Do you want to go to the Cuban Art Factory, the current adventure of X Alfonso? You cannot miss it: get on 26th street, bordering El Fanguito neighborhood until you see the Iron Bridge on your left and to your right the longed Posada of 11th. There, where the P3 finishes its route when coming from Alamar , in that mole of brick from which a fireplace is erected, a reminder of those times when the cooking oil came in cans of 5 gallons … there Art is made …
Until recently when you enter you got the feeling you had invaded a dream of Trent Reznor, due to the music of drills and hammers that were still rehabbing what was until recently an ancient warehouse of the Fisheries Industry, of which X fell in love a day when he came looking locations for a video clip. He had long sought his own space for a project which for a while was hosted at the PABEXPO fairgrounds.
“That place got packed ,” the musician of dreadlocks black as the star tattooed on his shoulder says, and regrets that it lasted so little, because they were given a chance in a place that was also home to such varied events as a fencing tournament or a craft fair . So, he shut the Factory until it had where to exist without scare…
Well, they have one place already. A few days before its recent inauguration – affected by the unexpected death of the troubadour Santiago Feliu – one could slip and get lost in the intricacies of the nave of the FAC, whose décor accentuates the industrial spirit that its promoters wanted.
In the corridors that serve as visual arts gallery they hung paintings, installations, vinyl records, desserts , pads, giant clothesline sticks, works that leap from figurative to conceptual, with nods to art -pop , and even a “self- service” bar where you can get the ideology you like from of the Duce to Gramsci , to Morrison, Bob Marley or Che …
The team responsible for organizing everything and the decoration deserve a high five for this evocative use of passages and hiding places, adorned with the works of 33 artists who passed the first screen: Factory is open to all, provided that the proposal has quality . Some of the “workers ” that already contributed to this factory are sui generis Eduardo Abela, Zaida del Río, Nelson Domínguez , Eduardo Roca “Choco ” , Aimée García , Roberto Diago, Carlos Guzman, Luis Enrique Camejo , Esterio Segura, Reinier Novo and Ernesto Rancaño
Another incentive to go to the factory is its in-house Wi-Fi service, an intranet with a database of Cuban artists, from which you can even download music, cultural billboards and related information , Alfonso said , and stressed that the navigation is exclusively local , so no hopes up …
Yes, since dreaming is still free, the managers do not rule out one day they will be able to sell their tickets online. For now, the idea is to put together a schedule of six months, so that the tickets ( 50 Cuban pesos) can be purchased well in advance to ensure a place in some of the festivals with which the Factory plans to cooperate, for example the Peace and Love or the Johann Sebastian Bach, alternative and classical music, respectively .
Among the purposes of this “nest of creators ” -as X defined it in dialogue with OnCuba – is to go beyond its walls and engage with the community through environmental projects and art appreciation , and offer workshops for both amateurs and students from the Institute of Design , the faculty of Communications or San Alejandro Academy .
As time goes by, a manual or guide will take shape to replicate in Santiago de Cuba and Santa Clara this experience that aims to be sustainable. X confirmed us that he will be behind every new project…
Asked about the reasons for him to get entangled in that mess, he replies that his purpose is to leave a mark in life. “I think one thing like this great for people to come and interact with the artists, to have 200 creators generating ideas …” he said.
Do these opening times are conducive to creation?
“I do not know if they are more or less suitable, just know that this is the time, and I hope the Factory stimulate more projects that help enrich the Cuban spirituality. Hopefully we get copied … “he said.
Photos: Roberto Ruiz
