Making Public a ‘Secret Society’

Afro-Caribbean rhythms on the radio, Cuban musicians winning Latin Grammys, a Cuban photography exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art--all things Cuban are hot and this Saturday the trend comes to the Legacy Art Gallery in Santa Ana.

The exhibit, “Tiempo: Adventures in Contemporary Cuba,” features 15 watercolor paintings by J. Gregg Stone of Laguna Niguel and 10 oil-on-canvas works by Mirta Laurenz of Santa Ana. The artists traveled to Cuba and were inspired to create scenes of the island which has intrigued Americans since before the Cold War.

“There is this mystique about the island, but once you see the paintings, you can get a better sense of what life is like there,” said Legacy Art Gallery owner and director Margie Tabor Zuliani. “Cuba is like a secret society that we’ve been so cut off from. The only images I have of Cuba are of Elian when he returned home to his father.”

Zuliani isn’t the only curious one. An estimated 1.8 million tourists visited last year, including Stone and Laurenz, who took a 16-day trip to Cuba.

Within the last five years, Cuba’s economy has shown signs of growth--from food and natural resources to consumer goods. Tourism is also a major boost for Cuba.

It is in this growing economy that Stone and Laurenz, each fluent in Spanish, experienced a vibrant culture.

“Communism wasn’t as rigid as I thought it would be in Cuba,” Stone said. “Before I went, I thought I’d see a soldier holding a gun, watching over 15 people working in the fields, or I expected to see people starving.

“Day to day, they live lives much like ours,” Stone said. “On a personal level, they seem to speak freely about the government or anything else without fear.”

The artists, who traveled with a group, had many opportunities to mingle with locals, because most Cubans appeared to have excessive time on their hands and might spend entire days sitting on their front porches or around the house.

“There’s a saying the Cubans have about life in Cuba: ‘One person works, 10 people sleep,’ Stone said.

In his paintings, he captures Havana’s skyline, murals of dead heroes, street vendors, workers on banana trucks. Transportation seems a throwback to the past with vintage 1950s cars, and horse-drawn wagons filling the streets.

Laurenz painted images of daily, domestic life with children circling street musicians, fruit and flower vendors in the city and the outskirts of town.

The artists journeyed through Santiago, Havana, Trinidad, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Camaguey and Guardalavaca.

The exhibit also features a display of souvenirs brought back from Cuba such as currency signed by Che Guevara, the Cuban flag and other folk art pieces.

From the lines of people waiting outside a Havana panaderia, or bakery, for their ration of free or half-cent loaf of bread to the ample media noche, ham and cheese sandwiches served in restaurants, the artists said they hope to offer a sense of the rich culture of Cuba through their paintings.

“The trip changed my perspective on what I thought of developing countries,” Laurenz said. “Seeing Cuba has helped me to empathize more with its people, because they have a great sense of humanity.”

“Tiempo: Adventures in Contemporary Cuba,” Legacy Art Gallery, in the Santora Arts Building, 207 N. Broadway, Garden Level, Suite B7A, Santa Ana. Opening reception, Saturday, 7-10 p.m. Free. (714) 558-0387.