What would a NY Yankees vs Industriales game be like? The possibility that hundreds of fans are entertaining now that the U.S. and Cuba have re-established diplomatic relations has served as inspiration for Reynerio Tamayo Fonseca’s new series of paintings.
“I’d wish this painting could come to life, and that such a game could take place. The quality of the MLB is unquestionable,” said Reynerio, who thinks the day when baseball players from the two countries will get a chance to shake hands in the field is not far.
“I do hope for a normalization of relations, and for the possibility for talented Cuban players to get into the best teams of the major leagues. There’s already a precedent: think of Conrado Marrero, Adolfo Luque, and some others,” he added.
These pieces are included in his most recent exhibit titled “Natural size”. The works seek to move to reflection on baseball players’ decisions to leave Cuba to go play in other countries.
For Tamayo, 47, baseball is a “fun and sublime cultural space that can be depicted combining Cuban humorous situations with pop art, in a cultural mix that knows no physical or social boundaries,” according to Felix Julio Alfonso introduction to the exhibition’s catalogue.
Tamayo uses sports rivalry to point to another kind of clash in the realm of culture, that between two teams that represent opposing ideological systems. He accomplishes that with a very sophisticated sense of humor, presented from a sharp and original perspective.
