Well-known personalities in the Cuban sculptural panorama came to Las Tunas; they bequeathed a collection of small-format and environmental creations, which is why many call this eastern city “the Capital of Cuban Sculpture.”
José Antonio Díaz Peláez (1924-1988) was one of the artists who left his fruit in this land, with large pieces.
According to reviews of his imprint, he was self-taught, although he studied at the San Alejandro School for one year. He belonged to the group "Los Once" between 1953 and 1955. His work marked a compositional difference by taking abstraction to a monumental scale, starting in the 70s of the 20th century.
This work linked him to the Advisory Council for the Development of Monumental and Environmental Sculpture (CODEMA, in Spanish), which endorsed his sculptural production.
Undoubtedly, his closeness to Rita Longa Aróstegui, with whom he shared his life, brought him closer to our town, forming part of the movement generated around the volume.
We have two works by José Antonio Díaz Peláez, built in 1978. One is Monumento al Trabajo (Monument to Work), located at the junction of Vicente García and Lucas Ortiz streets, near the roundabout at the west entrance or exit of the town. The sculpture, approximately 8 meters high, was the author's first monumental sculpture: a totem structured in the ferrocement technique representing social and structural growth through creation and common effort.
The other is the metal installation located on the terrace of the building next to the Antilles Fountain, with low visibility for passers-by. In its making, he used metal sheets, which was uncommon at this stage, when the volume was generally achieved by working in marble, wood, or cement.
The untitled work measures about 10 meters in area. In various meetings of sculptors, attempts have been made to relocate it to spaces that offer it greater interaction with the public, but this has not been possible because the owners of this heritage asset wish to keep it in its original place, bearing in mind that this artistic proposal was conceived, among other objectives, to conceal elements of the construction in the terrace area.
José Antonio Díaz Peláez, considered one of the most prominent artists of national sculpture, held more than 20 exhibitions with small-format pieces, with which he obtained various awards, mentions, and recognitions within the guild. The imprint of his magnificence resonates in Las Tunas, a land that embraced him with open arms.
