Manuel Hernández Valdés

Cuban plastic artist, dedicated mainly to caricature, painting with peasant themes and ceramics.

He was born in Limonar, Matanzas. He studied at the Tarascó Academy of Plastic Arts in his province in 1961. He began taking his first steps in painting, but pursued caricature as something marginal; during the 12 years he lived in the countryside he began to draw without knowing what he was doing; it was during Military Service where he approached caricature, as he painted many of the works he had to do, and he did them in the form of drawing and humor.

It was in the newspaper Al Combate! where he published his first drawing, which was an illustration. Later he worked for a long time as a reserve contributor for this newspaper in Matanzas, and dealt with the theme of military caricature. When he finished Military Service he first worked with the puppets of Matanzas making sets for children, until he was offered work as a caricaturist in Havana and began to immerse himself in the world of drawing. He has drawn for almost all publications.

He worked at Granma from 1991 to 1993, dedicating himself to political caricature; he has work in 11 publications, among them: Bohemia, el Habanero, Juventud Rebelde, el Dedeté and Palante.

Currently he creates a weekly caricature for the provincial newspaper of Matanzas, Girón.

For some years now he has returned to his old trade of painting, and despite the long hiatus from caricature, this work bears the imprint of the Cuban landscape, its characters and vegetation, his palette is loaded with vibrant reds, oranges, greens and yellows, almost always with a timid blue peeking out from among the leaves, in a work shirt, in someone's eyes.

Since 1992 Manuel has worked with the majolica technique at the Artistic Ceramics Workshop of Varadero (CERVAR), this workshop characterizes its productions by their high technical-artistic level, and develops along two fundamental lines: the reproduction of works by the most notable artists in the country and the creation of originals.

Manuel entered the world of ceramic decoration and created his own style. Today people tell him that he is more known in the world as a painter than as a caricaturist.

From 1980 to 1990 he was included among the 100 most important caricaturists in the world, has obtained numerous awards such as the Aesop Gold Prize in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, the highest international distinction in graphic humor, and the Replica of Máximo Gómez's Machete, he received the National Journalism Prize José Martí in March 2001.

This "three-dimensional" work by Manuel has found its place in important national and international spaces, to cite some: the National Museum of Fine Arts and Museum of Ceramics of Cuba; Museum of Humor and Satire, Gabrovo, Bulgaria; Muzeum Karykatury, Warsaw, Poland and the Danielle Mitterand Foundation, Paris, France. He is a member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and collaborates as a member of the editorial board of the magazine El nido de la lechuza, of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC). He was part of the National Committee of the UPEC and holds the Félix Elmuza Distinction. (Î Ventura de Jesús).

Awards and Distinctions
1974 First Prize at the Latin American Plastic Arts Meeting.
1974 First Prize in the Chess Humor Competition.
1975 Mention at the International Salon "To Be or Not To Be", Warsaw, Poland.
1975 Mention at the II International Biennial of Humor and Satire in Art, Gabrovo, Bulgaria, among the one hundred best caricaturists in the world.
1978 Mention at the World Salon of Humor, Knokke-Heist, Belgium.
1978 Prize at the UNEAC Plastic Arts Salon.
1979 Special Prize at the International Biennial of Humor.
1980 Special Prize at the III World Exhibition of Caricature, West Berlin.
1981 Second Prize in political satire at the II International Biennial of Humor.
1982 Fifth Prize at the International Salon of Caricature "The World for Peace", Mexico.
1983 Special Prizes at the III International Biennial of Humor and Grand Prize "Aesop Gold" at the International Biennial of Humor and Satire in Art, Bulgaria.
1984 Receives the "Félix Elmuza" medal, the highest distinction granted by the Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC) for outstanding work in journalism.
1985 The humorous supplement Dedeté wins the prize for best satirical publication in the world at the annual event held in the municipality of Forte dei Marmi, in Lucca, Italy.
1985 Included in the Anthology of the Best Humorists in the World. Bokforlaget bra bocker ab, Sweden.
1985 Gold Medal at the VI International Biennial of Humor, Cuba.
1989 Special Prize. Theme: Exile Germany.
1995 Jean Effel Prize. IX International Biennial of Humor. San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.
1997 Proclaimed an Illustrious Son of the City of Matanzas. Cuba.
1997 Pablo Picasso Medal awarded by the UNESCO World Council. FIART'97.
1997 Collective exhibition in Panama.
1997 National Painting Salon Hotel Internacional Varadero.

Most Important Collections
National Museum, Palace of Fine Arts, City of Havana, Cuba.
Museum of Ceramics, Castle of the Force, City of Havana, Cuba.
Museum of Humor and Satire, Gabrovo, Bulgaria.
Muzeum Karykatury, Warsaw, Poland.
Danielle Mitterand Foundation, Paris, France.
Private Collection of Geraldine Chaplin.
Private Collection of Mario Benedetti.

He has participated in Humor Salons and collective exhibitions in Belgium, Germany, USA, France, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, London, Poland, Russia, Venezuela, Bulgaria and Japan.