot of painters aren't as passionate."
To learn more
Carlos Manuel Soto's exhibition, Painting: Cuba & America, runs through Aug. 2 at the Brad Cooper Gallery, 1712 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays or by appointment. Soto will talk about his work from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at the gallery. Call 248-6098.
