Jose Bofill – Callejon Colonial 1929 acuarela (watercolor)

The following painting is one of the few original José Bofill Cayol paintings available to the public. outside of Cuba.  The painting is part of the private art collection of a native Santiago de Cuba family residing in Miami, Florida and has been part of the family since the early 1930's.  The painting represents the expert technique in watercolor perfected by the artist who began painting at an early age of 14.  A similar scenic painting resides at the Museo Provincial Emilio Bacardi Moreau (Bacardi Museum) in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.

The value of this painting far exceeds the quality of the painting itself, but the historical signficance of this painting, the artist and the patriotic individuals surrounding the events taking place during the same period of the painting, circa 1929 - 1946. 

The painting is referred to in general terms as "Callejon Colonial", yet a carefull analysis of the painting, the artist's representation of the street scene and the period he is representing leads us to identify the street scene as that of "Calle Padre Pico", which is one of the most famous streets in Cuba because of the stairs that line the street. 

José Bofill Cayol, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, 1862-1946

Callejon Colonial, Calle Padre Pico, Santiago de Cuba 1929, Watercolor (acuarela), 11 ¾” x 16 ½” (29.8 cm x 41.9 cm) (Street originally called Loma De Carvacho, named after a Catalan business man who owned a store at the foot of street Padre Pico, later street was renamed by Don Emilio Bacardi in honor of Bernardo del Pico Redin, catholic priest in the Convent of Belen, later the school of Belen.)

Calle Padre Pico - Santiago de Cuba - Today - Looking Down



Calle Padre Pico - Santiago de Cuba - Today - Looking Up the Street



Calle Padre Pico - Santiage de Cuba - 1938

If you are interested in making this painting part of your collection and owning a piece of Cuba's history, please feel free to contact us directly at editor@josebofill.com, please ONLY SERIOUS INQUIRIES.  We have available a Complete Provenance Report for your evaluation.  Please reference in the subject line "Bofill Callejon Colonial" and include your full name, city, state, country and the best telephone number to contact you, if you are working with an art consultant, appriaser, auction house, gallery, attorney or other personal representative, we will respect your privacy and discretion, but we will request that your representative provide us with his or her complete contact information.  

Should any of the requested information be missing you will not be contacted by us.  Once we receive your request, you can expect a call from us the same day. 

University of Miami - Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies

Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies

The Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) is part of the University of Miami. ICCAS serves as a world-class academic center for the research and study of Cuban and Cuban-American topics. It organizes seminars and lectures, publishes academic research, and offers a special summer program on Cuba for U.S. and foreign students.

ICCAS sponsors academic and outreach programs and helps coordinate Cuban-related activities at the University of Miami including the Casa Bacardi; the Emilio Bacardi Moreau Chair in Cuban Studies; the Cuba Transition Project; the Cuban Heritage Collection at Otto G. Richter Library; the John J. Koubek Memorial Center, and other University components related to Cuban and Cuban-American Studies. ICCAS offers courses on Cuban history and culture, produces publications, and sponsors original research on a variety of topics. It also serves as an educational link between the University, the Cuban exile community, and the South Florida community at-large.

The Cuba Transition Project (CTP), at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, is an important and timely project to study and make recommendations for the reconstruction of Cuba once the post-Castro transition begins in earnest. The project was established in 2002 and supported by grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) until 2010.

The Casa Bacardi, at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, is an interactive center highlighting Cuban history and culture. The Center features: a music pavilion, a products pavilion, the Cuban Information Center, a cinema, a conference room, and exhibits. It is a unique place to appreciate and learn about Cuba's past as well as its present.

All ICCAS events are open to the public unless otherwise noted.


Jaime Suchlicki, Director

Emilio Bacardi Moreau professor of History and Director of ICCAS, specializes in Latin American affairs, with special emphasis on Cuba, Mexico, and U.S. relations with the region. He has published articles in Orbis, Latin American Research Review, Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, and Caribbean Studies. His published books include Cuba: From Columbus to Castro (2006), Mexico: From Montezuma to NAFTA (2003), Historical Dictionary of Cuba (2001), and University Students and Revolution in Cuba (1969). Together with Irving Louis Horowitz, he is the editor of Cuban Communism, now in its 11th edition. He is a highly regarded consultant to the public and private sector.


INSTITUTE STAFF

María del Carmen Urizar, Administrative Assistant

Andy Gomez, Senior Fellow and Assistant Provost
Vanessa Lopez, Research Assistant
Susel Perez, Assistant to Editor, Cuban Affairs Journal
Brian Latell, Senior Research Associate
Jose Azel, Senior Research Associate

CTP STAFF

Jaime Suchlicki, Director

Susel Perez, Project Coordinator

ICCAS ADVISORY BOARD

Manuel Jorge Cutillas, Chairperson
Chairman Emeritus, Bacardi International

For information please call
(305) 284-CUBA (2822);
FAX (305) 284-4875
Email: iccas@miami.edu
Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies
1531 Brescia Avenue
P.O. Box 248174
Coral Gables, FL 33124-3010

Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies

University of Miami

Santiago de Cuba "Jose Bofill's Native Land" Tierra Natal

 

Santiago de Cuba "Jose Bofill's Native Land" Tierra Natal

 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Santiago de Cuba is the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island nation of Cuba, some 540 miles (870 km) south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana.  The municipality extends over 1,023.8 square kilometers (395.3 sq mi), and contains the communities of El Caney, Guilera, Antonio Maceo, Bravo, Castillo Duany, Leyte Vidal and Moncada.  Historically Santiago de Cuba has long been the second most important city on the island after Havana, and still remains the second largest. It is on a bay connected to the Caribbean Sea and is an important sea port. In 2004 the city of Santiago de Cuba had a population of about 494,337 people.

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History


Santiago de Cuba was founded by Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar on June 28, 1514. In 1516 the settlement was destroyed by fire, and was immediately rebuilt. This was the starting point of the expeditions led by Juan de Grijalba and Hernán Cortés to the coasts of Mexico in 1518, and in 1538 by Hernando de Soto's expedition to Florida. The first cathedral was built in the city in 1528. From 1522 until 1589 Santiago was the capital of the Spanish colony of Cuba.

The city was plundered by French forces in 1553, and by British forces under Christopher Myngs in 1662.
The city experienced an influx of French immigrants in the late 18th century and early 19th century, many coming from Haiti after the Haitian slave revolt of 1791. This added to the city's eclectic cultural mix, already rich with Spanish and African culture.

It was also the location where Spanish troops faced their main defeat at San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War. Spain later surrendered to the United States after the destruction of its Atlantic fleet just outside Santiago's harbor.  Cuban poet, writer, and national hero, José Martí, is buried in Cementerio Santa Efigenia.

Caridad Del Cobre

Role in the Revolution


Santiago was also the home of the revolutionary hero, Frank País. On July 26, 1953, the Cuban Revolution began with an ill-prepared armed attack on the Moncada Barracks by a small contingent of rebels led by Fidel Castro. Shortly after this disastrous incident, País began talking with students and young working people informally, drawing around him what became an extremely effective urban revolutionary alliance. This developed into highly organized cells coordinating a large scale urban resistance that became instrumental in the success of the Cuban Revolution.

Santiago de Cuba - Castillo del Morro (Morro Castle)

País' group prepared carefully, accruing weapons, collecting money, collecting medical supplies. They published a cheap newsletter that reported news that criticized the government, attempting to counter Batista's censorship.

In the summer of 1955, País’ organization merged with Castro's July 26 Movement. País became the leader of the new organization in Oriente province.

On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro proclaimed the victory of the Cuban Revolution from a balcony on Santiago de Cuba's city hall.


Culture


Santiago de Cuba was the hometown of poet José María Heredia. It houses a museum that displays the extensive art collection of the Bacardí family.   Santiago de Cuba is well known for its cultural life. Some of Cuba's most famous musicians, including Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer and Eliades Ochoa (all of which participated in the Buena Vista Social Club) and trova composer Ñico Saquito (Benito Antonio Fernández Ortiz) were born in the city or in one of the villages surrounding it. They have contributed to the typical, country-like music of the city.

