CAMAGÜEY.- To say the name of Rita Longa anywhere in Cuba is to mention an icon of art and culture. Most of her works are in important institutions. In Camagüey there are two, one in the garden of the Ballet headquarters, and India Caonaba, a gift from her to Nuevitas.
For years, India guarded the entrance to the Hotel Caonaba and the way to the most visited beaches in the territory. In 2008 the winds of Hurricane Ike tore it from its base and it was badly damaged.
Twelve years later, she sees herself emerging from the sea, disheveled by the sea breeze, one of the most representative icons of the city, its culture and traditions.
Juset Torres Rivero, a young artist from Nuevitas, admires Rita Longa “because she knew how to make her way and become a reference in an art that was thought for men”.
Graduated as an Art Instructor, he dedicates his life to creating with the talent of his hands, paintings, sculptures, crafts. His work illustrates all the love he has for the city where he lives.
“About five years ago they told me about the possibility of restoring the sculpture. When the wind knocked her down, her limbs were fractured, her head, part of her back. At that time I couldn't, but a few months ago the Municipal Director of Culture, Leangel Lechuga, saw me and I got down to work”.
At the beginning of February Caonaba arrived at his workshop: “The sculpture weighs almost a ton. Before restoring, I collected information and photographs to have a reference of how it was seen from different angles. I worked with the greatest care so that the final result was as close to the original work as possible”.
"On February 14 we started the first layers of cement, we melted some parts, such as the feet, then we began to sculpt it and little by little we worked until we saw it finished."
Restoring a work like this could take from 45 days to three months, but the excellent environmental conditions and non-stop work made it possible to culminate in almost 25: “It takes a lot of help from the Sun, the heat, so that the process of setting the cement is adequate, then we sandpaper and apply the acrylic vinyl paint used by the artist. The weather helped and on February 28 we were able to present it to the public”.
That day they commemorated the 193rd anniversary of the founding of San Fernando de Nuevitas. At night the sculpture was unveiled. Due to the health situation, the town could not be present in the courtyard of the Municipal Museum, its new location. Cultural personalities attended on behalf of the Nuevita´s citizens. The moment was in hundreds of posts on social networks.
“I appreciate the confidence of the Nuevitas´ authorities. I did not stop due to lack of material. Also to my family and the population. It's the biggest thing I've done in my career. I feel satisfaction linked with longing, sadness. They are strange sensations. I have two children and it has been like bringing another into the world. Perhaps the work is not recognized as heritage, but for the Nuevitas´ people it is, because it identifies this place and its people ”.
India Caonaba is well protected. It is surrounded by objects that represent and tell the story of Nuevitas, of its people. Rita Longa's gift to the northern shore stimulates the passions of our roots.
Rita Longa Aróstegui (1912-2000), Havana´s artist recognized with the National Prize for Plastic Arts, in 1995. She was a popular sculptor with works in almost all of Cuba. From this province, it is recognized her project Arabesque (1986), consisting of a fountain cast in stone for the headquarters of the Ballet of Camagüey.
- Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez