La vida es una donación

Ernest Leal in his piece La vida es uno donacion depicts a wooden box being delivered by the parachute of “humanity” into the middle of the ocean. The piece is on display at Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University as part of the Fine Arts Endowment Purchase. Leal is a Cuban American that is making a comment on her heritage. He is making Cuba look downtrodden. He is showing that Cuba is in shambles and that they are reliant on other countries’ help. Surely he is attributing the loss of self-sufficiency to the current oppressive regime in Cuba and is making a mockery out of Cuba by this canvas piece. The wooden crate of relief is being dropped in the middle of the ocean, which I assume is to represent how when aid is given to Cuba by allies, it is just as good as throwing aid into the middle of the ocean. The aid will never be given back to the humanity that ha given it.

I think that Leal is trying to say that Cubans only recognize the countries that are allies and give help as respectable, upstanding nations. The painting is meant to take a shot a Cuba for being a place that Leal cannot fully embrace due to its inefficiencies and malpractices. I think that many of the art pieces that give backlash to the Cuban government and people are not necessarily targeted at the Cuban people or culture, and the same is true for La vida es uno donacion. He feels a great deal of emotion for where his roots are planted.  Leal has strong ties to his mother country but that does not mean that she approves of all that goes on there. Although this painting is discrediting Cuba, Leal would probably still conducer himself inherently Cuban.