José Antonio Pantoja Hernández was born in Cuba in 1971. As artist who grew up in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba, in the city of Bejucal, "Pantoja" received apprenticeships as a carpenter and woodworker using antiquated tools. As his interests turned to painting and sculpting, he sought visual inspiration from a small collection of art books that showcased mainly works from Masters. By 2002, Pantoja paintings began to depict everyday life in Cuba. As a member of a state-sponsored art collective, Pantoja was eventually able to exhibit his works on the streets of the Havana promenade, "El Paseo Del Prado.” There, he would often only display one or two paintings a week, selling them to tourists. Over time, his work became more surreal and somber. Eventually, he began to paint what he calls "the errors of the Revolution." The director of the Queretaro City Museum in Mexico learned about Pantoja's work in 2011 and sent him an invitation to display his work in the museum. Pantoja was able to parlay that invitation into a special pass to leave Cuba. He said goodbye to his friends and family and boarded a plane to Mexico with eight paintings. When he landed in Mexico City in June of 2011, he decided not to exhibit his work and instead took a bus to border town of Nuevo Laredo. There, he crossed into U.S. border and asked for political asylum. The story of his defection was chronicled in August 2011 issue of This Land press, today Pantoja lives and paints in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
THE DETERIORATION OF NOSTALGIA
premiere Cuban painter José Antonio Pantoja Hernández debuts powerful works made prior to his defection and includes works. which tells the story of Pantoja's artistic development in Havana and subsequent departure from Cuba.
"BLACK OUT" The special period was an extended economic crisis in cuba that began in 1991 after the dissolution of the soviet union,Cubans remember the decade as one of great suffering and hunger. Hunger and famine became widespread. During this time citywide blackout became a common occurrence. in this painting, we see a glimpse into the oppressive home life of cubans in bejucal the man at the center is my father;the woman seated by him is his girlfriend during the especial period, my father kept an emaciated pig in the apartment for about a year,until it was eventually sold to buy alcohol.
"The last egg" During the special period in cuba famine was an everyday hardship. food rationing brought down the daily average caloric intake to about 1,900 calories, with some adults and children getting as little 1,400.the recommended daily minimum is 2,100. During the most difficult times of the special period,Cubans would only receive 1 egg a month per person. The man in this portrait, name angel, sits waiting for his death. the two skeletons in the background also represent angel, and what he wants from life.in the dimly lit room,support beams a common symbol in the works of pantoja keep the decaying home from collapse.
"Dog's life"
A dog creeps across the surreal wasteland of cuban history wearing the ghoulish face of cuba's minister of foreign affairs, Ricardo Alarcรณn de Quesada the man commonly viewed as Castro's instrument of propaganda. the decaying cities of Havana and Bejucal depend on the emaciated creature for progress but the dog seems indifferent and weary.still, the dog, with ist protruding penis, is prepared to mount any opportunity presented to it. The bird skeleton,a recurring symbol in the pre-exile series, represent those cubans who have died trying to escape.
"Burlesque trio"
This sarcastic painting depicts the midnight,candle-lit madness of three drunkards celebrating the presence of an egg, Which for many Cubans was the only source of nutrition during of famine. an empty plastic bottle on the table is a common image that Cubans associate with alcoholics,who commonly carry the bottle in their back pockets.the cigar ash on the corner represent the island's only enduring commodity,tobacco.
"Tortoise step"
The sight of an obese person suggests extreme disease and ill health; here a disabled man is seen in competition with a tortoise representing the cuban government each one inches along in a mockery of the "Tortoise and the hare" story.The decaying city of havana sits on the turtle's back,while the farmlands of cuba sprout from the obese man's pale distended skin. In pantoja's paintings, symbolic images convey the complex and tense relationship between cuba's leadership and its people.both symbols often suffer similar maladies: exhaustion, the sprouting of tendrils malnourishment, starvation.skulls and skeletons often lay strewn across the bleak landscape as a reminder of the innocent people who have died as a result of political oppression there. in observing these complex relationship,the viewer gets a glimpse into the transmogrifying effect of power on both the victim and wielder.
“Turtle Island” Turtles it has been an important element on pantoja´s paintings to represent the slow and undevelopment in cuba drove by castro brother´s dictatorship, that it has taken more than 60 years to make one step which it can be seen in this surreal deathly turtle carrying an old city with skulls and skeletons around representing those people who has lost their life trying to escape from the island.
THE PARIS GENTLEMAN
The paris gentleman has inspired many cubans artists by his history and pantoja was one of them he was one of his favorite model. Man a medium height man, thin, of a scruffy and abundant hair and beard, dress with a black cape despite the strong Caribbean sun, was a very popular street character in Havana from the 50s of the last century. He was a kind man that could appear in any corner of the city, although he visited some regular places. He walked on the streets and travelled by bus greeting everybody and discussing about lifes philosophy, religion, politics, etc. Many people remember him as a cultivated and well educated chatterer. He neither cursed or ever asked for charities,. He only accepted money from the persons he knew, and gave them in return a "gift", as a colored card made by himself or a piece of pencil wrapped with threads of different colors The legendary Gentleman that travelled the streets of Havana in the past was originally from Spain and his true name was José María López Lledín. It is said he belonged to a lineage family in Lugo, Spain.
Don Quixote The Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervante Don Quixote is the most influential work for many cubans artists in this case the model was an old pantoja´s friend a cuban artist that use to work with him at the cultural project Paseo del Prado Havana cuba.
FREEDOM PEACE & LOVE TO MY PEOPLE IN CUBA
Pantoja started painting to protest the government. He painted a series to represent the dire situation of the people in Cuba. He chose to paint surrealistically because "speaking out loud would put you in jail in 1994,"