Cuba says goodbye to a man who, with the tools of the painter and the journalist, made courage the main fuel of his work
14ymedio, Havana, 24 December 2024 — This Monday the Cuban painter César Leal Jiménez died in the town of Regla, Havana, according to the artist Jorge Mata on his Facebook account. The 76-year-old creator had announced this Sunday that he was suffering from a urinary tract infection that forced him to stay in bed.
“We talked on some occasions and shared opinions about the networks and the importance of following at the foot of the cannon, with our pedagogical and artistic works,” Mata commented in an emotional publication. “Leal has been a constant and very private artist. Unfortunately, his work is little disseminated and recognized, although in the guild he is respected.”
Born in Sagua la Grande, Villa Clara, in 1948, César Leal graduated from the National School of Plastic Arts, Havana, in 1968. Later he also studied Journalism and worked as a teacher in three educational centers dedicated to artistic teaching on the Island, including the Academy of San Alejandro.
“We talked on some occasions and shared opinions about the networks and the importance of following at the foot of the cannon, with our pedagogical and artistic works”
The Provincial Center for Plastic Arts and Design of Havana joined the mourning for the death of the creator and cataloged Leal as “a pillar in the art world.” The official entity recognized “his exceptional talent” and “his work, marked by a deep sensitivity and a unique vision.”
Throughout his fruitful career he won countless awards, such as the Young Latin American Painting Award, in 1966, in Mexico; two years later he won one of the awards of the Salón de Mayo, in Paris, France and, in 1980, obtained the maximum recognition of the Salón Quinquenal Carlos Enríquez. His work “Sequence in One” is part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts and is currently on display there.
With a work that distinguishes him among the artists of his generation, Leal was a deep scholar of the history of art and its multiple manifestations. In his paintings, human forms are combined with countless contexts and situations to express the overwhelming lack of freedom and the sharp scissors of the censors.
With a very critical look at the current Cuban situation, Leal recently turned his social networks into an open window to his study, where he painted tirelessly, and to his work in the community of Regla to teach the first steps of the plastic arts to children and young people. He also observed the deterioration of life in his community and the country.
Through his artistic work and his Facebook posts, he denounced the controls on creators that have intensified in recent years in Cuba. He also spoke about the inflation, the crisis of basic services and the constant blackouts. He expressed his regrets over the economy and the suffocation of civic freedoms that have led so many young people and artists to emigrate from the Island.
With a work that distinguishes him among the artists of his generation, Leal was a deep scholar of the history of art and its multiple manifestations
His sympathy for the independent press was a constant. In 2004, he collaborated with the birth of the digital magazine “Consenso” and shared with his editorial team many of his pieces to be used in the design of the digital site. His paintings, with bureaucrats curtailing thought, mouths sewn shut to show disrespect for the right to free expression and figures that managed to sneak between the bars marked the visual imprint of that magazine.
With the death of César Leal, Regla loses one of her most important artists; Havana loses an adopted son who portrayed the hardness of his daily life but also the potential of his people; and Cuba says goodbye to a man who, with the tools of the painter and the journalist, made courage the main fuel of his work and freedom the model best expressed through his brushes.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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