Parque Cespedes (Park)

Furthermore, Santiago de Cuba is well-known for its traditional dances, most notably son, from which salsa has been derived, and guaguancó, which is accompanied by percussion music only. The city is also well-known for its Carnival, which is strangely enough celebrated in July. During Carnival, traditional conga music is played in the streets on a typical, pentatonic trumpet, called the trompeta china.

A relatively high number of residents of the city adhere to Afro-Cuban religions, most notably santería. The city hosts an important community of descendants from Haitian immigrants from the 19th century. Some aspects of the religious "vodún" heritage of the city can be traced back to this community.

Jose Bofill Cayol - Cuban Artist "Brief History"

José Bofill Cayol (1862-1946), contemporáneo de Tejada, pinta hasta el final de sus días su ciudad natal. A su talento y amor entrañables al entorno que le acompaña siempre debe éste que se haya perpetuado la imagen de sus calles estrechas y adoquinadas, muros vetustos y balconajes, techos de tejas criollas, faroles, campanarios, plazas públicas, en fin, un perfil que el tiempo ha transformado.

Su obra está hecha, en su casi totalidad con la técnica de la  acuarela, de ejecución difícil, donde las correcciones y rectificaciones constituyen un reto. Tiene sólo 14 años cuando pinta su primera acuarela (1876), Se convierte, sin dudas, en el precursor de esta técnica en Santiago de Cuba y sienta escuela que, en su época no tiene parangón en el resto del país.

Translation

Jose Bofill Cayol (1962-1946) Tejada’s contemporary, painted to the end of his days, in his native city where he was born, Santiago de Cuba.   His talent and the dear love he had to the environment and surroundings that always accompanied him where evident in his paintings which perpetuated the images of Santiago's its narrow, cobbled stone streets, ancient walls and balconies, native clay tile roofs, vintage street lamps, belfries, public squares, all in all, has been perpetuated - a profile that time has transformed.

His work is done, almost entirely, with the watercolor technique, of difficult execution, where corrections and rectifications constitute a challenge.  He is only 14 years old when he paints his first watercolor (1876).  He becomes, without a doubt, the precursor of this technique in Santiago de Cuba, and establishes a school that, in his epoch, is paramount in the entire country.

José Bofill, Placita de Santo Tomás, acuarela (water color)

Jose Bofill Cayol "Painter and Guardian of Our Heritage"

Contributed by María del Carmen Díaz Díaz

On December 27th, 1862, the painter and patriot Jose Cayol Bofill was born in Santiago de Cuba, this beautiful southeastern city of Cuba . He became a prominent promoter of the arts and a jealous guardian of our cultural heritage.  From an early age, he revealed his desire and passion for the painting, an artistic expression in which he has Antonio Vallejo as first and principle master. After graduating, he worked in accounting for several years at the Gas Company, while using the money he made for paying his tuition tuition.  At 24 years of age, he was inspired with an the idea of founding the Yacht Club of Santiago de Cuba. This institution became a center of conspiracies to influence the second war of independence against the Spanish colonialism, which began in 1895.  Jose Bofill was arrested and after a period of solitary confinement, on April 22nd, 1897, was released with a warning to leave the country immediately.

He started a difficult but decisive stage in his life. He passed directly to Haiti, where he drew cards, using a pen, with effigies of Marti and Maceo, which were acquired by emigration.  He later traveled to Costa Rica and eventually to New York.  In this American city, he taught painting, drawing and designed buildings and monuments, such as the first tomb of Jose Marti and the medallion of the pantheon erected to Federico Capdevila, an advocate for medical students shot by the Spaniards.



José Bofill, Callejón Colonial, acuarela (water color)



At this stage, in his creative work, he made portraits honoring outstanding figures of the Independence, which were drawn or sold by the delegations of the Cuban Revolutionary Party to swell its funds.

In May 1898, he returned to Santiago de Cuba and is appointed by the Mayor Don Emilio Bacardi Moreau, as director of the museum created by him, and which happened to be the first museum  founded in the country. Bofill presided over the section of visual arts of the Athenaeum of the city and promoted many cultural activities, along with prominent personalities from the intelligentsia from Santiago.

