Itineraries of Cuban Artists in Mexico: Thinking Citizenship from another Place.

Abstract

This paper addresses through the experiences of a group of Cuban artists the reconfiguration of the concept of citizenship in the Hispanic Caribbean in relation to migratory processes. The role of Mexico as a paradigm and as a place of personal and professional experiences of Cuban artists is defined as a key element of those artistic itineraries of citizenship. The process of revisiting Latin American culture, from the contact of Cuban artists with the mythical universe of Mesoamerican cosmology, offers alternatives for the analysis of the creative processes and interactions with their respective contexts of education, materialization and display of their artistic proposals. The ethical position of Cuban artists concerning immigration and their explorations of new forms of citizenship, are addressed in this text through the work of artists such as Juan Francisco Elso, Leandro Soto, José Bedia or Sandra Ramos. The symbolic repertoires generated from migration operate as devices of meaning and integrate a deeply reflective visual discourse about citizenship, moving between politics and aesthetics.