SKU: 93616778855

Archie Torres - Taino Fantasia

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Archie Torres - Taino FantasiaThis is a large original work on paper, by a very talented artist. This work is watercolor and ink, and measures around 29 x 22" (73 x 55cm). The artist is Archie Torres. He moves back and forth between Cuba and Puerto Rico. Cuba is a goldmine of talent. From the Russian influences, to the classical European artists, that many of the Cuban Masters studied with. Despite a series of repressive governments the art scene has historically thrived in Cuba,

This is a large original work on paper, by a very talented artist. This work is watercolor and ink, and measures around 29 x 22" (73 x 55cm). The artist is Archie Torres. He moves back and forth between Cuba and Puerto Rico.

 

Cuba is a goldmine of talent. From the Russian influences, to the classical European artists, that many of the Cuban Masters studied with. 

 

Despite a series of repressive governments the art scene has historically thrived in Cuba, where culture occupies a prominent place. Art played a key role in the Cuban revolution and there are currently about 14 art schools, a University of Fine Arts, as well as 13,000 ‘registered artists’ on the island, as Rene Duquesne of the National Council of Visual Arts points out.


The African presence in Cuba is undeniable, incredibly strong and visible but because of the practice of whitening in the US, it is possible to shed, deny, or simply omit one's blackness in order to melt into the dominant, acceptable identity group in Miami. Here it is both possible and common to refer to being Cuban, refer to one's self as “white” while showing pictures of generations of family that include a Black abuelo or abuelita. So when we talk of Afro-Cuban art, we have several distinctions – art that pays homage to African heritage and culture, art by Black Cubans, art that makes reference to Afro-Cuban culture, and none of these are mutually exclusive. As a “movement,” Afro-Cuban Art involves bringing what is Black about Cuba to the forefront and an important linking with Black diaspora arts as a much larger field or landscape. It is one in which Black/ Afro-Cuban lives matter.

 

Afro-Cuban art has given the world, and the African diaspora in particular, a symbolic language with which to speak to and about African spiritual systems, specifically with regard to the orishas. The iconography of spiritual African systems from many nations – Yoruba, Fon, Dahomey, Congo, Ketu, Ijesha, Egbado, Oyo, Nago, Jeje are all a part of what has become Afro-Cuban art. Here there are so many points of reference that people from throughout the African Diaspora will feel and see a “familiar” energy in a variety of artistic mediums in Cuba and the Cuban diaspora.

By using this symbolic language, embedding it in painting, music, sculpture, textiles, and other mediums the narrative histories of West and Southern Africa (specifically Yoruba and Congo) that didn’t exist visually as art for art sake in Africa have significantly contributed to the globalization of Lucumi/orisa culture and positive associations with Cuban culture worldwide. The Lucumi tradition also understood as Afro-Cuban religion, has given us a new world lens on ancient African traditional spiritual systems by creating visible representations that offer a new and necessary lingua franca that we recognize as part of Cuba, bringing together African aesthetics from many different nations.

 

As such Afro-Cuban religion has travelled extensively and influenced the world. It is possible now to see certain images and identify them as representations of Oshun, Oggun, Exu, Obatala, Shango, Oya, Ochossi and their tools as both overt and imbedded in artistic forms. This is a major specific contribution Afro-Cuban art has made to the world – it has in this way made visible narratives which only existed orally and in the minds and hearts of practitioners for many generations. Now, because of Afro-Cuban art, students reading African American novelist Ntozake Shange or viewing international pop sensation Beyonce’s “Lemonade,” can quickly pick up on the Osun imagery because we have a context for a yellow wearing, mirror having, beautiful, brown skinned woman in touch with her own sensuality.

