Call Me Waya

I grew up always curious about Cuba. I first learned about the country as a young child collecting stamps. The Cuban ones were beautiful. I remember being told you could not visit Cuba and did not understand why. I think it was that prohibition that made me want to learn more when I first studied US History and, even then, so little was shared. Years later, I learned my grandfather’s brother found a safe haven in Cuba when fleeing Germany, leading me to learn more about the Jewish community there. When I was a leader of a DC area private school, I had an opportunity to join a study tour to Cuba in 2013. I was excited to visit and this became the first of many visits to learn about the arts and education system and to support the Cuban people. I first saw a painting by Wayacón in a gallery in Cienfuegos and during the lunch break. I left the group to find the artist. I was moved by the piece I saw and wanted to see more. This began a long distance relationship and later visits that evolved into this project. While the project was initially solely about Wayacón, research for the project led me to the Center for Cuban Studies and Sandra Levinson. When I started the project I did not know that she had had a long history promoting the work of Wayacón and other artists. The film project evolved to include the history of her work promoting Cuban artists and exposing hundreds of Americans through study tours to Cuban art and culture.