Ricardo Dieguez
Artist
"Once someone becomes an artist, life itself and everything we do becomes an art"
- Ricardo Dieguez
SobekRa
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This is a tribute, made in gratitude, for the ancestors who have come to guide us in these important times.
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My body of work generally consists of Acrylic paintings on canvas, watercolor, marker drawings, pencil drawings, and spray paint murals. The subject matter of my art aims to address racial healing, social justice, environmental issues, self-empowerment, spirituality, historical defragmentation, and a basic reverence for life. As such, my work is mostly targeted to Afrocentric indigenous ancestral healing, of which I feel is of utmost importance in these times.
Rumba Guaguanco
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I painted this piece to show the fundamental contribution of African people in all Cuban cultural music. Rumba is the heartbeat of popular AfroCuban music. The first music that expressed itself outside of the ceremonial religious setting, paving the way for African music to be available to the world. The particular "clave" rhythm that can be found in Guaguanco, Yambu, and Columbia has its roots in West Africa and is expressed today in most of the modern music of Latin America. Like most places in the world, the music we love has its roots in Africa.
CUATRO CAMINOS
"Crossroads" This piece is based on a common scene in AfroCuban culture where the Tabacco became one of the central roles in offerings made to the Orishas (Ifa deities/ancestors). She is asking for a removing of obstacles in the path.
Mother of the Universe
(art and animation by Ricardo Dieguez)
(music: Pathway to Enlightenment)
Shango!
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This piece, at its conception, was inspired and painted live at Art Kreyol 2019 in Ti Ayiti, FL. It was finished and showcased at Black History Showcase in Oak Grove Park.
This painting was created as a symbol for Black liberation because of the elements of fire and lighting, a justified rage, that our people have had to call upon in the face of oppression and injustice.
This painting shows the image of a man, particularly in AfroCuban dress, that is being possessed by the power of Shango. Showing to the viewer that this power is already within us. That even Shango himself was a man who called upon his own divine energy and became the great ancestor that we continuously call upon.