El Mac Paints Inspiring Mural in Cuba for the Havana Biennial

El Mac recently painted moving wall murals in Havana, Cuba entitled “El Corazón de un Sueño Palpita Entre Mis Manos,” from a poem by the Cuban poet Jose Ángel Buesa. The mural was painted for the 11th Havana Biennial in accordance with the Cisneros-Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO), the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and the Primary Flight out of Miami.

The mural features an older woman with her head slightly titled back and her hands reaching out towards the sky searching for a higher power. However, she is represented as powerful and hopeful. The detail and emotions captured in the mural is enough to take anyone’s breath away.

Being that the UNEAC is apart of the Cuban government, for them to support a U.S. artist for such a project was a big deal. The fact that there aren’t many non-political murals in Cuba, or any other form of graffiti for that matter speaks to that as well.

With the UNEAC backing the project, El Mac felt pressured and obligated to paint something uplifting and inspiring.

El Mac based the mural on photos he took of a local woman named Adis Naranjo, who works in the kitchen at the UNEAC offices. The idea behind the art was to represent the average Cuban. He felt Adis was the perfect person to personify due to her mix of African, Native and European ancestry.

The mural is highly visible and faces Havana’s “Avenue of the Presidents.”

Check out some images of the mural.

Text: Maria.B
Source: Juxtapoz