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SKU: 93616778855

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Brittany
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
As expected
Scent: vanilla orange
Love the scents of this soap. It's gentle on my skin and leaves me clean, fresh and soft.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2026
S
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Sea Dog (retired)
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 5
A Comprehensive Balanced History of the Guadalcanal Campaign -- Must Read!
Format: Hardcover
I've read a number of good books on the Guadalcanal campaign, and always thought that "Neptune's Inferno" by Hornfischer was the absolute best. I was wrong. Although Hornfischer does a superb account of the Navy and its travails and triumphs, Inferno doesn't delve deeply into the Marine (and Army) land battles. This book does both. Moreover, it provides a continuous timeline of both, and does so in such a way that the reader better understands both as related actions. For instance, I was never really aware that for the first three and a half months the Americans controlled the seas during daylight, and the Japanese at night (sounds a little like Viet Nam). The November 13 sea battle between Americans and Japanese -- in which US cruisers took on Japanese battleships and two American admirals died -- was in fact a clash of a major last ditch effort by the Japanese to reinforce their troops and destroy Henderson Field, which would have allowed them to control the seas both day and night. By that time there had been multiple bloody battles ashore between the Marines and Japanese, with the balance favoring the Marines, but if the Japanese had wrested control of the airfield and seas that would have been old history. The book includes a good view from the Japanese perspective, and some little known historical tidbets as well, e.g., Guadalcanal received its name from the Spanish home town of a ships officer who accompanied Spanish explorer Don Alvaro Medana, who discovered the island during a 1568 expedition to discover the fabled King Solomon's gold mines. Who knew? :-) Bottom line: I highly recommend this book, both for its balanced coverage of the entire campaign, land and sea, and even more for its integrated narrative -- you know what was taking place (or had taken place) on almost a day-by-day basis, which allows the reader to fully appreciate how actions ashore influenced those at sea, and vice versa. IMO, a must read, even for those who thought (like me) that they knew it all!
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Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2017
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Jeffrey T. Munson
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
The Island Of Death
Format: Hardcover
On August 7th, 1942, American Marines stormed ashore on Guadalcanal. What lay before them was a six-month odyssey of fighting against the best of what the Japanese had to offer. In this fine book, author Joseph Wheelan describes the battle that turned the tide in the Pacific War. The Japanese had started construction of an airfield on Guadalcanal. If completed, Japanese aircraft would be able to harass American convoys and threaten Australia. The Americans seized the airfield and eventually, planes from the Cactus Air Force began attacking the Japanese. Throughout the book, the reader learns about all phases of the Guadalcanal campaign, including the battles of Alligator Creek and Bloody Ridge. On the sea, the Americans and Japanese slugged it out at Savo Island, as well as the great naval battles of November, 1942. Names such as Chesty Puller, John Baslone, "Archie" Vandegrift, Joe Foss, and "Bull" Halsey became household names in the United States. Each side lost many men, ships, and planes, but the tenacity and, finally, the industrial might and the ability to rapidly replace losses, led the Americans to victory. Never again would the Japanese regain the offensive in the Pacific War. "Midnight in the Pacific" is a very good book, and the author has done a good job of describing all of the main points of the battle. Each chapter is broken down into a single month's worth of action, and the narrative is well-written. Highly recommended.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2017
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Laurence J. Rusiecki
Natrona Heights, US
★★★★★ 4
Good Narrative History
Format: Hardcover
The account of the Guadalcanal campaign was well-written. It has several good maps but it falls short with the two carrier battles associated with the action. There should have detailed maps for the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. Aside from this shortcoming, the book provides an excellent, readable history of a crucial confrontation between the US and Japan.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2019
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Donald J. Hanson
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
A Very Thorough Accounting of One of the Most Savage Battles of World War 2
Format: Kindle
My father served in the United States Marine Corps during World War 2 and fought in the first offensive battle by the US during the war, the battle for the island of Guadalcanal. He was seriously wounded there and evacuated back to the states where he spent a year in a naval hospital. As a result, I have read many of the books about this battle. This book was particularly interesting because the author described the battle from the perspective of both the allied forces and the Japanese, drawing from historical records and other books. It was a very thorough accounting and demonstrated what a monstrous battle this was. I only wish my father were still alive so that I could have discussed it with him. His experience at Guadalcanal was not something he would often talk about, but considering savagery of what he saw and endured, I understand. If you are interested in Guadalcanal, I recommend this book.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2017

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