Photos: Michel Aguilar
East of the Cuban capital, in the neighborhood of Alamar, there is a very special museum known as The Garden of Affection. Its creator is Héctor Pascual Gallo Portieles, known to everyone as Gallo (Rooster).
The peculiar place invites to relax and is also a space to reflect; however, visitors are frequently seen laughing while visiting it.
Who is Gallo? An 85-year old man of very white hair and beard, talkative and vital, who thinks humor is the most earnest thing in the world and defines himself as a dreamer according to his nature and an optimist as a result of convincement.
Before retiring he practiced crafts such as that of barber, in addition to being an officer of the Ministry of Foreign Relations for more than three decades.
At times ironic, others humorous, he transforms waste products into beautiful sculptures carrying instructive messages. These pieces are located in the back part of the apartment where he has been living with Emilia, his wife, for more than 50 years.
The idea of embellishing the environment occurred to me in 1990 – he says while moving the 22 bracelets adorning his arms. In the right hand he exhibits one of the 42 canes he owns, adorned with little bells, milk teeth from his grandchildren, a crocodile’s incisor, a bear’s hoof and a rooster’s spur, among many other fineries.
The neighbors gave the place several unique names, among them, the museum of scrap, trash and junk, but the truth is that it is a point of reference to reach certain places in that neighborhood.
The interior of Gallo’s dwelling contains the Gallery of Affection, where tens of peculiar and diverse objects are exhibited, such as faces made of animal bones, drawings and sculptures in small format, among others. It also has an open space and beyond is the fence, now a mural where popular sayings hang, such as: Love is blind, but the neighbors see it and what’s worse, comment on it; Hollow words injure, hurt and kill; The undertaker does not want anyone to die, but wants his business to flourish; The face is the mirror of the soul; luckily this is not a mirror; Silence also communicates; Wanting and caring is nothing but the start: it’s worthwhile; Here we charge you for laughing: be serious.
The iron or scrap pieces become works of art that recreate the spirit; nothing is useless or hopeless, it all depends on how you look at things. If someone comes looking for perfection he is in the presence of a perfect imperfect. If he objective, he will say: he was good for one thing at one time and then he was good for another, like us.
Spontaneity characterizes the exhibited pieces, but in the end they all have a good dose of intentionality. For example, an old rocking chair on top of a tree trunk is perhaps the tribute to the years of service rendered by the furniture, and the iron piece where the plants are born is “no” to war and terrorism.
Gallo’s works present an important relation between human beings and the articles they use throughout their lives. A heap of sewing machines that fulfilled their social role during a certain time are dedicated to Pura, the creator’s sister in law, whose sewing ensured the family cooking. An imaginary well in his garden recalls a real one he had in his native Campo Florido, province of Havana.
This art, regarded as naïf by the specialists, flourished during the Second World War as opposed to the Nazi ostentation; others, however, consider it spontaneous popular art, since it unleashes both feelings and imagination.
In the Chinese horoscope, the rooster sign means that a person knows how to live with imagination and color the world with his fantasy. This person is simple and shows his personality without subterfuges; intelligent and pragmatic at a time, and perfectionist that may even become meticulous in the details. So is Gallo, creator of a different museum.
