José Julián Aguilera Vicente: A Chronicler of Arts in Santiago

03 September 2014 2:25pm

Once again, the visual arts in Santiago de Cuba mourn the loss of one of their top representatives. The beloved master of visual arts, José Julián Aguilera Vicente, passed away in this city at the age of 80.

At the Workshop-Gallery located in this city’s Manduley avenue, relatives and friends, as well as authorities from the government and province, paid tribute to the man that developed different projects in any spot of the city in order to take visual arts to the community and institutions in the territory.

Regrettably, there is an unfinished piece near the old easel, one sketch, the paintbrushes and his glasses in the workshop where he used to spend hours and hours creating genuine pieces that reflect the essence of his Santiago.

Aguilera got his artistic education at the José Joaquín Tejada Academy, where he subsequently worked as a director and professor of generations of painters, sculptors and engravers. He also gave lessons at the Normal School, the Higher Education Institute of Santiago de Cuba and Eastern University. Aguilera was one of the founders of the Artistic Collective in the easternmost province and the provincial seat of Cuba’s National Writers and Artists League. He was a member of the Gallery group, a collective that revolutionized arts in Santiago during the 1950s.

But his work goes way beyond. Aguilera’s xylographs have their own life, sounds, and smells. You can walk down Carnicería Street holding his hand, watch the bay, Céspedes Park, the curious guardian angel, which I think flies over the old village.

Without knowing what would tragically happen, the staff of “Del Caribe” magazine had already decided to illustrate its next issue with the work of this artist. This would be an eternal homage to an artist that was in love with this city, a chronicler of Santiago’s arts.

National Exhibits