Painter Nelson Domínguez, 2009 National Plastic Arts Award winner, was invited to the lecture on Ever Miranda’s documentary “On the Path of the Stars.”

Domínguez recalled moments of his work with Eduardo Rica (Choco) as a painting teacher in Angola, where he taught the craft to young people from that country and had the opportunity to promote the art of both.

With a peculiar sense of humor, the artist narrated both his arrival and stay in the African nation, the way in which they were welcomed by local residents and how they felt afraid of supposed dangers of the place, including insects or other animals.

Upon arrival, they warned us about the care to be taken with tsetse flies, snakes or other creatures, but later we learned that “they had made fun of us,” the artist jokingly narrated.

Day by day, we realized how special it was to be in contact with those cultures, the direct contact with nature and the indescribable African environment, the artist noted.

There we saw the opportunity to enjoy everything live; from the folk songs that we knew from books and other formats, their culture; we realized where the handiworks, the crafts, the religiosity came from. It was nice to observe everything in the natural, he described.

There is a very strong inner force that, being in the place like us, you observe and wonder, how did this come from Africa?, Domínguez said.

The conference was held in the framework of the 15th Havana Biennial, whose director, Nelson Ramírez de Arellano, referred to that large portion of land, bathed by the waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and the Red Sea.

How Africa is influenced by diverse cultures and religions, and all of this turned out to be a very lively and unique source for these Cuban artists.

Therein lies the great attraction of that continent and of art itself, Ramírez de Arellano said.

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