{"id":96205,"date":"2017-06-28T06:00:56","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T10:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oncubamagazine.com\/?p=96205"},"modified":"2017-06-22T13:40:42","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T17:40:42","slug":"adidas-wears-cuban-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/economy\/cuban-economy\/adidas-wears-cuban-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Adidas wears Cuban design"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adidas officially got to Cuba in September 1998, Jos\u00e9 Miguel Pupo, the current representative of the brand on the island, affirms. That was a moment of splendor for Cuban sports. However, after almost 20 years Cuban sports no longer has the same yields. Now the brand is testing an artistic expression in Cuba, Pupo explains.<\/p>\n

How has it done this? Suffice it to visit the F\u00e1brica de Arte Cubano to discover it through an exhibit of 23 local artists, led by Nelson Ponce, who intervened Adidas Originals clothes and footwear especially brought over for this collective work. Inaugurated on May 31, it includes mapping creative video to silk screen printing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere everyone knows that I wore out a pair of shoes, but the climate was not rigid,\u201d Ra\u00fal Vald\u00e9s (Raupa) jokes. \u201cIt has been unexpected,\u201d says Michelle Miyares. \u201cIt was a process of experimentation and discovery,\u201d Alejandro Romero Rosell describes it. They are three of the participants in the exhibition, and who together with Ponce are among the most renowned Cuban designers.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Ismario Rodr\u00edguez P\u00e9rez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

***<\/p>\n

Adidas Originals Public Relations Manager for Latin America Ana Mar\u00eda Garz\u00f3n said to OnCuba<\/strong> that the entire process began around a year ago. \u201cWe came to Cuba to find out how the country is, what Cubans like, especially the young people. We got to know the F\u00e1brica de<\/p>\n

Arte and we realized that this was the place where we wanted to be, to exercise certain influence and collaborate. We feel we have much in common.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdidas Originals is very linked to urban culture, to art, to collaboration\u2026and we are always reinventing ourselves. We have a slogan: \u2018Original is never finished.\u2019 It will always be in constant change, rethinking itself according to the change of generations, fashion and urban culture in general. We realized that here art is very collaborative and goes hand in hand with that, it\u2019s about reinventing,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Adidas<\/a>
Adidas Originals Public Relations Manager for Latin America Ana Mar\u00eda Garz\u00f3n. Photo: Ismario Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How has this concept been reflected in the case of Cuba?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For me the clearest thing is what has occurred here at the exhibition. We just gave them the canvas, to say it somehow, which was like handing them the footwear. From then onwards it is a project completely of artists and of the FAC. We gave many of them the same shoe, and they have created pieces that are so different! That shows their creativity and goes very well with Originals, which is born of classical silhouettes of sports, which now are reinvented to give place to other new ones.<\/p>\n

We placed our trust in the FAC, where the exhibit will remain for three months, and afterwards each artist decides what to do with his work. We realized that X Alfonso and Nelson Ponce were very well up in the Cuban artistic sphere and actually everything has been very much to the point. When we got to Cuba, three days before the inauguration of the expo, we saw it for the first time. We had many expectations and we\u2019re leaving very pleased, wanting to continue doing things here. We knew it was going to be a major artistic display.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me,\u201d says Nelson Ponce, \u201cthe coordination was super difficult. When you are a coordinator it is complex to reach an agreement with the artists, among them and with the brand. However, I didn\u2019t want my imprint to be left out, beyond the coordination. I worked a lot and I established a general requirement: that they be young artists, but with some experience. Not everyone is suited to work with a global brand like Adidas. You need knowledge about the cultural universe in order to coordinate oneself with the philosophy of the brand, which has worked with singers like Madonna, Katy Perry, among others.<\/p>\n