In 1912, he joined the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and attended as a delegate to the National Congress of Art in 1930.  He was awarded the gold medal of the Cuban Marine Companies, and subsequently was awarded the degree of admiral of the order of nautical merit.  He was also a member of the Association of Artists of Oriente. In addition to his artwork and his work as specialist in museums, he delved into the art of modeling.  After his retirement, he was appointed Honorary Director of the Emilio Bacardí museum and library Elvira Cape.  Jose Bofill Cayol died on October 20th, 1946 and served as the curator of the Emilio Bacardi Museum until his death.

Today, the replica of an alley in Santiago from the colonial era designed by him very deservedly bears his name. This one showcases a side of the museum.

However, we, the people from Santiago de Cuba, owe a great debt to his memory.  His extensive work, deserves the appreciation and admiration of the present generation, and an appreciation for his contribution to the visual arts and to the protection of our cultural heritage.

Museo Provincial Emilio Bacardi Moreau "Santiago de Cuba"

Picture: 1935-1947 Archive of Hispanic Culture

Don Emilio Bacardi Moreau

The Museo Provincial Emilio Bacardí Moreau is located in the historical centre of Santiago de Cuba. It stands out due to its eclectic façade decorated with neo-classical elements and designed by the architect Carlos Segrera.

The museum is a public institution founded by Emilio Bacardí Moreau on the 12th February 1899. The museum was located in several different buildings (including the house of its founder) before it was inaugurated in its present headquarters with the backing of Bacardí’s widow Elvira Cape Lombard. The museum bears the name of its prestigious intellectual and founder and its establishment heralded one of the most important socio-cultural events in the city.

The museum has been directed by local artists and intellectuals such as José Bofill Cayol, Fernando Boytel Jambú and Antonio Ferrer Cabello. Its aim is to care for, conserve and enrich its collections for the enjoyment of present and future generations so that they may learn about history and their ancestors and look upon them with gratitude and love.

Review by: Frommer's Review

Begun by Emilio Bacardí, the founder of the political and rum dynasty in 1899, this highly personal collection constituted one of the first museums in Cuba. Now a provincial museum, it remains an eclectic art and historical assembly. The grand, gleaming white neoclassical building was erected in 1928 to house the idiosyncratic collection. On the first floor is a wide variety of artifacts documenting indigenous peoples, slavery, and the wars of independence, including an extensive array of armaments and a peculiar coffin-shaped torpedo used by the Mambíses. Bacardí also collected personal items belonging to Cuban national heroes, including those of Antonio Maceo and Carlos Manuel Céspedes. Don't miss the tiny stage set of a colonial Santiago street (through a door on the south side of the first floor). In an annex, which must be entered from a side door on Calle Aguilera, is an archaeology room holding an Egyptian mummy (smuggled out of Egypt in 1913), a pair of Peruvian mummies belonging to the Paracas (pre-Inca) culture, various ceremonial objects, pre-Columbian ceramics, and an extraordinary decorated shrunken head from the Amazon. The second floor is an art museum exhibiting national and international paintings. Allow an hour to see it all. All of the display information here is in Spanish, but English-speaking guides are available.

Spanish:

El Museo Provincial Emilio Bacardí Moreau, significativo exponente del centro histórico urbano de Santiago de Cuba, se distingue por su fachada ecléctica decorada con elementos neoclásicos. Fue diseñado por el arquitecto Carlos Segrera.

La centenaria Institución cuenta con 3 salas expositivas: Arte, Historia y Arqueología.

Posee un extenso fondo de más de 23000 bienes patrimoniales destacándose documentos y manuscritos, partituras musicales, reliquias históricas de carácter patriótico, colecciones numismáticas, antiguedades curiosas y pertenencias de personalidades internacionalmente reconocidas y significativas para la nación.

La Comisión Nacional de Monumentos por la Resolución No. 3 del 10 de octubre de 1978, declaró en 1999 a la Institución como Monumento Nacional.