Dies in Villa Clara art critic and deputy Antonio Pérez Santos

September 16, 2020

With the death of art critic Antonio Pérez Santos, president of the Provincial Committee of the Uneac in Villa Clara, not only the artistic community of the center of the Island, but Cuban culture lost one of its most tireless and lucid promoters, with a profound and lasting mark on the spiritual life of the nation.

He was 55 years old when he passed away last Monday after a difficult battle against the illness he suffered throughout the last decade, which did not prevent his dedication to the realization of countless projects, the display of remarkable organizational skills and fruitful dialogue with writers and artists aimed at the consistent application of the cultural policy of the Revolution.

A native of Meneses, a locality in the north of the former province of Las Villas, Tony, a graduate in Art History from the University of Havana (1993), successively served as subdirector of the Samuel Feijóo Professional School of Art, president of the Provincial Council of Plastic Arts, vice president of the Hermanos Saíz Association and president of the Provincial Committee of the Uneac.

Since 2016 he was part of the Provincial Committee of the Party in Villa Clara and in 2018 he was elected deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power.

In announcing the sad news, the Provincial Committee of the Uneac, after assessing his trajectory as a critic of visual arts and curator of exhibitions —he paid special attention to popular painters, muralism, humor and expressions of young creators— highlighted the vocation of service that led him to sacrifice part of his personal career for the collective development of culture in his province and in the country.

"He was an extraordinary human being and undisputed leader of the artistic movement in Villa Clara," expressed in a message of condolence Luis Morlote Rivas, president of the Uneac.

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, for six hours, his remains were displayed at the Camacho funeral home, in Santa Clara, which was attended by numerous artists, writers and authorities from the territory.