"The Flame and The Rope," 1991. Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayon explored the secretive world of the all-male Abakua tradition. Ayon was 32 when she committed suicide in 1999, and her friends and family still don't know why. (Courtesy Ayon Family)
Cuba's tragic and mysterious printmaker
Belkis Ayon explored the secretive world of the all-male Abakua tradition. Her suicide is still a mystery.
HAVANA, Cuba — At 32 years old, Belkis Ayon was already one of Cuba's most famous artists.
Her dark, haunting prints drew on Afro-Cuban religious beliefs and in particular an all-male secret society called abakua. The Museum of Modern Art had purchased one of her works.
But then, on Sept. 11, 1999, she committed suicide. Her friends and family still don't know why.
Now a major retrospective exhibit has opened in Havana's San Francisco de Asis cathedral.
Recent on Cuba:
Yoani Sanchez vs. the state
Nick Miroff - Cuba - November 11, 2009 18:42 ET
How will Cuba deal with a 34-year-old blogger with spotty internet and a massive global following?
Common ground, out at sea
Nick Miroff - Cuba - November 2, 2009 19:25 ET
Cuba and the US share a marine ecosystem. Can they work together to protect their reefs and sea creatures?
Debating the daddy state
Nick Miroff - Cuba - October 27, 2009 05:54 ET
As the economy slides, Cubans have been asked to rethink socialism.
The dark, haunting world of Belkis Ayon
Nick Miroff - Cuba - October 25, 2009 11:16 ET
Cuba's tragic and mysterious printmaker
Nick Miroff - Cuba - October 23, 2009 06:03 ET
Belkis Ayon explored the secretive world of the all-male Abakua tradition. Her suicide is still a mystery.
.jpg)
Cuba: No deal with US telecoms
Nick Miroff - Cuba - October 19, 2009 08:01 ET
Cuba rebuffs key Obama initiative that would have opened the island to better cell phone and internet service.
Planet Health Care
Thomas Mucha - Commerce - October 10, 2009 11:19 ET
As debate rages in Washington, the answers are out there. You just need to know where to look.
Embargo over Beethoven?
Nick Miroff - Cuba - October 5, 2009 06:19 ET
US blocks New York Philharmonic trip to Cuba, and cultural diplomacy stalls.
No free lunch in Cuba's “new socialism”
Nick Miroff - Cuba - September 30, 2009 06:09 ET
A trial program that will give each worker a cash stipend instead of a hot lunch portends deeper reforms.
Cuba's Coney Island
Nick Miroff - Cuba - August 27, 2009 10:12 ET
Havana's Cuatro Caminos market a slice of Cuba
Nick Miroff - Cuba - August 18, 2009 10:07 ET
At Cuban resorts, the end of tourism apartheid
Nick Miroff - Cuba - August 11, 2009 07:29 ET
Cubans can now check in as guests at beach resorts, creating a boom for local tourism.
Castro urges Cubans "back to the land"
Nick Miroff - Cuba - July 27, 2009 10:24 ET
On Cuba's national holiday, Raul Castro says higher production will help the economy.
Cuba's Craigslist
Nick Miroff - Cuba - July 26, 2009 18:13 ET
From sex toys to old Chevys, Revolico.com takes communist Cuba's black market to the web.
Troubled waters
Nick Miroff - Cuba - July 23, 2009 16:18 ET
US and Cuba look for a bridge, but there's a lot of water between them.
A coup without friends
Nick Miroff - The Americas - July 9, 2009 17:00 ET
Analysis: Unanimous condemnation of Honduran takeover highlights new US stance in the Americas
Cubans face dire formula
Nick Miroff - Cuba - July 9, 2009 16:58 ET
With Cuba's economy sinking, the government calls for energy conservation.
Where Detroit still reigns
Nick Miroff - Cuba - July 9, 2009 16:57 ET
News of bankruptcy at General Motors and Chrysler stuns Cuban drivers.
A remnant of the Cold War
Nick Miroff - Cuba - July 9, 2009 16:57 ET
Espionage cases could complicate Obama's Cuba strategy.
Watch GlobalPost videos:
Reporter's Notebook
A day after Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez published an online interview with President Barack Obama, her husband and fellow blogger Reinaldo Escobar...Read more >
Landing an interview with President Barack Obama would be a big deal for any journalist. For Cuba's Yoani Sanchez — who doesn't have travel...Read more >
Cuba's most famous blogger and anti-government activist, Yoani Sanchez, said she and several friends were detained and roughed up last night en route...Read more >
Featured: Special Projects
After the Fall:
20 years since the Berlin Wall came down
Life, Death and the Taliban:
Videos and stories
Study Abroad:
Students report from the road
Living in the Shadows:
An intimate look at China's migrant workers
A World of Trouble:
The global economy in 20 hotspots
Global Blogs:
Comments:
1 Comments.
Login or Register to post comments