Brazilian natives of the Pareci tribe dance before playing head football with a hand-made ball, during the first day of the International Games of Indigenous Peoples, in Cuiaba, state of Mato Grosso, on November 10, 2013. AFP PHOTO / Christophe SimonCHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/Getty Images http://epaper.pakobserver.net/201507/07/back.php http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=276512 http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=275113 http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=275638 EXHIBITION TO REMEMBER ONE OF CUBA’S BEST ARTISTS 60th anniversary of Pak-Cuban diplomatic ties Thursday, October 22, 2015 - Islamabad—The new custodian of the Cuban embassy, Jesús Zenén Buergo Concepción, Ambassador of the Republic Cuba in Pakistan, Wednesday, received the elites of the town, diplomats and art aficionados at the exhibition of the works of Cuban artists. According to Zenén Buergo the day was important for three reasons; it marked the National Culture Day of the Republic of Cuba, 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Cuba and was featured in the memory of great Cuban singer Sara Gonzalez. One could see a large number of diplomats taking interest in 30 engravings by Cuban artists put on display at the embassy. The title of the exhibition should have been ‘30 engravings by 30 artists’ quipped a guest, however another standing nearby said it was very thoughtful of Zenén Buergo to name the exhibition after a great Brazilian star Sara Gonzalez. “For the first time in Pakistan works of 30 Cuban artists was put on display,” said she. Ambassador Sara Gonzalez too made a reference to this earlier in his speech saying such a magnificent collection has never been displayed before at the Embassy of Cuba. Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed was the guest at the evening. Most of the art pieces were lithographic, some Xylographic and a couple of them were calligraphic. Visitors also took interest in Silkscreen printing work. The titles of the engravings were also wistfully chosen like “Si me Pides el pescado” or “If you ask me the Fish,” “Canto del Amor y la Vida” or “Singing of Love and Life,” Cancion de Acero” or “Song of Heart of Steel”, “La mona de Sara” or “The Monkey Sara” and “Ofrendo” or “I offer”. Here one must compliment the staff and officials of the embassy in briefing the guests about each piece of art and engraving. Though this is the exhibition first of its kind, yet one hopes and wishes it will not be the last as Pakistani art lovers find many common aspects in the artworks of the artists of the two countries, remarked an art lover while talking to Pakistan Observer. Cuban art is derived from the roots and rituals of its peoples so does Pakistan’s and I see no reason this does not find its prominent place in our local art world and the credit for this will go to the Cuban ambassador, he further said. An exhibition showcasing a Cuban art collection was organised at the residence of the Swiss Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission Roger Kull on Saturday. Titled “Archivos Babalú”, the exhibition comprised over 70 small and medium silk screen prints produced by various Cuban artists who were trained under contemporary Cuban artist Liudmila Lopez Dominguez. “I’m very happy to be the first one to bring Cuban art to Pakistan,” said Dominguez, adding that through the exhibition, she aimed to bridge cultures and explore the potential for exchange opportunities from both countries. Dominguez’s work also featured in the exhibition among the 40 Cuban artists who have presented silk-screen printing, an old Chinese art technique prepared manually. “Whatever you see here has been produced in my workshop,” said Dominguez, who is the owner and director of her studio-gallery “Bablú Ayé” in Havana, Cuba. Using solid, bold and bright colours, the art pieces were quirky and vibrant with a mix of themes, layers and subjects. There was a recurring element of women’s feet clad in richly-detailed and elaborately-ornamented footwear, painted toe-nails with intermittent props such as guitars, the Cuban flag, eyes, blank slates and black-and-white spirals. The talented young Cuban artist Liudmila López Domínguez is an example of that. Her inspiration is women’s shoes, and they have been the theme of a countless number of works that she has exhibited in many countries. “Shoes reflect my interest in continuing my discourse about gender, which involves what I can symbolically depict. This allows me to make connections between my own personal history and the collective one that are related to glamour, classes, comfort, and even states of mind.” López is a graduate of the José Joaquin Tejada School of Fine Arts in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba. She devoted the initial years of her career to painting, and especially to engraving, and believes that as one of the most complete techniques, it gave her a strong background. López has exhibited her work in many solo and collective shoes in Cuba and abroad inlcuding Spain (2001), United States (2002), Greece. This young artist has won many awards and mentions for her outstanding work Compositora, Cuban singer and guitarist Cuban Singer songwriter Sara González, member of the Movimiento de la Nueva Trova (Cuban New Song Movement) Singer-songwriter Sara Gonzalez, one of the original voices of the New Cuban Song Movement, has died in Havana, official media reported. She died in Havana, Cuba in 2012 at the age of 60. The Cuban newspaper Granma published an article entitled “Sara will always be the voice of victory”, which described her as one of the paradigmatic voices of the Cuban New Song Movement over the past 50 years.

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