René Valdés Cedeño

Promoter of marble carving and metal modeling. Valdés contributed to the training of several generations of sculptors as a professor at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas José Joaquín Tejada, from 1945 to 1976. Between 1960 and 1967 he was also director of the school.

He graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes de San Alejandro and years later, he settled definitively in Santiago de Cuba, to work as a sculptor, draftsman, and professor.

He was a member of the Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC) and president of the Santiago branch until his death in 1976, at a time when he was immersed in the realization of his masterpiece: the Monumento a Abel Santamaría.

As a visual artist he participated in numerous national and international exhibitions. He was also the recipient of important awards and mentions, among which are the gold medals at the Salons of Painting and Sculpture of 1954 and 1956. He was the winner of the project competition for the Monumento a Abel Santamaría.

Numerous works of his are set in Santiago de Cuba, among them we have the busts of José de la Luz y Caballero (Logia Caballeros de la Luz), Peter Ogden, Raúl Cepero Bonilla (Universidad de Oriente) and Antonio Guiteras (Carretera Central and Calle 2). Also by his hand are the head of Camilo Cienfuegos, located in the Parque de la Libertad and the Espíritu de la Montaña, from the Parque de Puerto Boniato.

Born in La Habana in 1916, he graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes de San Alejandro and years later, he settled definitively in Santiago de Cuba, to work as a sculptor, draftsman, and professor.

He contributed to the training of several generations of sculptors as a professor at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas "José Joaquín Tejada" from 1945 to 1976. Between the years 1960 and 1967 he was also director of the institution.

He was a member of the Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC) and president of the Santiago branch until his death in 1976, at a time when he was immersed in the realization of his masterpiece: the Monumento a Abel Santamaría.

As a visual artist he participated in numerous national and international exhibitions. He was also the recipient of important awards and mentions, among which are the gold medals at the Salons of Painting and Sculpture of 1954 and 1956. He was the winner of the project competition for the Monumento a Abel Santamaría.