Alice
is all of us, not just a beautiful blonde Victorian girl but, everyone
in our collective entirety. East/West... North/South. The Rabbit
is Cuba, which has taken its course “down the hole”...
Hence, its path winding through the last era of “El Caudillo”,
and the course of corporate hegemony. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
are Fidel and Raul Castro ruling over their island "wonderland",
while the Cheshire Cat represents the illusive truth...
Victor
Huerta Bautista has created a world where the surreal and the real
meet. Where animals interact with humans, and time seems to stand
still in a sensuous, oddly baroque, world. Colonial America transculturalized
into a hybrid mass of frightened people fighting others, and themselves.
Hieronymus
Bosch in the Caribbean... Where hell is ruled by the G8, and Cuba
lies alone. In a system where life expectancy is equal, or greater,
than that of its critics. An island of 11 million people whose forces
in Angola helped lead to the defeat of apartheid in South Africa.
A black hole in “El Caribe” whose true history under
the Castro brothers has yet to be written...
As
we ponder Cuba’s prospects for a peaceful transition to a
market lead economy, we can’t help but concern ourselves with
how the Queen will treat her minions without the shadow of “El
Commandante”... Will there be so much money that even the
poorest will benefit from the return of big money armed with big
ideas on how to return Cuba back into the world's most popular tourist
resort? It could be like Las Vegas, but even better! Beaches, babes,
the world’s best cigars, music, and rum! Only waiting for
King George to return and kill our dragons... And to defeat the
Jabberwocky still lurking somewhere near...
Huerta’s
work explores cultural differences, the legacy of colonization,
and the impact of globalization in Cuba. His work, potentially subversive
to some, points towards a “new world” as an amalgamation
of the best from all cultures... Reflecting the hybrid nature of
this post-modern era... After
all, what would the world be like without The Americas’ chocolate
and tomatoes? Or, Cuba’s tobacco and rum?